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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!
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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.