How to Replace the Hatch Opening Switch

Ugh! I have all my tools and a bunch of other crap back there. Will have to attempt later on. Correct part has already been ordered.

 

Got the correct part and replaced the handle/switch. I think I am going to clean the old one off and do the hose mod in case the new one starts melting. The only issue I had is the two screws that hold the handle in place did not fit in the new handle. I need to pick up some smaller screws.

 

Thanks Patrick for this excellent thread. I completed the inner tube repair for my 2008 Prius today. If it doesn't hold up, I'll buy the non-smart key switch (part No. 84840-47010), and replace the rubber or the rubber and plastic housing. I live in Maryland, so while it does get hot here, it is not Florida, Texas, or Puerto Rico. The 2008 is eight years old, so I won't fault Toyota for this. It's especially satisfying to repair it myself and not give the local dealers one dime.

 

While I was searching for a new switch to replace the gooey one in my new to me 2005 I came across a Scion tc trunk latch cover that appears to match the Prius switch. That's right, just the rubber cover for $10.70 with free shipping so I took a chance and ordered one. I should have it on the 13th of July. Scion is made by Toyota and it is also listed for a Lexus. Maybe it will work. It looks right but I could not find any dimensions so i guess we'll see next week. I'll update this post when it comes in. Forgot to add how to find it. Simply Google "
Handle Liftgate Latch Trunk Hatch Switch Rubber Grommet For 05-10 Scion Tc C452"

Update: It worked perfectly. So no need to buy the whole assembly. Used GooGone to remove the old tar but it took a while of alternating between scraping with a small screwdriver and using GooGone with a cotton swab.

 

I just commented on your video and I'm attaching a photo of my variation. I lapped the rubber around the front and back edges and used thin strips of double stick tape on the back of the switch to hold the rubber in place. I'm hoping the double stick tape plus the compression from the two screws will keep the rubber in place long term. If it doesn't, I'm going the route of the Ebay Scion TC switch cover ($10.75). A couple of tips: To keep the rubber from "spinning" as you tighten the screws, apply a little dish detergent under the screw head to act as a temporary lubricant. And secondly, as a temporary makeshift trim removal tool, I found my garden weed puller tool worked quite well. Almost all of the little blue pop out fasteners stayed in place on the body and pulled away from the trim panel piece. Uggh. All is well. I easily extracted them with the weed puller and the panel snapped back in place with no issues.

 

Did you have to glue the new rubber onto the surface? Does anyone know if this fix is just like the original? Has anyone else tried this? Thx.

 

This is what you need to buy

 

Quick update: I ordered Bobby2005GA's Scion part ($10.70 on eBay), and it indeed worked perfectly. There is a lip around the rubber that holds it in place around the switch. I sprayed the screws with a little wd-40 and then used a small 90-degree angle ratchet with a #2 Philips head to remove them without any problem. Make sure you clean and reuse the two small washers. Then carefully pop out the switch with a large flat blade screwdriver. The wires keep it from coming out too far, so don't force it. I took my time taking off all the melted rubber from both the switch and the body on the trunk lid. First, I took off as much of the old rubber as possible with a putty knife and small screwdriver, then I used Goo Gone and lots of paper towels. Even though the switch doesn't come out too far, I was easily able to get to all the sides. I spent about an hour total on this - the cleaning is the time-consuming part. Remember that it's a lot easier to do this project with the trunk open (which seemed obvious after I was bending down for awhile!). Thanks again to Bobby2005GA for this suggestion.

 

Hi all,

My wife and I both have 2007 Prii. Both suffer from the gooey handle problem. I decided to repair mine first and see how it went.

My thanks to all the great posts. My repair turned out very well. I did a combination of the ideas posted by various people. In short, I found the existing switch to be too gooey to bother fixing. So I chose to buy the "$33.69 84840-35010 TOYOTA 4-RUNNER BACK DOOR OPENER SWITCH ASSY" as suggested by "mueck". I removed the trim as described in earlier posts, dismantled the old switch housing to remove the micro switch, dismantled the new 4-Runner switch housing, then reassembled my car's micro switch into the 4-Runner housing (previous posts detail these steps). Finally, I reassembled the 4-Running housing into the Prius trim panel and remounted the trim panel into the car following the steps posted previously.

A new switch cover is about $13, while a new switch assembly is $33. For me, it was worth the extra $20 to not need to de-gunk the old switch housing. Also, the process of transplanting the car's existing micro switch into the new housing meant no fighting the frozen 3x Philips screws of the smart switch nor the need to splice the wire harness.

I would recommend after removing the micro switch from the old housing, reconnecting it to the car to verify it still activates the latching mechanism, otherwise you may consider using the new micro switch via a splice, or look closer into why the mechanism is not properly activated. In my case, I had no such problem.

My thanks again to all who have posted in this thread. Time spent carefully reading the posts meant far less time actually doing the repair. I have already ordered a second 4-Runner housing for my wife's car and expect that repair to go even smoother.

Cheers!

Update 10/15/2016: The second switch arrived for my wife's car. Having done the process once, the second time was a breeze. From walking into the garage with the USPS package until everything put away, hands washed and opening my favorite beverage, took just under 1/2 hour. Again, many thanks to all who made detailed postings!

 

I'm just glad there's the rubber cover available for $20 now. Back few years ago, I had to buy the entire switch assembly just to get the rubber cover

 

Hi guys,

I own an '07 Prius and I too suffered from the melting rubber cover for the hatch switch. It's actually been that way for years but the hatch would continue to function properly despite the melted rubber. At least, in the summer... as I'm in NY once the winter hits and the temperature drops, I guess because the melted rubber just hardens into a stiff plastic-like substance I am no longer able to activate the hatch switch no matter how much force I use.

I see now that you can buy replacement rubber coverings for the switch cheap. I know it'll be some work but I'd like to reuse the Prius' original hatch switch by scraping the rubber off of it. For those that have done it, what tools/solvents have worked the best?? I have a product called "Goof Off" from Home Depot that will strip paint, epoxy and poly. Will that damage the actual plastic of the hatch switch itself if I use that to try to strip the melted rubber off of it?? Thanks for the advice.

 

Thanks Patrick. I went to work on the goo that once was the rubber hatch sensor cover with some small screw drivers carefully so as not to scratch the paint. It took about 15 minutes but I was finally able to scrape the goo off enough to detach the inner plastic part housing the key fob sensor. I cleaned that up real good with some goof off to the point where it's almost pristine again. The rest of the plastic that's still attached to the wiring I was able to scrape the melted rubber down to basically the off white of the plastic and with a little solvent tomorrow I should be able to get it all off (doesn't need to look perfect though). Good news is the hatch sensor itself works flawlessly now that it's free from its melted rubbery prison.

I ordered a replacement rubber cover from IE Works on Amazon for $18 which I'll have in two days. It's an annoying process for a defective part Toyota should've known was an issue with the rubber but for $18 and an hour or so of work it sure beats taking this to a dealer to have them charge me for the cost of a whole new hatch sensor. I should've done this year's ago but I guess better late than never.

 

Thanks for the information Patrick! My rear camera flacked out and I needed to install an oem salvage unit. I was scratching my head for awhile. Then I found your post. Sure helps to have a deep socket 10 mm with extension handy. The nut tends to fall off in the recessed area and get lost. I put a very thin super magnet in the well of the socket which retains the nut. Once again many thanks!

 

Is there a best practice for removing the melted and sticky rubber residue when replacing the hatch switch? Bug and tar remover? I see acetone listed in one of the previous posts, but just trying to see if there is an easy "Hints from Heloise" solution that others have used that I am not clever enough to think of.

 

"Goo-Gone" is pretty good! Acetone is to be avoided as much as possible (IMNSHO) as it's pretty evil¹ stuff! -

¹ - right up there with Hydrofluoric Acid!

 

HF has its own level as in liquid form it will attack the calcium in your bones, leading to potential death if an external calcium source is applied .