Sequoia Latch Mechanism Cut and Replace How To 

Thanks for putting so much time into this video. I know shooting and editing video is a labor-intensive effort! Your footage and narrative helped me successfully repair a broken rear latch on a Sequoia. Thanks again!

Love your videos Brian and thank you Ted for your comment. I was also able to open a stuck rear hatch on a 2005 Sequoia without cutting, or damaging anything. I reached in and unscrewed the two screws that hold the plastic cover on the latch using a common stuby phillips screwdriver. I partially lifted the plastic cover and released the latch with a hook device, as Ted suggested. It was easy, however feeling around for the little screw heads was kinda challenging, but you can pull in on the plastic cover to give you more space for the screwdriver. I also suggest lowering the back window a few inches then unbolting (4) the window motor. This allows you to lower that mechanism and provides easier access to everything, especially for latch handle replacement.

Thank you! This video and the latch handle repair video saved me some big bucks!

Followed your video twice for both the door latch and the rear bottom lock mechanism, Your help was greatly appreciated for saving people time, headaches, and money to send it to a shop that just can't be afforded during world current events. Many thanks and Aloha from Hawaii. Thank you- Mahalonuiloa...

Thank you! I am feeling like a very empowered woman. What I really appreciate is that you explain the small details that might seem obvious to someone who is experienced. For example, when putting the plastic panel back on you explained as well as showed that it goes over the metal frame at the top. I thought so, but was unwilling to force it until I re-watched that section of the video. It is a sign of a good teacher. One thing that I had difficulty with that wasn't in your video, but I did find in another video, was disconnecting the actuator. I thought I was doing it correctly (and I was) but it wasn't coming apart. By watching a video that showed how the actuator clip worked (for a sequoia door rather than hatch) I could be certain I was doing it correctly and eventually I was able to force it open. I only mention it in case this is something you do in a future video and want to add it or if anyone else encounters the same problem.

My actuator locked in the close position, so I had to tie down my back door instead of cutting it open. I watched your video two days ago and then fixed it yesterday. With your hard work, my fix only took me 60 minutes. Thanks again.

Thx much for the video. My latch mechanism broke with door open. I was lucky. Your video made it easy. 30 mins to replace.

Brian, Thanks for the video. I was able to cut both sections of the striker plate from the outside witch made it a lot easier and caused less damage to the plastic latch cover. also used a 3 dollar metal cutting sawsall blade. believe it was a Diablo. found it to flex better than the diamond blade. it cut thru it in about a minute.

Very good quality video clarity in audio .. no background noise and explicit on step to step ..

Thanks for the amazing video, we just fixed our 2003 Sequoia! Couldn't have done it without your help. Thank you very much!

Thanks man for doing this. I have a love hate relationship with my sequoia. The back latch design was horrible. My rear handle has broken at least twice, and I have replaced it on my brother and fathers sequoia. They liked mine so much they went and got one for themselves. But now it’s the bottom lock actuator and I was at a loss on what to do. I will be ordering the part today. Thanks again.

Thanks for the video. Your video was so detailed that even a person like me that is not very handy was able to replace the locking mechanism and the broken handle, I could not get the hatch open but I did not cut the striker. I took off the back panel unscrewed the screws on the black box and manipulated the latch and got the hatch open. Thanks again for your video

WINNER!!!! Welcome- thanks for your contributions to it!

Appreciate the video man. Just replaced mine last evening. The handle works now but it still seems like it takes a fair amount of force to open the rear gate. I also noticed I have to grab on the right side of the handle and it works a lot better to actually open the gate. If I grab on the left side of the handle I have to grab and squeeze A LOT harder, if I can even open it at all. My handle seems fine but there must just be some play/wiggle room in the “system” somewhere.

Finally got mine open tonight. Thanks for the video. Life saver!

Was able to cut the striker using the "torch" blade. What a PITA!!!!!!! Yup glass was jamming the mechanism Terry

Thanks man. Mine failed in the locked position for a few days and then all of a sudden it opened up normally. So i didn't eventually have to do any cutting like in the video but your video certainly helped me figure out how to take the lock assembly apart to lubricate everything to avoid future instances. Thanks again.

When I studied Operations Management at University- they often used them as an example of just that. I was always efficiency this, and six sigma that. They're awfully concerned about pushing a lean supply chain. It seems stores are the same way that sell everything else that's needed. When you have a lean supply chain you're basically hanging by a thread. If any chain link beyond your control snaps- everything falls to a stand still. And then "who is John Galt?"

MY PROBLEM WAS THAT I JERRY RIGGED THE CABLE WITH THE WINDOW DOWN AFTER I RAN THE CABLE OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR SO I COULD OPEN THE DOOR AFTER I ORDERED THE PARTS AND THEN WHEN I ROLLED THE WINDOW UP COME TO FIND OUT I RAN THE CABLE THROUGH THE SCISSORS AND IT RIPPED EVERY THING OUT OF THE MECHANISMS SO I TIED A ZIP TIE TO THE LATCH SO I CAN PULL ON IT TO OPEN THE DOOR BUT STILL IT WONT OPEN THE DOOR , YES I UNLOCKED ALL THE DOORS IVE SPENT HOURS ON MANY DIFFRENT OCCASIONS ,BUT NOW YOUR VIDEO JUST HELPED ME TREMENDOUSLY , THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VIDEOTAPING THIS PROCEDURE . THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

Excellent video. Thanks for taking the time. Just fixed my 2003 Sequoia.

dont know where to start but i like the part "if i knew then what i know now" that really would really save many people the work that you did to open the liftgate, thanks for taking one for the team__ have a nice 2016 and years to come !!

Hey Brian, great video, but I remembered seeing someone opening it without cutting the part off. Currently my 2003 has been without the latch handle for 3 years, about 1 year ago I took the cable off the handle assy, could easily open it by pulling the cable tip. The back window broke out 2+ years ago, been taped at least 2 years. Needed the door to open, it wont. lock it and it travels a good inch easily, unlock and maybe 3/8 inch movement or so more/less. you can feel its bound up. there is alot of broken glass still inside. spent 3 hours trying to check, clean and do different things, it will not open. on the latch assy there are 2 recessed screws holding the cover, the other video the guy removes them moves the cover around, and is able to get to the mechanism and open it. but he did it at night without much light and clear camera angle. thanks

Finally I found a video for what I need. I bought a '02 off my parents that had a broken handle and my dad set it up to where they pulled the cable from the window to open but now its rusted up and won't move, I'll removed the plastic guard first hopefully I don't have to do any cutting. I've already bought a metal handle to replace the plastic one.

great job brian muy buen trabajo brian

Great video Brian. I replaced the old latch handle with a new metal one from Amazon. It has worked well for a while except that now when we lock the vehicle with the key fob all the locks lock except the tailgate which unlocks a few seconds later!! Any ideas on why the problem might be? George

Thanks for the video. I used a 12” hacksaw blade (not diamond) on my sawzall and I was able to cut the whole thing from the outside. You don’t need to cut from the inside.

mine was starting to hang up and I immediately put some oil on it and lubed it up really good. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thanks for this video to remind me to put more oil on it from time to time.

The best part of RepoNut's channel are all the comments saying he's a bad guy for doing the job. I'm tired of reminding people that without repos banks wouldn't lend money for people to buy cars with bad credit. :D

Like I said, there are many ways to do this. This is just the best I came up with on short notice. You could potentially air chisel the old latch mech off the gate after removing the window mech like cream off of milk. Or just use a pick ax for that matter. Dynamite sounds like more fun to me, but people are all picky about that now. When I was a kid you could get it from the farming supply store for stump removal- no questions asked. ; )

gotta tell you . .thanks a lot. this was realy helpful . . . . thanks ...

Really like the video but have a question on how you were able to reconnect the latch wiring plugs after reattaching the latch in the liftgate? Not sure I reach in there on mine. Couldn't open the liftgate on my '02 Sequoia the other day. Found that the all metal latch handle had already installed. Looking at the release handle you could see that the release cable was stretched about an inch longer than original. Rather than dropping $90 on a new latch just yet was able to bend the metal latch release arm up enough that the handle will now lift high enough to release the latch. To me it's obvious that all of those broken handles and stretched cables are due to a build up of crud, crap and gunk from years of use with no effort to cleaning the latch assembly. I'll bet that If the latch is periodically cleaned with an infusion of spray degreaser, gunk remover and lubricant, the cables would not stretch, the plastic latch mechanism might not snap and the latches would last much longer. And it seems that the latch assembly just isn't considered a service point.

Agree with the other poster that you do not need to cut the striker assembly to do this. There's another video demonstrating how you can reach in from the cargo area and access the black plastic cover on the latch assembly. There are two screws that you can't see that are very difficult to remove but once you do that you're home free. Just pop the lock mechanism up manually pull the cable and the hatch will open. No Sawzall and no cutting

It's fun when there's no holds barred. When you have to keep it pretty it's not as thrilling.

HUGE help! Thanks for doing this vid!.......👍

Just hapened to me yesterday! Easy way to open is drop the glass and remove the panels trim. Then go to the back and remove the plate and when you get from the inside with the window up you will see a plastic that covers the latch system. Just remove 2 little screws that are on the top area with a baby phillips driver. Then you can reach and lift the lock to unlock. My problem was the actuator. Now works perfect.

This video will probably never help me. But it's nice to just "hang out" with you in the garage on a saturday night (I'm in Sweden).

I know this video is old but I thought I would ask if you found any better tricks to cutting the striker. In my case the latching mechanism has glass stuck in it (the rear window was broken a long time ago and small chards of glass were left in it) and will not unlatch. I have the plastic cover off the latch and can assess the locking mechanism but cannot get it to free up in the unlocked position. I am sure these is glass jammed in the lock So I will have to cut the striker and I'm wondering if you have any advise I'm not looking forward to this Thanks Terry

YES! Thanks- I KNEW I was forgetting something!

Nice video! Any suggestions on replacing or repairing the actual cable?

What's the trick to get access to the rear part of the striker? I got the front cut tonight after a long time. The rear seems like a completely different beast.

First, there are many comments showing a lack of understanding as to why you CUT the stricker latch. For all who missed that part, it was because the lock pin was permanently stuck in the LOCK POSITION. Unless one can levitate in the back of the vehicle in a prone position and with lots of light, it is far easier to get one's bearings and figure out what is going with the rear hatch door up and open. Moving on, after 20 years I'm on my third handle. Never thought of pulling out the rubber plugs to access the screws and nuts that hold it in place. In case this is helpful to anyone, what I've done is remove the four nuts securing the window actuator and move it and the window down the door. This gives more room to unplug electrical if needed. Just be sure to do this with the door in a horizontal position. That glass is heavy. I almost lost a finger when with the four window actuator screws out of their holes I starting lowering the door before sliding the actuator and window into an open postion. Glass and actuator started sliding downward faster than the blade on a guillotine. Great videos, Brian. I hope you have ones that explain why my window doesn't work and why the electronic lock system doesn't know the door is open. If I unlock using the remote and only open the rear hatch, the ELS doesn't detect that a door was opened and relocks all doors after 30 or 90 seconds...like it is supposed to do. Only once have I locked the keys in the car by placing them on the rear deck and closing the hatch. Fortunately, I was at home when that happened. By the way, based on another of your videos I just cleaned the mechanical latch mechanism. After 20 years, the shear amount of talcum powder like dirt that came out of it was incredible. Those annual mid January sprayings with WD40, because the latch was jammed in the open position helped and maybe made matters worse. (Those who have the telltale dents in the hatch doors below the license plate know what I'm talking about.)

Det är bra, bra att ha dig längs bror!

My latch mechanism (actuator?) does not stay open or shut. Need to bungee door closed. In the past a few shots of dry-lube fixed it. Any thoughts how to get parts moving again? 2007 Sequoia (replace latch handle 3-times). Maybe just time for a new actuator. Thanks. Great videos Brian.

Brian, Thanks for informative video. I replaced latch on my Sequoia and new one from Amazon works great. However, now the lock mechanism does not work. When I press lock on remote I hear lock engaged but then within 2 to 3 seconds it unlocks again. What my be problem? all other doors lock properly. I suspected electrical problem (which may be I just dont know :( ), but then I see that when I lock locking mechanism does try to engage and unlocks again.

Great video,,,followed directions. Put everything in won't latch now, Removed and reinstalled . Latch handle working but it will not latch,,,has to be something easy right..help..

maybe I missed something but why did you saw off the lock. Was it bound up. If so I see why, maybe, to do that but a good WD-40 and Silicone spray could have loosened it up. Or was the cable snapped completely so you couldn't pull it to release the lock? If neither were the issue, why the heck not save your 20 dollar blade and take the cable off the handle and pull the excess cable to open the door?

Hi brian good video.. How can you tell is the mechanism and not the handle? I have the same problem. Seem the handle is loose, but i don't see it broken.. Could it still be the handle? Thanks for you help..

First, thanks for this! You have a part number though? Thanks again!

You can go on ebay and buy your parts for 1/4 the price. There are two types one is a little less money but, you can also tell that it is not as well made. In your case you may save more money, time, and headache if you left it broke and unusable until everyone miss it enough to respect it. Good luck thanks for the info on the how to.

How were you able to get the weather stripping removed from the rear hatch area?

Will it cut with a regular hacksaw blade or must it be diamond???

Thanks- I really tried!

At the 1 minute mark you say that you can reach in and manipulate from insided to verify that this is the problem. Can you elaborate more on that? I have a broken handle, and just can not manipulate the darn thing to open the liftgate. Now I'm wondering if I don't have a broken handle and a broken latch? I can move the handle like you show in your other video, and pull the door at the same time, but just can not get it to open. How can I verify that this latch mechanism is or is not part of my problem? Thanks, great video.

My 2cents if your hatch is stuck: before you go get your sawzall, if you have the time, try some penetrating spray lubricant first. It is possible to get the straw to point up at the latch mechanism with the hatch stuck down and between the bumper. Let it work. Further, take the panels off from the inside; then the steel panel and finally the inside rubber grommet plugs over the handle bolts. Spray the handle mechanism from the inside of the door. Curse the Toyota engineers all the way, and the sub-standard steel. Thanks Brian for showing us the panel removal and install. Panel removal isn't that tough. After the hatch is free swear to yourself to lube that rusting mechanism more.

Brian...Great job on your videos! Thanks for the insight. Hey, my so nopened up the back of my sequoia and found that there was no cable. Is it possbile to reach the lock mechanism to install the cable without taking it out. (We can't figure out how to get mechanism out) We did unscrew the u shaped loop the mechanism connects to from under the car so we could get the hatch open. 2. Is there a way to release the lock mechanism without the cable. Thanks man!

It's pretty, but man... winters last a long time and the mosquitoes in the summer are brutal! Sure are good people though. They have character.

The owners Manuel also gives instructions on how to change some of the lock and keyless features not sure if it stops this one or not.

Can you leave OFF the LOCK part ? Then just lift the handle to open ?

Currently debating doing this. Any tips to get the latch free? I've soaked it in pb blaster and pulling with all my guts on the cable while pressing the door open from the rear with my legs My buddy is a toyota tech and he said to just force the hell out of the door and it should go. He said he fell out of a car with the pressure he was putting on it once.

That would make sence because i noticed a clean spot on the manifold but i thought it was coming from under the throttle body( its tbi) and i replaced the paper gasket between the tb and intake...plus my charcoal canister is bad too

great job man

Laughing about the part of convincing others to be gentle. It's so much easier to be nice to the mechanical parts than suffer through the cost or misery of repairing them. Impressive job keeping the saw damage to a minimum!

Is there a micro switch in that latch that works with the door open indicator on the dash?

Great video as always.

You're welcome- way to go!

YOU ARE THE BEST AMIGO THANKS FOR SHARE

So I watched and did not want to cut anything and found a way not to. Your right about it getting stuck in1/2 latch position on the mechanism so actuator cant unlock . So I removed cable from latch. Now you can pull lever back enough that the lock nob can move up! Door opened. Couldn't have done it with out your vid.

This cutting is NOT needed. It CAN be opened from inside with a hooked tool. NO need to saw the striker. Did one today.with the plastic cover removed you can manipulate the latch to get it open

Thanks!

That could be a number of things. Most likely is a fuel leak under the intake manifold.

Un trabajo de calidad

Did a good job

jajaja winner!!! Thanks for the videos briansmobil1 !!!

Nice! Seems like alot of work! What does the Dealer Charge? About $500.00 is my Guestimate!!

@briansmobile1 -- Brian, Great video. Most detailed on the web. QUESTION: I'm having the same problem as jpjax below. When I lock it and test it as you did right around the 26 minute mark squeezing the handle opens the latch when it is supposed to be locked. In other words locking it isn't locking it. Ideas?

how do you unplug wire connector from the autolock assembly?

Nope. Not even half that. AND I did his rotors all the way around too. It's for a friend and for a video op.

After replace the lock back door... I have issues with lock the back dooor ..The back door can’ lock ... Somthing wrong ?

Is it possible to change a Sequoia door that came originally with the vehicle without a spoiler to the one that has a spoiler.I have been looking for somebody to help me know if this is possible. Is it possible to change a Sequoia door that came originally with the vehicle without a spoiler to the one that has a spoiler.I have been looking for somebody to help me know if this is possible.

Yes.

Can this be done without cutting? I don't have a diamond tip blade saw.

Thanks

these things go bad all the time on Subaru wagons as well, especially those from '95 - '99. though they're not quite as costly from the dealer, as this one appears to be

Do you have a link to Mat's repo videos? I'm only 4 hours away from Ogden :)

@jpjax -- same problem here. Did you find an answer?

lol This is the one I just put the motor in too.

Where do you live? Can you do this for me???

saw the lock? first rule of mechanics, most things are meant to be replaced.

Cool

winner!!!

Brian...i have a problem...ill quit randomly leaving comments about canada on your vids if u help me out lol all seriousness though...i have a 91 fireturd its a lil 305 ohv tbi....the oil smells like gas ...

amazing!!!!

Piston rings?? Could that b a culprit? Man i wish i could go to school to become a technician but im poor lol

What an example of bad engineering. Those guys, who design the parts, have to know that their plastic parts will fail. Designing a good backup plan is part of their job. The second part of their responsibility is communicating the best repair strategy to those who have to do the work, ha ha.

How can I do two thumbs up??

I really wanna move to canada ... lol

So easy to replace when open........... So much blue language getting it to that state though.

I might be at this point...

DO NOT CUT STRIKER, totally unnecessary! There is another video showing reaching in from the open panel on the inside and manually pushing the release mechanism after unplugging the actuator; otherwise nice video, thanks for the time and effort.

I tried to tell my buddy this is the only way to get a new replacement part and stricker plate Now he wants to take it to a shop? Waste of time and money