I had to have a new back glass put in today because my other one got busted out. When I got the vehicle back I could not open the rear hatch. I pulled the panel and checked all of the wiring and it appears to be ok. I checked all of the fuses and they look good. I think that when the guys changing the back glass unplugged wires to work, they may have shorted the module. I am pretty sure that they did not unplug the battery. Does anyone have any idea on what may have caused this or what I can do to fix it? The crap part of this is that I could not see any area that would open the door manually.

 

This is so strange, I just logged in looking for an answer to this same problem! I can't open the tailgate on my 2004 4Runner. I can hear the latch motor run when I squeeze the handle but the door just won't open. Coincidentally (?) I bought this 4Runner used a couple of weeks ago and have determined that at some point the rear window was broken and replaced. I called the dealer and they said there is no manual override or reset procedure. I'm taking it in tomorrow morning to be repaired, will post back here what was found/done.

Andy

 

The problem turned out to be glass shards jammed in the latch motor gears. The Toyota was able to remove the offending pieces of glass and went through the tailgate and removed all the glass that could be found. They feel the latch assembly is fine - a new latch is about $275 but they did not recommend replacement, though they gave me the option. They did stress that there are lots of nooks and crannies in the tailgate and they cannot guarantee there's still not some glass in there that could eventually get into the mechanism and cause it to jam again. Time will tell, I guess.

Took 2:20 hours to disassemble/clean/reassemble. I saw it when taken apart - it's a complex job. Between the latch, wiper, window washer and electric window, the tailgate is packed!

 

Well, I guess this is a common problem. Seems lot of people with Gen III and IV hatch latches have had them go out in this same manner ... including mine now.

Damnit - what a pain and no way to get the rear hatch open without taking everything apart, ordering a $250.00 rear latch, and replacing it myself unless I want to pay Toyota $400.00 to do it for me.

 

Mine still gets cranky once in a while and I found a little trick. Press in hard on the hatch handle as you activate the latch, and wait a half a second before trying to open the hatch. It seems to relieve pressure on the latch mechanism and it always works when I do it this way. Maybe it will work on yours too.

 

That's the way ours worked for a few months before it finally went kaput.

 

hi does anybody know how to remove the inside rear hatch panel to gain access to the motor, my 2004 sr5 won't open the motor is working but the door won't pop open. any help?

 

I have the same problem too. It seems the latch becomes weaker to push out the rear hatch. Any suggestion?