Toyota Highlander hatch stuck in Open

[mystang52]

In case any car guys see this before Monday morning: my daughter opened her Toyota Highlander rear hatch, but was then unable to close it. She tried all of the internet suggestions - turned the electric opener off, turned the electric opener button on/off several consecutive times, verified the window is closed. Nothing works, and it's seemingly impossible to manually pull down the hatch. She will bring the car to the dealer service Monday morning, and for now it's safely parked in her garage. Any other suggestions?

 

[CardsFan]

In case any car guys see this before Monday morning: my daughter opened her Toyota Highlander rear hatch, but was then unable to close it. She tried all of the internet suggestions - turned the electric opener off, turned the electric opener button on/off several consecutive times, verified the window is closed. Nothing works, and it's seemingly impossible to manually pull down the hatch. She will bring the car to the dealer service Monday morning, and for now it's safely parked in her garage. Any other suggestions?

The fact you cannot manually pull it down sounds weird. I know you are not supposed to, but I have accidently started to, it is stiff (should this be in the Villages thread? ), but it will move. Sounds like it is locked or seized.

Good Luck.

 

[Rocket Man]

We have a 2019 Highlander and had that happen soon after we purchased it. I called the dealership and I believe I talked to our salesman. He told me what to do and it went right down. It was something very simple but I cannot remember what it was. LOL! I guess that is why I am on this site. I am old! Have your daughter give them a call first to explain the issue. They should be able to give her the answer.

 

[freedomatlast]

Make sure the "disable" button in the glovebox isn't on.

 

[Venturer]

My DW has a 2019 Highlander and hers did the opposite, it got stuck 1/2 way up and would not move up any farther. I tried to push up or down with no luck. I went by our local dealer and saw one of the sales guys out front. I stopped and told him what happened. He went out and hit the button, then when it got to the stuck point he started pushing it up slowly but persitently. He then pushed the button on hatch and it went down. He said this was not really common but it did happen sometimes as they get out of sinc. Good luck!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I know our Outback has a "tailgate memory" console button that looks a LOT like the tailgate open/close button. When it was new, I hit that accidentally and set the height at something awkward, it took me a while to fix it. It might be worth checking for that.

 

[70Charger]

Google and then U-tube

 

[Aerides]

Google and then U-tube

Op addressed:

She tried all of the internet suggestions -

 

[Affinity4Investing]

You/she may have already tried, but posting just in case these are of any help:

Rear Liftgate Is Open and Not Moving
Another problem happens when the liftgate of the vehicle is in the open position. It does not want to close. This can be a problem if you are on the road and trying to get back home. Here’s what to do to fix this problem.

Locate the close button on the rear liftgate door. It is only accessible in the liftgate door jamb when the liftgate is in the open position.

Press and hold that button for a few seconds. You should hear it beep about four times.

Release your finger.

Then, press the button again quickly to signal to close the door. This should fix the problem and allow it to close normally.
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Here is a service bulletin about liftgate issues: http://media.fixed-ops.com/toy_servicebulletins/sb0091t12.pdf
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Probably not the issue but has anyone checked the fuse?

My owners manual lists it as fuse 21 (30Amp) Power Back Door under the hood

And the other obvious thing is the back door switch in the glove box.

As you can not manually open the back door something is jammed and is most likely similar to what sweeneyp posted

Might try pulling the fuse and see if it will allow you to manually open it.

 

[Texas Proud]

I am surprised you cannot close manually... we can on our Honda Pilot.. you can open or close manually or with the power assist...


In normal operations can you close manually?

 

[harley]

Use a bigger hammer.

My Highlander is a 2004. Not auto assist, so I've never had this problem. But we have a 2016 Honda Odyssey that had a similar problem with the automatic side door. It got stuck open in the middle of a trip from FL to MD while we were traveling with 4 dogs, 2 hedgehogs, and DW and me. It was a massive PITA. We called a Honda dealership nearby, but they wanted us to drive it to them for the repair. Right, that was going to work. It took awhile, but I finally called a different dealership, and they gave me a workaround over the phone. You can guess which dealership got a good review online.

I'm not a big fan of the power everything on cars these days. They seem to be a problem waiting to happen. Of course, I remember b**ching about power steering 50 years ago. I think I might be a bit of a Luddite sometimes.

 

[Sunset]

.....

I'm not a big fan of the power everything on cars these days. They seem to be a problem waiting to happen. Of course, I remember b**ching about power steering 50 years ago. I think I might be a bit of a Luddite sometimes.

+1

I wanted a Sienna without power slide doors because if it breaks it cost $2K to fix , but they don't sell them plain :facepalm