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The intermittent issue could be from worn out brushes inside the motor. That was my issue after I took it apart with the help of the video. I rebuild my motor with this ebay part. It fits and works on my liftgate. https://www.ebay.com/itm/25627105010...mis&media=COPY
The intermittent issue could be from worn out brushes inside the motor. That was my issue after I took it apart with the help of the video. I rebuild my motor with this ebay part. It fits and works on my liftgate. https://www.ebay.com/itm/25627105010...mis&media=COPY
Were your carbon brushes worn to minimum or chipped or were sticking?
One of my two brushes was cracked. That was the root cause. The other one was worn. The factory material seemed soft and could wear out overtime. The liftgate motor assembly from my 2010 RX350. It lasted about 10 years.
Resolved $466 later...
Investigation found the right motorized lift strut to be locked up in the hatch closed position.
Here are the steps used to fix it when your hatch is stuck shut:
Note 2017 Highlander XLE in this case.
Set the glove box button to disable.
From the inside, a panel on the hatch/rear door comes out with a soft pick and you can unplug the connector. Pop another small cover over the latch and trip the lever to open the hatch.
From here, I lifted the hatch a few inches, and shoved some gloves under the door to hold it open, then unplugged and pushed the cable through the hole in the door. Then I tried to pop the lift strut off the ball on the gate from the inside with a bit of brute force but No luck, the hatch remains closed only able to open it about 2 inches.
From the outside I used a 10mm socket/ratchet and extension to remove the top bolt. Then a pivot wrench to break the bottom bolt free (while forcing the gate open) for access as the angle is about a 45 degree shot between the body and the door and you're working in a narrow gap. To speed up the bolt removal, I slid a 10mm wobble socket in on a speed handle to remove the bolt and soon enough, the bracket was free and the rear door could be opened and propped up with a broom handle.
Unbolt the remaining bracket from the body, install the new one on top, install new bracket one on the lift gate. Raise the gate to full lift and pop the new lift motor on the top and bottom brackets. I added some synthetic grease to each socket as the oem left just a drop in each. Now feed the cable through the hole, secure the boot making a water resistant seal and plu in the connector. Install removed covers.
Remove the broom and pull gate to closed. It should lock on its own. Toggle the glove box switch and take the key fob to the back.
Upon button press, it opens and closes as it did before.
Time spent was less than 20min once I realized the lift strut was locked and not moving.
Wife got a quote for $2200 to replace both sides from an indi. What a crook!
FWIW Rockauto has the powered struts for like $140 less, but we're leaving Sunday and needed it fixed today.
And ya PN: 68910-09140 is $120 cheaper than the 68910-09120 that it needs and all because of JBL speaker option. wtf Toyota???
GL people...
Edit: cell phone post
still fixed? My 2016 is having the same issue. I think it’s the struts because it’s making the long beep not the glass sensor double beep.
still fixed? My 2016 is having the same issue. I think it’s the struts because it’s making the long beep not the glass sensor double beep.
I wouldn't know. She was in a head on collision later that year and the Highlander was totaled. Keep in mind these were powered struts, not a central motor like many of the RX....
I wouldn't know. She was in a head on collision later that year and the Highlander was totaled. Keep in mind these were powered struts, not a central motor like many of the RX....
Do you have powered strut locked in place?
Sorry to hear about the wreck. I hope everyone is ok.
It’s been difficult to recreate my issue. The trunk decides not to open sometimes. I thought it was the glass sensor at first, but that gives a different double beep. Mine does a long beep like it’s mad. I ordered the struts and I’ll report if it fixes the issue.
I replaced the two struts on the back of my 2012 and I think it helped but did not fully solve the long beep intermittent opening issue. Does anyone have a (working) eBay or Amazon link for a replacement motor, or what else should I check?
That's the liftgate motor, yes. The headliner needs to be loosened and dropped to get to it. I replaced mine myself some years ago. I bought a used one off of car-part.com and it was quite a bit cheaper than new.
You mentioned that your gate won't latch/lock. There is a separate powered lock at the bottom of the opening. If you manually close your gate, does the powered latch engage?
That's the liftgate motor, yes. The headliner needs to be loosened and dropped to get to it. I replaced mine myself some years ago. I bought a used one off of car-part.com and it was quite a bit cheaper than new.
You mentioned that your gate won't latch/lock. There is a separate powered lock at the bottom of the opening. If you manually close your gate, does the powered latch engage?
Thanks. Manually closing still doesn’t lock/latch. I have to also find how to stop the beeping as the “door open” warning. I tied the door to the rear seat so liftgate can’t be opened.
Please spend a bit of time [this thread and other related to it] to digest, the function of lift-close motor and the catch (hold and release) mechanisms. They function to close, open and hold/lock the hatch but each does something different. You can manually lift/close and bypass the lift motor. The latch mechanism is electronic now and is sensitive to position of the hook as it comes in contact with the catch. If you had something stuck in the mechanism it can fail to function.
From the description the problem is in the latching and not in the lift motor.
Went through some of the threads since yesterday. Initial issue was the locking then immediately followed by long beeping and not closing by fob, button on driver side, button on the door itself. I replaced both struts with OEM ones last year hoping to extend the life of the motor.
301K km on this almost 15 year old SUV.
I’ll be contacting a couple of mechanics this afternoon to see if anyone can diagnose and replace next week.
A few points on this, the current part number for the complete lift motor assembly, most recent revision is 68910-0E0236. This is revision 3.
Second point , has anyone actually replaced the latch assembly? When I was going thru this myself, I read refence to this as a solution but could not find an instance that anyone did it.
I believe the intermittent issue has to do with the brushes in the motor. They wear out, get dirty, get stuck, crack, or whatever preventing contact.
Replace the Motor Brushes
