Loose "garnish" (the handle for the hatch back)?!

Unfortunately, you have a 9 model year old vehicle. I think you'd be hard pressed to get Toyota to cover this in any way shape or form. Especially when one considers that it is a "handle" a part that is by definition exposed to direct wear and tear. I mean, you can't use a handle, without grabbing on it and pulling on it, and even if you never did anything harsh....it's been grabbed and pulled on for 9 years.

I suppose you have nothing to lose in asking Toyota, but my expectations would be that they wouldn't cover it.

 

is this covered in patrick wongs thread on replacing the hatch handle? either way, i would certainly lodge a complaint with my dealer. after all, they want their customers to be happy, don't they? you can try toyota customer service if that doesn't work. some things just shouldn't break.is the rubber melting?

 

Really?
It's a 9 year old HANDLE. Are you really so indignant or surprised that in 9 years of operation it became loose?

 

never hurts to ask.

 

As bisco mentioned, I have posted on how to replace the hatch opening switch in this forum. It is reasonably easy to remove and replace the trim garnish.

Note that the Toyota parts catalog calls this part a garnish, not a handle. Although you apparently think the garnish can/should be used as a handle, it would be better if you avoided putting undue stress on the new part that you will install.

 

I think people are breaking the panel because they're jerking on it instead of lifting it gently. I'm on my 3rd prius and haven't had any problems with it, except the melted rubber on the '06 which I did replace.

 

same here, but none with over 120,000 miles.

 

ol' red, the 2004 had 203k when I sold it. hatch worked perfect. that was a fantastic car.

 

'04's were the best. i think they overbuilt them and then started slicing and dicing in following years.

 

I hope your wrong cause I want to run both my '05 and '06 up to 200k+

funny, first year benz's always suck. takes a few years for the krauts to work the bugs out of their junk.

 

you probably will, but the 04's do 300+.

 

I figure by 2020 there will be something even cooler than a gen 2 for me to drive.

 

Well, I am old fashioned, but if my Latch, Handle or Garnish becomes loose after 9 years of operation? I'm just going to happily replace it. I'd be pretty satisfied with nearly a decade of reliable use.
As I said, you can ask Toyota, but the situation is the situation. A part like that breaking down after 9 years is not likely to get any type good will warranty. Nor in my personal opinion should it.

 

Toyota can call the part a "garnish" but, as it is the only place where you can grab the hatch with your hand and one must be pressing the latch release button while lifting, functionally, the center of the garnish is "the handle". The two center bolts (of four that attach the garnish) that translate the force from the handle to the hatch door are supported at their bases by ~1.5 mm of plastic. This is a very poor design detail in an otherwise exceptionally designed car. In fact, the entire garnish is underbuilt, and the one on my 2004 has cracked at SEVEN stress points, likely in a cascade after the center bolts broke free and the flex of the garnish increased. The "garnish" is trivial to remove with a deep (11mm?) metric socket (much more challenging without) after accessing the back side by gently popping off the panel on the inside of the hatch. Most of the cracks I plan to repair with reinforcing fillets of epoxy to add strength. The main issue of translating force from the handhold on the garnish to the two center bolts I am still considering. I would like to get some metal into play, but I don't want to merely move problems to different plastic stress points.

 

I would think about reinforcing it with fiberglass.

 

That is what I did. In places needing extra reinforcement, I layered on fiberglass mesh tape (used to tape sheet rock joints) and then epoxied over them. We'll see how it holds up...