HELP!! Hatchback won't open
 

I found out when I got my new Supra home that it is actually a targa. I proceeded to take the top off and go for a drive. Woo-hoo! I got back home and put the key in the trunk lock and turned it and it felt like the whole mechanism turned. Now the key won't turn at all and the lever by the driver's seat won't open the back either. I can't get the top out without lifting the back so I have a serious problem tonight. If anyone can tell me how I can get this thing open I would greatly appreciate it.

Well, if you can get someone to hold the lever up while u pull on the hatch that might work. If not, you'll have to crawl into the hatch and take off the plastic piece in the middle on the back. It won't be easy with the top in the hatch but it should work. Its just a couple of phillips head screws and it should come out.

Nice try but "nope." The plastic piece that is attached to the back wall has a hole in the lip through which the latch part of the hatch passes. Even after I removed the 7 screws I couldn't move the plastic out of the way to gain access to the latch mechanism itself without breaking the plastic. I even removed the two things that are mounted behind the rear seats to give myself enough clearance to pull it out through the inside. Even with those out the top is about 3/4" too wide to pass through.

Hmm, you've got yourself in quite a bind. The only thing I can think of now is to take the end of the cable that was attached to the lever next to the drivers seat in pliers and just pull on it.

I'm taking it to my mechanic tomorrow. I can still back out of this deal if he says it has major problems. I don't think it will but all I need right now is to get the back open to put the top back on.

if you take off the right rear tail light cover on the inside, you may be able to pull that lil lever that the cables goto.

I tried that one yesterday. The guys at the Toyota dealership told me I am probably going to have to break the plastic plate with the 7 screws to gain access to the lock mechanism.

http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/...ead.php?t=8434


heres a link of some cell phone pics i took and posted on my topic. i wouldnt break that, there is a way to get to it. maybe from the left tail light hole you can push and use something long and sturdy to do the pushing.

Wow..., I thought I had something for ya but it seems you are pretty squarely screwed.

I'm not just being an a$$.

You have to ask yourself if you believe in OMENS.
This could be one of those subtle karmatic signs life throws at us.

I never thought you were and I really appreciate everyone's suggestions. I think I am going to break the part that around the latch bolt since that is the only thing holding it on now. Thanks to the cellphone pictures I see that I WILL be able to open it once I can see it. Now that I know what it looks like underneath there is a chance that I could reach around the plastic and open it without breaking anything.

oh and by the way dont pay to have someone else fix that, it's not hard. i just had my whole car gutted and fixed it myself. my key would open hatch but not my trunk release lever... which most people would settle for, but i wanted everything to work lol. so after i took apart the rear quarters on the driver side (obviously after you get it opened) i then took out driver seat ( 4 bolts and to electrical connectors) pulled up the carpet on driver side and rear seat arm rest thingy a total of around 8 screws. then you can see and follow the whole cable. and after getting my cable out all the way i noticed the new/used cable i went and got was the exact same length...hmmm.. so i used the same one and just re routed it to take up more length out of the cord, also make sure when hooking it back up that it gets looped around the lil round thing under the carpet area, that i think is a crucial thing to taking up length out of the cord. haha this all may seem like jibberish cause i dont know the technical terms but once you have it apart and your looking at it you'll see what im saying.

oh yeah and you also have to unbolt the rear seats to get the plastic panel off by the rear seat.... if you even need to. i would check under the seat first to make sure the cable is under that lever like it's supposed to be.

I got it open. I broke the back panel; as I suspected that one tiny piece was keeping it attached. I think I can probably repair it by putting something on the back and using two part epoxy. The lever by the driver's seat does not actuate the mechanism. I can hear stuff moving around but it doesn't get at far as pulling the cable attached to the latch.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. The pictures on another thread were very useful.