Tailgate Leak??

[my04runner]

I am getting some sort of stick residue on bottom edge of my tail gate. Appears to be coming out of two holes. Seems to only happen when the weather gets very warm. Anyone else experience this?

The odd thing is that I remember having this type of problem from the trunk of my past Toyota

 

[Sac State]

I had some sticky material on my rear hatch when I brought the rig home for the first time. I always thought it was the chemical they spray on all the vehicles being shipped overseas from Japan. This chemical retards rust and keeps the new finish salt free. When the vehicles arrive at the port, they are sprayed with a solution that removes this material. Maybe some is left over?

I don't think it could be rust. Rust isn't necessarily sticky.

 

[my04runner]

Thanks for the reply Sac State, but no this is not rust. It almost look like the glue that they use on the door panels to hold the plastic in place. Which would make sense that with the heat it might start to melt. But even then I would think that those people that live in hot areas would see it a lot more than I have.

When this happened to the trunks of my other Toyota's, the dealer would just clean it up and plug up the hole. But this can't be fix if it has happened on my 00 Solara, 01 Corrola and my 02 Highlander. Maybe I am just the lucky one.

 

[NoSpeedLmt]

Looks to me like undercoating / rustproofing. I had to pay extra for that. It's a black sticky substance like tar. I'm haven't seen mine leak yet, but the weather hasn't been that hot yet, only upper 80s.

 

[Rayman]

I think it is the glue from around the weather stripping for the window. I have the same stuff but it is not coming out through those holes. Mine is seeping from around the weatherstripping. It looks the same, though. I take "goo gone" and clean it off every so often.

 

[ToolmanJohn]

Seam sealant

There is sealant inside the rear liftgate. Those holes in the bottom are drainage for any water intrusion. The excess sealant will EVENTUALLY stop flowing out. I thought originally that it was window rail lubricant, but it doesn't feel like grease. It does look and feel like rustproofing goo though.

Use GOO GONE as someone has suggested, or bug and tar remover. It comes right off. I have started cleaning at those weep holes before washing and waxing, so it doesn't contaminate my cleaning/polishing rags. The first time I had to wash the rear again.