Stuck Tailgate

[rrcast]

Hey all,

I have a 2000 Toyota 4Runner SR5. This past fall my Tailgate would not shut, just bounce back open. I had no luck when trying to lubricate it, so I used a tie down and chose to deal with it in spring. Now that Spring is here I went to fix it and found that the door will not open. The locking mechanism seems to be "sounding" as if it is working; however, the handle feels as though it is no longer connected on the inside. This is rather confusing since no one has ever disassembled the door. At this point the question would be how do I get the door open?


Thanks in advance, Rodney

 

[SgtAbn]

Mine did something similar, squeeze the handle from the outside as hard as humanly possible, then try lifting the tailgate even though you have not heard the latch release. . mine opens this way. But it takes a "Vulcan Death Grip". . I hope this helps

 

[MAD 69]

I had this happen on my fathers '99 when I borrowed it one weekend. Put the key in the tailgate lock and turn it both ways a bunch of times, this somehow did the trick and "unfroze" the latch mechanism. It's worth a try...

 

[bike]

I pulled my latch out of the bottom of the tailgate just yesterday to clean it up. Seems it would be hard for that cable to come out of it holder on the latch side. A lot of rust and crud was built up in mine. Before I cleaned it I more often than not had to push the door closed at the handle, and with my other hand just below the license plate to open the door. I would try that. Also I found the handle would stick in the "open" position and I would have to push it closed.