Rear Latch

[daronk]

I have the rear latch issue right now.
My questions are:
Is this an easy DIY? If so has anyone posted directions (I searched but didn't find)?

Is 69090-08010 the only part that I need?
I haven't seen the hatch yet but my wife says that the handle is just flopping back and forth which tells me that the cable connection is probably busted.

Shop quoted me $85 parts, $185 labor. If they take that much labor am I in for a whole day of rear hatch trouble.

Thanks.

[Steve97TT]

If you're handy it's an easy DIY. Might as well know how so next time it breaks you can replace the handle very quickly.

Almost undoubtably a rivet holding the spring pivot in the crappy latch handle broke. The cable is fine and it is still connected to the latch handle. (The handle is a crappy part that is used in several Toyota / Lexus SUVs.) Assuming so you'll only need only that one part.

link to my site for some pics showing the hatch apart and the inside view of the handle / cable connection - you might find it useful.

Steve

Originally Posted by daronk

I have the rear latch issue right now.
My questions are:
Is this an easy DIY? If so has anyone posted directions (I searched but didn't find)?

Is 69090-08010 the only part that I need?
I haven't seen the hatch yet but my wife says that the handle is just flopping back and forth which tells me that the cable connection is probably busted.

Shop quoted me $85 parts, $185 labor. If they take that much labor am I in for a whole day of rear hatch trouble.

Thanks.

[Heaterswa]

I finished my rear latch handle replacement last night. The tab on the handle that pushes the mechanism down to unlatch broke on mine. The wife called Saturday afternoon that the rear door wouldn't open. I started taking it apart Sunday afternoon and picked up the handle yesterday from a local Toyota dealer, he charged me $63 at the counter. Sounds like it would be $70 part if the service dept was doing the job.

First, take off the license plate.
Since the hatch wouldn't open, I started from the inside and took down the top trim piece. After that the two side pieces come down, then the main trim piece which covers the bulk of the door comes out. These are all popped in with the white tabs.
There are 3 access hole covers to pop out (don't forget to install them back in when done) and through the left hole you can see the mechanism to unlatch, press it down with a screwdriver and open the door. If anytime you close the door you will have to do this to unlatch, up until you disconnect the cable and pull out the handle, then you have to locate the cable and pull that directly.
Behind the large trim piece you will find a metal access cover, remove the 7 or 8 10mm bolts holding that on and pop the 3 white tabs and let it hang off to the side. Disconnect the cable from the handle assembly by reaching in from the right hand side and popping of the cable from the handle assembly.
From the left and right access holes, locate the two 10mm nuts which hold the license plate assembly to the door and remove them. Then there are 4 plastic tabs that come in from the outside that hold the license plate assembly on in each corner, try and locate those and using some pliers squeeze them together and push it through. Next locate the license plate lamps wire connector and release that from the left side, it’s the simple push in and pull out square white connector.
After these are out, put back in 1 or 2 bolts into the large metal access cover so the hatch can be lowered (don’t close it).
Here is where I had fun, begin to pop out the assembly that it was bolted to. I ended up breaking 3 of the 4 plastic tabs in each corner because I did not use pliers from the other side to pull them out, however it remained somewhat useable (hindsight 20/20).
Now the license plate assembly can be taken to a bench to replace the handle assembly (Toyota doesn't sell just the handle, it is a small assembly). Two screws out and the assembly is replaced.
Before pressing the license plate assembly back onto the truck, make certain all the plastic tabs are in the assembly and not in the truck. Reverse the process to re-install.

-Bryan

[jhchang]

Heaterswa was right on.

The fix took about 2 hours and is simple for any DIYer. Would highly recommend changing yourself and avoiding the dealer run around. Part cost is about $60.

[nikos]

It is amazing. Almost every 2001 has gone through a latch. I thought I was lucky and my turn came up last month.

Alternative fix.

I basically did exactly what Byran did in his instructions, however I did not purchase a new latch. I did not want to go through breaking another one (which will happen ) and going at it again. I glued the neck part of the latch with Gorilla Glue. After 24 hours of cure time, I used a metal / plastic weld adhesive that cures like steel. I made a form around the neck and filled it with the weld adhesive. The neck of my latch is now twice the size. There is now way it will break. I also used waterproof marine grease on all the moving parts to ensure friction-less motion ( before I buttoned everything up ).

Extremely poor design by Toyota. I also think that there is a TSB about this issue.

Regards
Nikos

[pseqmat]

Just completed this repair on my Sequoia. Thanks for the info Bryan. Your instructions were very thorough and greatly simplified the task!!

[suprarunner]

Mine is an 06 and broke 2 days ago, this has me worried about what will start to break after a few more years.

[GreenDrake]

My 01 just broke yesterday, I'll be giving this fix a shot next week. Damn the cold weather.

[stinger44]

I have the same problem with the rear door not opening and the handle flaps around like it broke.

Can someone confirm the part number that I need for my 2001 sequoia?

Also are there any websites that have the part cheaper or is the $63 that the dealer charges a safe bet?

Thanks for the help.

[GeCJ7]

Also, don’t forget to really clean out the existing latch mechanism. When I replaced my rear latch handle the latching mechanism was also sticking making it hard to close the hatch. You practically had to slam it shut in order it to latch. Saturate a lot of degreaser or WD 40 to flush out all the rear road gum that has accumulated over the years. Than spay and saturate silicone lubricant. Closing the latch now is like night and day. Know all I have to do is gently drop the hatch and it closes nicely!

[neffster]

Subscribing so that if/when mine breaks I'll have an easy way to find the DIY instructions.

[OHIOFJ40]

Originally Posted by Steve97TT

link to my site for some pics showing the hatch apart and the inside view of the handle / cable connection - you might find it useful.

Steve

I know this is kind of old, but does anyone have these pics, or some new pics of the internals of the hatch?

My rear latch doesn't seem broken, but the hatch won't open, no matter what I do or how hard I pull on it.

[94SupraTT]

Mine broke a few days ago. Looks like its time to fix it.

[mbz300cd]

Just finished this repair. THANK YOU for the tips! It would have been quite a challenge without them. It only took an hour for the whole job. I was able to open the hatch using one of those 90 degree screwdrivers. I got it into the hole and felt around for the mechanism and got it to open. One thing I hadn't read or maybe I just missed it was about removing the pull-down strap. The cover for the bolt comes off easily by pushing upward on it to expose the 10mm screw/bolt. Additionally, there sure is a big difference from dealer to dealer on priceing. I checked three different dealers for the best price for the part, one was $74, one $76 and the one I bought was $63.

[tshirt_n_jeans]

Mine broke today.

What a PITA.......

If your handle is just flopping around, its because the latch handle broke. It is only a very small piece of plastic and I am shocked that mine lasted 4 years....

THANKS for all the tips. I will head to the dealer tomorrow for the parts.