2005 Rear hatch rattle

iirc, some have had something come loose inside the hatch door itself.

 

My brother wedged a piece of napkin between the plastic trim and the metal. Worked like a charm.

Later on I wanted to explore the hatch innards to install a back up camera. When I reinstalled everything, I realized one of the trim fasteners wasn't attached. No more napkin needed.

 

Could be that one of the clips holding various wires and cables broke its mounting tab. There are several in there, iirc.

 

For me, the fix was to clean and lube the latch in the floor that the hatch closes into. If I rode in the back while the rattling was occurring, pressing up on the hatch would make the rattle stop. It took me forever to figure out how to fix it, and there was nothing I found on PriusChat. I was watching a video on fixing door latches on a Sprinter van (my other vehicle) when the idea hit me.

Here's what I did:

1. Pull the plastic cover off from the latch in the floor
2. Spray some WD40 to clean the latch mechanism
3. Wipe off the dirt
4. Lube with a lubricant such as oil, silicone, graphite, etc. (Traditional WD40 is not a real lubricant.)
5. Work the latch back and forth with your finger to close it, then press the hatch release button on the exterior of the hatch itself to release it. Repeat as necessary.

The rattle might come back after a few days. If so, repeat the procedure and the rattle should be fixed for a few years hopefully.