How to Replace the Hatch Opening Switch

Both rubber handles of our 2008's are soft & gooey; the heat here in South Texas may contribute. No word from the dealership about extended warranty coverage; they only inventory the Smartkey liftgate switch, part #84905-47010, as it works on both. Thanks to roverguy78's post, Toyota Parts Barn will be the shipping non-Smartkey switch, part #84840-47010, at a $75 under dealership price.

 

2008 prius in New Orleans. Same gooey mess.
45k, platinum service agreement.
dealer first said it will not be covered. after me calling and bitching at the extended warranty people over the phone, they agreed it has to be covered.
oh, and struts went too, they had been clinging since 25 k but only now the dealer agreed they need to be replaced. covered repair too.
so far I am ahead on my $1000 platinum plan: $300 oxygen sensor, $780 struts, $280 switch = I made $360

:rockon:

 

I just did this job today, and thanks for the instructions - they helped the learning curve! I also had trouble with one of the three screws on the lock switch. To avoid drilling out, I resorted to putting a little penetrating oil (like WD 40) on it, heated it just a little, and then when it still balked, I put the nose end of square nosed vice grips on it, locked it tight, and it broke the screw loose! It's soft metal so the screw driver tends to round it out easily, but the good news is the vice grips got an adequate grip on it for the same reason. I put the screw back in there and avoided drilling. Whew!

 

I was referred here from ToyotaNation.com after I noticed a different hatch switch problem . . . in cold weather my rubber seal becomes so stiff that I have GREAT difficulty opening the hatch. Thankfully, with perserverence, I been able to struggle and get it open every time, but that's not fun in the cold pouring rain. I guess I'll be forced to replace the switch, since there's no inside release.

This thread reminded me that the rubber on the hatch switch of my 2007 Prius had become sticky in hot weather. Not terribly bad & I hadn't considered it much of a problem. When 1st noticed, I just contributed it to maybe being accidentally transferred when I was cleaning up the "sticky" after some canned Cokes exploded inside the car . . . luckily, they were inside their cardboard container.

 

I just did this job last night (2007 Prius, 25,000 miles in SE Virginia, car garaged at home and work). The screws did not have the markings that are on Pozidriv screws, so I think they are Phillips. I had a little trouble with one of the screws, but was I was able to get them out without using anything other than a #2 Phillips screwdriver.

Thanks to Patrick for the instructions! The job took about an hour; half of that was spent convincing myself that I could pull HARD on the inside trim cover without damaging anything. I used WD-40 to get all of the black goo from the old switch off of the outside trim plate.

 

where did you buy your car part? I am looking at Olathe toyota and they want around $148.13. is that right?

 

thanks. i'm looking at it right now and seems to still be the same price.

 

No no... it is still $72.80 like what you have paid for. Sorry for the confusion.

 

The hatch opening switch is $116 + $125 labor cost at Casey Toyota in Williamsburg, VA. Another ripoff. I am looking for a rubber sealant that will stop the deterioration of the cover. I am trying Armor All to coat it. Lowes has nothing usable. Any suggestions?

 

Is this the part that I need from Toyota Parts Barn for a 2008 Prius w/ smartkey? They don't show a part number.

 

If you have the smart key system don’t bother ordering part 84905-47010, which is about $74.00 online. Order instead the non-smart key switch (part No. 84840-47010), which costs about $30.00 less. The main reason is that as mentioned by several other posts, to take out the 3 “Phillips” screws that hold the smart key switch in the assembly is almost impossible (I stripped all three of mine). On my way to Home Depot to buy a set of screw extraction bits, I realized that it would be much simpler to leave the old smart key switch in (which works well), cut the two wires (red and black) that go from that switch to the hatch opening switch, remove the old hatch opening switch (that had the melted rubber), install the new one and simply connect the wires together and cover them well with electrical tape. This worked perfectly. I wish I thought of this and had ordered the less expensive part.

 

Hi ecelis,
Thanks for the tip. My 2007 Prius has the smart key set-up. I took your advice and replaced the non-smart key switch (part No.84840-47010) and spliced the wires to the smart part of the switch without even having to remove the smart part. I never had to touch the phillips head screws that are giving everyone problems. It saved time, money, and a lot of aggravation. I just followed instructions in your post above.
Many thanks!!!

 

Great instructions. Here a couple of tips for things I encountered. I bought the non-smart key switch (cost about $51.46 from Sun Toyota including shipping) and it was easy to connect the two wires and avoid the problem with removing the smart key switch. Be careful with removing the four 10mm nuts. I dropped the one on the far left (drivers side) and could not retrieve it from the very tight space. Removing the bottom cover (as one would to replace the license plate lights) broke one of the towers that hold the blue plastic "pins". I glued it in with my glue gun and that worked until it has to come off again. I also took off the upper plastic cover and was able to tighten the 10mm bolts that hold the whale tail on. Mine was loose and now it is tight. All in all relatively easy.

 

Thank you Patick Wong! Changed out the faulty piece today on my 2008 @ 100,000 miles. Took about 45 minutes and no broken parts, thanks to your instructions. I really apprciate you taking the time to put instructions on here for all of us to follow! I agree with an earlier post saying that the toughest part was pulling the black interior cover off. Not physically hard, but not knowing if I was breaking it. Had to use vice grips on one of the three screws, but everything else went smoothly. Thanks again!

 

I had mine replaced at 98K miles. My extended warranty covered it.

 

This was a great post (along with others who contributed). I used penetrating oil and small vise-grips to loosen the three screws on the smart lock switch and then used a screwdriver to remove them the rest of the way. I used paint thinners to get rid of the gooey mess that was left behind. Re-install was very easy and painless.

 

Great post. Just fixed mine but did not do any of the above. The following instructions are for Priuses with only a gooey rubber cover and working switches. I ordered part (84840-47010) for $44.35 and 7.95 shipping to Houston, Tx. This is the switch assembly without the smart switch. If you have an "L" shaped or ratchet phillips screw driver, you can remove the 2 screws holding the gooey switch assembly. the assembly can be pulled out about 1 1/2". you can open the white plastic housing and pull out the blue switch. When the new switch assembly arrives, open the new housing and remove the switch. Insert the old switch back into the new housing and reassemble. No wire cutting and no shroud or bolt removals...Voila! I may change the 2 black phillips screws with hex head screws for easier removal.

 

Thank you for suggesting this! We used your idea, but my husband (a research chemist) found that charcoal lighter fluid worked much better than acetone to remove the gunk from the inside of the lock. Note that this is why 3 separate problems are being reported: 1)gunk on the hands 2) difficulty opening in summer and 3) difficulty opening in winter. The rubber is deteriorating inside and out. Outside it is messing with our hands. Inside it is oozing into the switch mechanism. In the summer the gunk is sticking inside the switch and in the winter it is hardening in the switch, making it virtually impossible to open in either extreme of weather. My husband said that when he removed the gunk with the lighter fluid he could actually see the lock slowly spring open. Before dissolving out the rubber gunk, it was actually frozen half open. No wonder it was not working! We cut a piece out of a bike inner tube as someone suggested in another thread to replace the rubber seal. It looks and works perfectly! If anyone is concerned about the flammability of charcoal lighter fluid, don't be. Charcoal lighter fluid has a very high flash point, that is, you have to light it to get it to burn.