RedGemini

As the weather has started to warm up, this problem has started. It's not 100% of the time.

The hatch is still opening fine, since I replaced the struts with Tuff Supports. The problem is it won't always close using power. If I push the close button, it'll do the usual beeps, lower about 1/2", then bounce back. I did see what appears to be an unusual amount of movement in the rod that goes to the motor. I even tried a little 3 in 1 oil on the struts, just to make sure that wasn't the problem. Could this be a sign of the clip going bad that holds the rod to the motor? Has anyone else had this problem?

05RX330AWD

I read in a post somewhere where a RX330 owner purchased new supports (brand unknown) & they didn't function properly.
What he did was switch one new support with the old one, then all functioned perfectly.
Maybe you can give that a try.

mdbrown

Make sure you have the proper struts. If the part number you have works for the highlander non-power that's why it won't close.

RedGemini

I triple checked that the struts I purchased were for the RX power hatch. I was well aware of the issue with different struts at the time. As I said, they worked fine until recently. I'm still thinking they're working fine, as this problem doesn't happen all of the time, just most of the time, recently. I even tried helping the hatch lower after pushing the button, and it still beeps, then goes back up. That's why I'm leaning towards an issue with either the motor or the common c-clip holding the arm to the motor, as mine has a little play.

As for replacing a new one with an old one, I'm not sure how well that would work, considering the old ones were pretty shot.