Rear hatch latch revisited

[finaltable]

I went to a Toyota dealership today armed with my keycode read off the cylinder. The key they cut opens every lock on my car EXCEPT the rear hatch, which is stuck in lockout mode. The only thing left to do at this point, I think, is to take the entire back part of the car apart to get to the latch mechanism.

This sucks.

[cre]

In most cases I've found that the hatch lock cylinder is bound up. Either pins are clogged with debris from lack of use or the cylinder is frozen. I pulled mine and polished the cylinder and housing with 600 grit sandpaper, then replaced a couple wafers, lubed it up with graphite and haven't had a problem since.

You'd be amazed how often I hear other MKIII owners say "Whoa! You're key open the trunk!?".

I've fixed them for a couple of local folks now.

[finaltable]

How do you get the back apart? I've actually attempted this once already and had several of the nuts off and it didn't feel like I was getting any change in the status.

BTW...the mechanism itself does turn a little. It would not surprise me to think that the pins just aren't moving properly when I put the key in. I wonder if squirting some WD-40 in there wouldn't help.

If I am seeing this right, the mechanism itself is under the external reflector in which it is mounted. It also appear that the center section containing the key hole is overlapped by the sections to the left and right and I will need to remove (or at least loosen) those as well.

As I am getting VERY tired of opening the back with a stick I keep in the back seat any guidance you can give me on getting access to this would be appreciated.

[cre]

Opening the hatch with a stick? What? Bad hatch strust or the release by the driver's seat doesn't work either?



Do NOT spray WD-40 into a lock! It can make things much worse. It gives dust and other debris something to cling to and can cause dry lubricants to pack into a solid mass which may bind the cylinder or pins.


You could try spraying some powdered graphite into the lock, but if it's the cylinder that's binding it won't do much good. pulling the lock is a bit of a pain. If I remember correctly, you have to pull the center interior panel, loosen the tail lights and then unbolt the exterior center panel. Just take your time with it.

[finaltable]

When I got the car from the previous owner the only key she had was the valet key. She didn't realize this was the valet key because she rarely opened the back and when she did she used the latch. I inadvertently turned the lock counterclockwise and put it in lockout mode, thereby disabling the lever by the driver's door as well. Since my top was in the trunk at the time this happened I climbed into the back via the backseat (in 90 degree weather, mind you) and took apart the back so I could get access to the latch mechanism. Since it remains exposed I can open it by pressing it with a long stick. I have since taken apart the passenger door to get the keycode and had a genuine Toyota key made for it. While this key will open the passenger door and glovebox it does NOT open the hatch.

[cre]

Never heard of the lock out mode. Yeah, the valet key won't open the hatch (dunno why, they could just cral back there) or the glove box. If you've got a new master (NOTE: When talking about cars a master key is NOT a key that will open all toyotas... sorry, I just hate hearing that) you shouldn't have any problem opening the trunk lock unless there's something wrong with the lock itself.

[finaltable]

When I first turned the key counterclockwise I thought the cylinder had come loose. I looked in my owners manual (which I still have, along with the original window sticker from the previous owner) it describes the functionality in detail as Toyota recommends you put the hatch in lockout mode when leaving the vehicle.

My guess is that the lockout mode is there because with the Supra not having a trunk anybody can see what is in the back of the car. Since putting it in lockout mode disables the lever by the driver's door even if someone were to break in and unlock the doors they couldn't open the hatch to take anything of any size out.

It definitely does this by design, I am just stuck because the mechanism isn't working with the master key.

[cre]

I didn't doubt you, just didn't know. Thanks for the info.

[LockedOut]

As my username infers, I have the same problem.

The rear hatch lock really does seem to be locked so solidly that it could be in this valet lockout mode; however, I also notice that the nearly-broken driver side door lock can seem "locked out" when in reality I just need to jiggle it.

Rear hatch was tough to turn for a while; but, I think that was also due to cheap weak keys bending while turning.

Attempted solutions:
Have new strong keys. Have sprayed into hatch lock: brake cleaner & WD40 & applied Permatex Anti Seize graphite/copper/aluminum lube. It really doesn't budge at all, as if it is locked out by anti-theft.
Won't really turn at all either direction.
Have locked and unlocked with key both driver and passenger doors, including the double-turn method to unlock both doors from one side. Have also tried opening hatch with key in ignition (although I did not try while engine is running yet but I doubt that will make a difference; but, I suppose I should try).

Hatch Release Lever Cable was disabled by previous owner to prevent theft entry by hanger through driver side window.

What do I do?
Really just have to crawl back there and remove the panel?
The rear hatch visor is even extended to make it tougher to climb back there.

Have searched forum keywords:
hatch lock lockout locked

Also looked at related threads at bottom of threads found.
No real answers anywhere found yet.
http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/...open-help.html
http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/...rent-woes.html
http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/...t-problem.html

[LockedOut]

Confirmed still won't budge while engine running.