The rear door on my 4 Runner wont close. I tried toggling the locking mechanism to see if it was just out of place. Use to click before now it just moves freely. Wont lock or hold, nothing. Any suggestions on what it might be. Has anyone else had failure like that on theirs. I rarely use the rear hatch too.

 

Im not sure how much different the locking mechanism is on the 96 as compared to the 90-95 models but I assume theyre just about the same. It sounds like the cabling for the locking mechanism isnt locking in place and holding the cables tightly when it grabs the trucks latches.

Lay down the tailgate and remove the carpeted covering on the inside of the tailgate. It unclips easily. Under that is the motor for the window and the locking mechanism. The locks on the side of the tailgate that catch onto the truck when closed are controlled by the cable running from each side to the middle of the release latch (the handle you pull to open the tailgate)

When the tailgate is closed the latches grab and the cabling tightens into place to hold the latch, when its opened the cabling gets slack on the line and lets go of the locks. Just make sure you can get the locking mechanism to move from open to close and that its not stuck in the open position. Youll have to play with it a little to get the idea, hard to explain without pictures..good luck

 

On the 96 3rd gen the door opens upward like a hatchback. I think on your model year it swings open or drops down.

 

I assume it still has the same idea with the cables pulling and holding the locking mechanism in place. Itd be worth a shot to look into.

 

The most common cause of this on 3rd gens is the nuts holding the latch mechanism to the door are loose or missing.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/3rd-gen-rear-latch-58644/