1999 Sienna rear hatch broken! Can't open!

[Chuck Paskovics]

I went to open my hatch one day and 'snap' the handle just caved in and never looked back. Now i'm unable to open the hatch at all!

Can anyone tell me if there is another way to open the rear hatch on a 1999 Sienna? I've looked all over the inside for any kind of release but there doesn't seem to be one. I find it odd that Toyota would not make the hatch able to open from the inside!

I took it to the dealer and they want to charge me almost $400 to replace the hatch mechanism!! I guess they make those things out of gold these days!

[Cyber Kahuna]

Originally Posted by Chuck Paskovics

I went to open my hatch one day and 'snap' the handle just caved in and never looked back. Now i'm unable to open the hatch at all!

Can anyone tell me if there is another way to open the rear hatch on a 1999 Sienna? I've looked all over the inside for any kind of release but there doesn't seem to be one. I find it odd that Toyota would not make the hatch able to open from the inside!

I took it to the dealer and they want to charge me almost $400 to replace the hatch mechanism!! I guess they make those things out of gold these days!

The same thing happened to us. We have a 2000. The fix is easy, sort of. From the inside of the van, remove the bolts holding the handle and the pull strap on the hatch (inside). Then, starting from the top of the window, remove the plastic molding. It just snaps off. After you remove the top window plastic, then remove the molding on either side of the window, and finally, the large piece covering the inside of the hatch. Once you remove all the plastic, you will see a cable leading to the hatch clasp at the bottom of the door. Just pull the cable and the hatch will open.

The new handle was $64.00 at the dealer. We were quoted over $300.00 to have them do it.

It took me 2 hours, which 45 minutes was spent going to the dealer for the part. It is really easy to do.

[briskey]

Cyber, thanks for the reply on how to access the rear liftgate latch. This is the THIRD door latch I've had to replace on my Sienna. I think that Toyota should have door handle replacement as part of the regular maintenance! I have been very pleased with this car for over 150,000 miles with the exception of the door latches. I was an expert on front and sliding door handle replacements and am now an expert on real liftgate latch as well.

[gerakela]

Thanks for the post Cyber Kahuna. I had the same thing happen to my wife's Sienna a few weeks ago. Just now getting around to fixin it. Boy has she been unhappy!!! Every time she gets groceries, or needs to get in the back .... well you know the rest of the story. The worst part was, I'm the one that it broke on. Anyway, it's time to get my hands dirty.

Have a great day.

[gerakela]

Job done. With the help posted above, I was able to have the door open in 5 minutes. I spent more time tryin to figure out a way to repair the broken plastic than the time to take it apart and put it back together. The dealer parts dept said yep we've got "a lot of um" and they are $68.10 apeice. I said, why would I want to spend that much on something plastic that will probably break again. So I spent some time at the hardware store getting some screws and a small hardened drill bit (1/16th). Drilled a hole through the 2 plastic parts and then the sorry drill bit broke off in the hard plastic.... arrrrg :-( so my son said jokingly, why don't you just leave the bit in there to hold it together. And I said, humm, not a bad idea. I tugged on it a bunch to try to get it apart...unsuccessfully, so I just left it in there since it was so tight. Put it back together and I really think it will last a long long time. Total cost of the job was $2.89 for a very strong although very small drill bit.

Best thing is my wife is happy!!! :-) and that makes me happy.

[mrbubl]

Originally Posted by gerakela

Job done. With the help posted above, I was able to have the door open in 5 minutes. I spent more time tryin to figure out a way to repair the broken plastic than the time to take it apart and put it back together. The dealer parts dept said yep we've got "a lot of um" and they are $68.10 apeice. I said, why would I want to spend that much on something plastic that will probably break again. So I spent some time at the hardware store getting some screws and a small hardened drill bit (1/16th). Drilled a hole through the 2 plastic parts and then the sorry drill bit broke off in the hard plastic.... arrrrg :-( so my son said jokingly, why don't you just leave the bit in there to hold it together. And I said, humm, not a bad idea. I tugged on it a bunch to try to get it apart...unsuccessfully, so I just left it in there since it was so tight. Put it back together and I really think it will last a long long time. Total cost of the job was $2.89 for a very strong although very small drill bit.

Best thing is my wife is happy!!! :-) and that makes me happy.

For those interested, the part number for the replacement part is:
69090-08010 from your friendly toyo dealer and is a stocked item. I paid $59 and some change.

[SomeInsight]

This was exactly what I needed. With the information you shared I was able to get in there in 5 minutes and then I was able to repair the broken part by drilling through the core and putting a 6-32 x 2 bolt through the center. I used epoxy to strengthen it. It appears better than the original part.

SomeInsight

Originally Posted by Cyber Kahuna

The same thing happened to us. We have a 2000. The fix is easy, sort of. From the inside of the van, remove the bolts holding the handle and the pull strap on the hatch (inside). Then, starting from the top of the window, remove the plastic molding. It just snaps off. After you remove the top window plastic, then remove the molding on either side of the window, and finally, the large piece covering the inside of the hatch. Once you remove all the plastic, you will see a cable leading to the hatch clasp at the bottom of the door. Just pull the cable and the hatch will open.

The new handle was $64.00 at the dealer. We were quoted over $300.00 to have them do it.

It took me 2 hours, which 45 minutes was spent going to the dealer for the part. It is really easy to do.

[ozzie32]

Thanks for the info guys. I have 1 98 with the sane problem.
Isn't the internet great.

[ozzie32]

Turns out nothing was broken. Just needed a bit of lube on the spring on the inside right behind the handle.

When the door was locked and you pulled the handle and let go, the lever at the bottom was not moving all the way back to the original position. This prevented the door from becoming unlocked.

Ozzie

[praniw]

I want to add to the other good advice listed here. We didn't have to remove any panel but the large one on the inside of the van under the window (after removing both handles). Also, there is no need to take the lights apart outside the van near the handle. When you try to re-hook the ball cable back into the new $70 handle you purchased, it is much easier to do if you have someone lift the latch at the base of the door. This frees up some slack on the cable. Test everything before putting panels back on. Took one hour, saved $300.

[dallasweb]

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. Mine broke today...$72.00(ouch) at the closest Toyo dealer. I can't believe the want to charge over $300 bucks to replace it there. Three nuts and 4 screws....That's $42 per connector to dismantle/reassemble. They must have a a great pension plan

Total time: 30 minutes to repair, 45 min to get to/from Toyo dealer.

[wmkc17lm]

This is awesome. Thanks for the post it is the only reason I logged on the wed today. My 2001 has the same problem and I have lived with it for a month it was a real pain in the A$$. I'm glad the fix was soo easy.

[kallie67]

thank you for all the help..(this coming from a lady who fixed it!).. I couldnt afford even the 70 dollars right at this moment, with new baby..and lots of dr. bills and it was irritating not being able to get stroller out, so i followed everyones advice.. took out the broken handle drilled a small hole, used a screw and put both pcs back together.. stronger then ever, and will hold until later date, when i order new one.. and it only took me about 2 hours..hehe
again thank you for all your help! saved me the hassle until i can get my new handle ordered!

[tfret]

Well, the rear latch broke over the weekend on my wifes 98 Sienna. I think it's the first thing that has ever broken on the car in 8 years and 116K miles, so I guess I can't complain. Anyway, the dealer says 2 or 3 hundred dolloars just depending on how difficult it is. Luckily I found this thread and printed the directions so you know what I'll be doing after work tonight. Thanks for the info, I'll let you know how it goes.

[tfret]

Well I fixed the latch last night and it went just as easy as everyone said. It took me 5 minutes tops to have the hatch open, and maybe an hour to get it all fixed and back together. I drilled straight through the flat handle and straight through the lever (which had separated from the handle). Then I put the two back together with two part expoxy and ran a sheet metal screw all the way through both peices. I think it is stronger now than ever before, and it didn't cost me a penny! Thanks for all the good info.