TOYOTA OWNERS! Power Back Door Problems and How to Prevent Them.

A Toyota Specialist explains a common issue with power back doors with the latest motor in shock design, How to replace them and how to prevent issues with them.
TCCN Automotive Inc.
Toyota and Lexus Specialist Repair
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#thecarcarenut #tccnautomotive #toyota #lexus
0:00 Intro
2:05 Shocks Removal
8:08 The Very Important part of installation
9:16 Shocks Installation
20:57 How to Prevent Issues

[@brianwhitney9181]

What I love is when he actually cleans an area not needed but that is another sign of his professionalism.

[@Pyjamarama11]

A shame many customers deliver their cars covered in filth and expect the mechanic to work in it

[@Shododaan]

Sreten does this for his cars... but they are his. This is being done for other's cars which is much more impressive. www.youtube.com/@M539Restorations

[@VictorMaxol]

I don't even do that in the shower.

[@rendezvu175]

My friend, who's a mechanic, was inspired by your story and attention to details. We've been watching your channel since 2020. He'll be opening up his own shop in a few weeks.

[@oantech4252]

AFFORDABLE SOLUTION: I have a 2014 Rav4 Limited with the power hatch.. No extended warranty... The problem started with one cylinder freezing up and stopping midway especially in the snow and ice. When its cold and dark out, you have no choice but to slam it shut and go home. Forcing it caused the right hinge to bend and then the door sat crooked and had a hard time latching.. Solution: In the glove box is a switch to put it in manual mode. Convert the back hatch to manual gas spring and throw away those electric struts. You need to order the gas spring brackets for both sides with the ball end for the base model Rav4 (w/o power hatch). You can buy the gas springs aftermarket for around $20 pair and the brackets from the dealer. The door will then open like a manual hatch with no binding.. There are a few videos out there showing the conversion and part numbers for the brackets. I love my Rav4, but Toyota really messed up on this one.. 😁

[@laura-ann.0726]

I have a 2023 Rav4 Prime. If the electric motor struts ever fail, I will convert to plain gas struts for sure, assuming the parts are available. My only question is the latch. Does it still work the same if you convert from the electric motor struts to gas struts?

[@tomdurkins]

Interesting. I’ve never had this problem in any American or German brands I’ve owned. And every car ran to a couple hundred thousand miles with no issues like this.

[@technocody9296]

Happened to Chevrolet Equinox lol

[@thomas9469]

Where in the glove box the switch never knew about it.

[@laura-ann.0726]

@@thomas9469 - I think that the glovebox switch that was referred to by @oantech4252 was only on Gen 3 Rav 4's and Highlanders (2006 to 2011 model year). My 2023 Rav4 Prime has no such switch in the glove box. However, the Gen 4 Rav4 does have a Vehicle Settings menu to enable/disable the power rear hatch completely, or enabale/disable the "Hands Free" hatch sensor, and set the maximum height that the hatch opens to. The setting to completely disable the electric hatch struts, is there to allow for carrying items that are too long to completely fit inside the vehicle, for example, a stack of 8 foot long or 10 foot long 2x4 wall studs. Under these circumstances, at least a couple of feet of the lumber is going to be hanging out the back. After you get the lumber tied down securely, you disable the electric hatch struts in the Menu Setting, then close the hatch manually and tie it down to the rear D-rings. NOTE: Pulling/pushing the rear hatch open and closed manually, with the electric motor struts disabled, is not healthy for the strut's internal drive mechanism. Doing this frequently will probably cause premature failure of the struts, and they are very expensive - $400 each from a Toyota dealer. The ability to disable the electric struts is only provided by Toyota for occasional, "emergency" use, when you have to drive the car with the rear hatch not closed and latched. Carrying over-length items like lumber would be better and safer on the roof cross-bars if you have them installed. There's no risk that another vehicle will hit them, and you don't have to disable the electric hatch struts or pull them closed manually.

[@1966spyderco]

Best channel on KZbin for Toyota owners. Dude knows his sh**. New studio and garage look great

[@bobl8687]

This happened to mine. Changed them to manual struts.

[@davidgoldberg]

How does it latch and unlatch?

[@charlesmarsh2444]

I did this also (shortly after the OEM warranty expired!). I was able to reuse the brackets by cutting the ends of the bad motors open with a hack saw.

[@bobl8687]

@@davidgoldberg Yes, latches fine.

[@davidgoldberg]

@@charlesmarsh2444 Do you push the button to unlatch and then raise the hatch manually?

[@charlesmarsh2444]

@@davidgoldberg Yes, electric latch is also used on the manual version (LE) of the hatch.

[@estuardo2985]

I love AMD's ultra professionalism! I don't know any techs that would say (paraphrasing) "let's use this opportunity to clean this area that you don't normally have access to."

[@riceburner4747]

I thought the EXACT same thing! 👍

[@ibeemeeintp3033]

When your auto repair tech has this type of ATTENTION TO DETAIL you know you have found a unicorn of a shop......

[@dwpolicelli1]

I have a 21 Rav and it doesn’t have the power liftgate. The tail gate mechanism failed and the dealership wanted 1k to fix it, and I said “no”. I went home, watched a 1 minute and 42 second KZbin video, and ordered the part for $96 dollars. I fixed it with my brother in law in under an hour and we have no mechanical experience. Dealerships are disgusting and should be avoided at all cost.

[@wilsonxu6729]

All dealer are doing same !

[@donniev8181]

Stealerships

[@IncogNito-gg6uh]

Every time I watch one of these videos of the complexity of new cars I go out to the garage and hug my Scion XB.

[@dystopia-usa]

The joys of adding tech/mechanical bloat to vehicles.

[@volvo09]

Yeah, never had an issue with a mechanical door. These electric doors are slow as molassas too.

[@theairaccumulator7144]

I didn't even know these were common nowadays. Sounds stupid when normal struts work fine.

[@volvo09]

@@theairaccumulator7144 they are even making tailgates in trucks power operated.... Both ways! Talk about bloat.

[@mikeh.8155]

​@@theairaccumulator7144well normal struts fail as well.

[@riceburner4747]

​@@mikeh.8155 but A LOT cheaper.😉

[@andycortez9316]

I love it when a toyota model that I own is featured in a video. I now know more about my car thanks to this 👍

[@98XC1]

I absolutely love this channel. Great combination of education and down to earth delivery.

[@aross924]

We just purchased a new TX350 for my wife. This channel was a huge help on helping us join the Lexus family. Thank you

[@jonathanratliff4780]

Congrats!! Great move !!

[@JustSomeOldGuy]

Me too. I ended up purchasing a completely different Lexus than I started considering, due to the in-depth videos that are shown here.

[@tomphillips2608]

Not expecting any problems, but glad I purchased extended warranty for our 2018 RX 350L. Only 49k miles . So much computer controlled stuff. So glad we found this channel years ago. Saved us with info for our 2011 Tacoma.

[@jeremyb4493]

Passed one today, didn't notice the front end (hate toyota's large fish mouth look) but the styling overall looked very clean and nice.

[@m.b8257]

The Lexus spindle grill is in my opinion the best looking, when you see it you know it’s a Lexus.

[@ericwright1075]

For me this one of most interesting videos you have made. I might be able to replace them myself if need be. Please keep the videos coming. This is why you have over a million subscribers.🇨🇦👍👍

[@mikechiodetti4482]

I'll stay with the manual rear door on my RAV4. Thank you for this video.

[@rickreynolds1640]

Thank you sir and I love how you talk about The Lord at the end

[@charley95sheridan44]

Amen, and he's coming back soon!

[@EDC1911]

Lol ​@@charley95sheridan44

[@kath121]

This is one of many times I'm super thankful for my low tech 2014 Rav4 XLE. 😉

[@NVRAMboi]

"I was base/low-tech before base/low-tech was cool." I love technology. When it actually works as promised. These electronic modules run the risk of pooping-out well before the (Toyota) vehicle is anywhere near done. I actually consider that when vehicle shopping. Cheers!

[@MrJorgvankleef]

I drive Jeeps for 30 years years now.....but just love this Toyota channel.......Ssssstttt.......😅 Greets from overseas, France 👋🏻

[@grcorollace]

Looking forward to see you this Tuesday!!!

[@jamram9924]

Lexus GS300 has this similar close motor in the trunk. A retired senior Lexus technician advised me to close it gently. The electric motor on the latch gets destroyed mostly by owners slamming the trunk lid. Owner went eBay and it worked as a repair. That was a $500.00 trunk latch.

[@jdhern9078]

Great video Brother

[@PaulWall78]

I have a '18 also. THANK YOU for this!!!

[@Papalou1234]

easy to follow very informative!

[@thechopstick1]

Another Lesson to be save for later . Thank you very much.

[@rbnhd1144]

Another first class repair and explanation of how to do it right.

[@nimaghadi494]

You’re genius! It took me a long time to the same job on my Rav. Thanks for sharing.

[@johnmehaffey9953]

Top class installation and very detailed instructions and what to look out for when doing the work

[@hphillips7425]

Nice work Explained well

[@tectoramia-sz1lu]

We've recently bought a RAV4, so this is nice to know. I think ours should be covered by the warranty, unless it comes under wear an tear.

[@toronado455]

Thanks very much for the info about not pulling it down manually.

[@border411]

Perfect timing for this video! My wife's 2018 Highland has a noise like plastic skipping on metal out of one of the shocks, but only when the temperature warms up like in the late spring/summer. Went away all winter. Really weird.....

[@RobertBeedle]

I've been here since he was at like 20-30k subs. It's only been a couple of years. He killed it.

[@seanm3ify]

Thanks to all you Toyota fanboys.

[@christophermerritt5813]

Thank you, AMD! Kinda funny I was just thinking about this on the way into work this morning when you would put out a video regarding this. Cause I have a 22 Rav4 that's starting to make noise every once in a while when shutting the door. Now I know! Thank you for all that you do sir!!! I've learned a great deal from you and how to prolong the like of my Toyota! God bless you, your family, and everyone at your shop.

[@Tmanondatube]

Very useful vid for DIYers like myself. I have a 2017 Rav4 Hybrid. May need this at some point. Thanks! (especially for the tip on getting the orientation correct the first time).

[@MrCalifornia1234]

So good. Have a highlander with the motor starting to make a noise. I’m sure I’m in for this job in the future.

[@joecook8352]

Thank you brother! I’m afraid this in my future with 2018 Rav 4 such good information

[@VroodenTheGreat]

I'm glad my Sequoia has regular shocks to open it, and a separate motor to close it.

[@woodrmp1]

That’s the old style design. They are all going to these strut style now. No big bump on the interior ceiling where those old style motors went.

[@VroodenTheGreat]

@@woodrmp1 Just another reason I'm glad I got the one I got.

[@davidbailey1689]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@wk7060]

You’re an awesome technician!

[@iansanderson]

you're spot-on with lubricating them-doesn't fix it. Tried this on a friend's '16 RX-h and it lasts a few months at most. Good info about replacing both.

[@davejohnson6104]

My Rav4 has the manual struts. I replaced them since they were getting weak. I used a ladder to support the door in the open position.

[@cedartreeworkshop]

I just took the back door of my ‘15 RAV4 apart to replace a cracked tail light. This was validating to watch as I had to remove the sensor bars and was super careful with those plastic plugs. So glad I took my time. These newer Toyotas are not designed to be manhandled.

[@wasilnawazsheikh5559]

Such a genuine person. More power to you

[@seanm3ify]

As opposed to all the robot people??

[@wasilnawazsheikh5559]

Lol :P Having looked at many of his videos, I like his work and his calm attitude :D

[@Seekq]

Great job as always. I love that you stand boldly in your faith. You are not lukewarm and its shows in your character. God blesses that faithfulness.

[@fletchb]

Thank you for explaining not to grab on the door to make it go down. On another KZbin channel, they were advertising that as a "feature" and I had just started doing that with my new Rav. But I won't anymore!

[@markpashia7067]

Makes me so happy I have the LE version without those headaches.

[@09baher]

Thank you Mr. Ahmed (and Mr. Jose), great video. Looking online for Rav4 "Tailgate Lift Motor", the OEM price is $300+ ...

[@promagnuman]

Thanks all good information

[@Noshaqreparingmethod]

A great Job 👍 👌

[@incub8]

This makes me happy I have the manual LE version.

[@NVRAMboi]

You did well.

[@ericsacco7406]

Amazing! I have a 21 highlander and will be VERY careful!!! Thanks so much!!! I opted to not get the 2600 extended warranty I hope my decision was right!

[@14lou]

Most helpful!

[@bwest-yq3uc]

I wish you had a spread sheet of your repairs and model, year, etc so they would be easier to find and compare. Thanks for all your work and time on your channel.

[@TeknoMage13]

I have a '13 RAV4 limited and I'm grateful I haven't had any issues with it.

[@austincato3560]

Is it possible to do a manual regular gas shock conversion instead of the electric ones

[@rag7537]

Me interesa

[@williamwilliam728]

I'm convinced to never get an automatic door. I am blown away by how complex these are and there are just so many things that can possibly go wrong. I prefer my favourite acronym...KISS!

[@hasbenhome]

Very good video, I have a 2019 Highlander and a 2024 RAV4 both with power hatches. Hopefully it with be a long time before I have to deal with this.

[@Cubestone]

I'll offer another story related to the door latching properly. I had an experienced hitch company (in business for decades specialized in hitches) install a "hidden" hitch on my '18 RAV 4. (Everything is out of sight except for the receiver.) When they returned the car to me I opened the hatch in their parking lot. On closing it went down, but didn't make the final latch. I tried this a couple more times with the same results. The installer thought the door might need adjustment. I related that it worked normally before the hitch went in and that it must be related to the installation. I suggested that they had a bind between the hitch and the unibody frame that was tweaking the alignment. They took the car back to the shop to investigate. About 10 minutes later the mechanic came to the waiting area and exclaimed that I was absolutely right. They relieved the stress and everything worked fine. I'm guessing that initially they tightened one side then the other instead of running all fasteners up finger tight and then torquing. The whole back end seems very sensitive to everything being aligned perfectly.

[@rickolson3114]

Just bought a 2009 Venza looks and drives great, even the back door works good. They did give me a 2018 Lexus RX 350 as a loaner for a couple of days which I did not care for. Back door didn't work and the other four doors are very small.

[@adventureor7621]

Hi there - really enjoy your channel as you make sense of things ,and appreciate your practical and pragmatic approach and knowledge sharing. I dont know if youve already covered Toyotas sunroofs? And a video on -maybe yearly clean and maintenance would be great and how to test the drains! - Thanks much

[@SupraManG]

My 2016 RDX has only 1 motor to open the back door. Everytime I see it close, the door does a bit of a twisting motion and that does bother me if the worse case scenario happens. It was educational watching your video on how all this works.

[@mikel2890]

He's right about how expensive those power lift struts are to replace. On my 2015 Rav the dealership quoted me almost $1200 to $1400 to have them replaced last year. Luckily for me I bought the extended warranty and they were covered and got replaced if not I would have just had them converted to regular lift struts.

[@redditor001]

I giggled at the delicacy of backdoors😅😅😅 Love the vid

[@erkon1106]

Thanks a lot for this video!

[@michelmichael8957]

You are very professional and patient. Where are you located ? Thank you

[@Nicetrybrobro]

Had both of mine replaced on my Lexus under warranty recently. Mine would partially close and then beep, had to force it closed. Dealer invoice was $1800, thankfully had warranty still

[@dtna]

It happened to me, too. TMC won't fix the problem because they just pass the warranty claim back to the OEM manufacturer. Instead of re-engineering the part. 😢

[@bernardaflores1720]

You are dropping bolts and I am learning something new.

[@Streety420]

Happened on my 2012 Highlander and I just removed the motor strut and put regular struts on it and do it the old-school way now

[@thechopstick1]

Thanks!

[@vegadealer]

Another great video you are the best! Have you had any run ins with the spun bearing issues happening in the tundras and lexus? Or if toyota has a good fix that doesnt re use possibly metal contaminated parts?

[@Paul71H]

I have a 2008 Toyota Sienna with a power back door. I always keep the power function switched off, partly because I prefer to open and close it manually, and partly because I figure that's one less thing to fix if it breaks. 🙂

[@akduh01]

Thank you AMD for posting this. I have a 2021 Venza Limited, I know it has same mechanism now. Something triggered my rear back door to stop mid close/open and I ended up manually finishing it with extreme resistance this is why. I will NOT do that anymore. In fact as it closes now intermittently it makes a "rubber" rubbing sound sound at the end of its closing/seal cycle. It'll last for a few to a handful of close cycles then act normal again. On my next service visit soon have oil change coming up I'll mention it to service techs for them to look again. I have extended warranty on my car too. I wish Toyota would offer an official additional(s) or 2 for RAV4s rear hatch door LED light for inside the door for additional lighting🙄

[@theshootindutchman]

My friend this is an example of cars getting TOO COMPLICATED WHERE THEY DON'T NEED TO BE! Nobody cares if this would have been a standard shock like has been used for 30 years or more now. It is just absolute foolishness with trouble waiting to happen.....

[@BigAltimaEnergy719]

I think it’s useful especially if ur hands are full from carrying groceries and u need to open and close the door, ur just an old boomer who complains about these things lol

[@gjm456]

@@BigAltimaEnergy719 Yup. Just another old retired ,traveling boomer that has more money in his pocket not slaving away for "the man".

[@g.c.brooks7214]

I got regular degular struts in my RAV4 problem solved 😅

[@epacm50]

Awesome!!!!

[@JaeyTarg]

Quality job. I wont mind paying for this kind of service.

[@josephfraley4432]

This is the problem with Automatic doors. One thing i dislike about my rav 4. What is wrong with manual operated doors. This is a big, complicated job. Thanks for the video.

[@ddk80]

I’m glad I still have a 3rd gen RAV4 with the swinging rear door and no motor.

[@gregw5195]

Thanks Amd for another great video. Is there a way to replace the shocks with motor to a regular one? I really dislike the fact that you cannot occasionally put longer items in the trunk. Please advise. Thx a lot

[@douglastaylor43]

That just makes the base model without the motors more attractive.

[@francishagen8508]

Thanks😊

[@johnbjorkman4144]

Thankfully our 2014 Sequoia has a separate motor. Just shy of 250k miles right now, and about 50k miles ago I had to replace the rear hatch shocks. Easy job, used a 2x4 to hold up the hatch while I swapped out the shocks. Why on earth did they replace a simple system with this weird complexity? Sure, there may be alignment problems over time (though we never saw that in our Sequoia), but I'm sure there must be a better engineering solution using the old system.

[@SomkiatTachakesmanee]

Thank you for expert automotive education. Question: can a RAV4 power rear door be converted to a manual door by removing the motor & circuitry, & cap off all the wires etc.?

[@dbrandon4528]

I had a 2017 RAV 4 with the same problem. I ordered all of the parts from a base model and deleted the entire powered gate operation and turned off the gate on the dash. the dealer wanted over $1000 to repair. I replaced the motorized struts with standard struts and disconnected the sensors for under $100.

[@tomdurkins]

Huh, I’ve never had this problem in any American or German cars I’ve owned. All went well over 200k without issues like this.

[@dbrandon4528]

@@tomdurkinsyou want a pat on the back? No car is perfect bud.

[@tomdurkins]

@@dbrandon4528 Exactly Dark Brandon. That’s my point.

[@scottgorman7166]

Excellent video! Is this a similar process for the Lexus 2020 RX350? Can you possibly do a video on the rear foot sensor which works 5% of the time and how to fix.

[@David-Dumont]

GJ! Pls consider reviewing the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Also the Nissan Sentra And finally, a Chinese car if u possibly get the chance :) Appreciated!

[@poorsap1598]

One thing I noticed vs my 06 highlander is they actually put some sound deadening material on the metal and the plastic cover on this rav4. Mine had none, but I remedied that. With the doors, trunk bottom, part of the dash, and under the hood sound deadening my highlander is reasonably quiet now, about equal to the my stock 08 rx350(its had the same treatment and is much quieter now too).

[@krispodolan6126]

Best channel on KZbin

[@davidlampe4153]

I had a Scion XB with manual struts on the door the only downside was the door was prone to sticking on the weatherstripping and the only button was placed on the license plate light bracket which if pushed hard would snap off a really stupid design. I did find a strap that could be added to the bottom of the door to aid in opening the door really needs a handle or a strap to pull the door open.

[@Tom-ej8bb]

I didn’t want the convenience pkg that this and the moonroof come with. The dealer gave that and other things for no charge. If mine ever goes I was wondering if it can be changed to just have the manual door without the motors ??? Very good info and explanation. I have a 24 RAV4 and I plan on coming from Michigan to have you do my transmission fluid and coolant when due. Thanks!🙏

[@pauljackson8247]

I think I would’ve put a little bit of silicon sealant around those bolts on the car body, here in 🇬🇧 rainy country a lot of Toyota and Lexus can leak water through the threads like the roof rails, RH400h and RX450h are the common culprits the 400’s top panel seam sealant behind the hinges cracks 🤨 great tutorial for DIYers. Regards Paul Toyotatech

[@axentic]

Hi AMD, great video! I am curious, can these powered shocks be replaced with the regular "manual" ones? Thanks!

[@davidcayll]

Hi TCCN I really like watching your informative videos even though I do not own a Toyota. Turns out Toyota is just like most of the other manufacturers making things more complex and expensive. You keep mentioning how expensive this lift system is, but you should have given specific $$$ for this repair like you do many times before. Glad to know my BMW is not the only expensive car to own.

[@BigD481]

I believe other users said around $1500. Which is what I paid for for my Mercedes for routine preventive maintenance. My friend who owned a BMW said it was better than what he pays for his. So was apprehensive about what I would pay when something actually went wrong. I didn’t want to find out so I traded mine before warranty expired and he did his i know own a Lexus he an Acura. It’s been 10 years and I have hardly spent any money other than maintenance. So my friend BMW still wins the $$ wars.

[@bradhaines3142]

this is an expensive feature, unfortunately a fact of life that extra features have extra cost. the key to a toyota is having to fix things less, not fixing things cheaper.

[@terrystarr3012]

Brilliant.regards

[@BX_Staff-Home]

I want this guy to be my mechanic!!

[@eriks1169]

My 2004 sienna has a pull belt to close until it catches and the never had anything go bad for 20 years (bought the van brand new). No buttons. Maybe on one of your episodes, try changing halogen headlight bulb to LED. I trust your videos to show us the correct way to replace it. I have a 2004 Sienna and am thinking of replacing my halogen buls to LED

[@walter.bellini]

AMD good video thank you I have ‘09 Highlander that I love and have the rear hatch door running with original gas shocks and a separate motor, I am considering to replace the struts sooner to help prevent motor strain? As I notice that the hatch sometimes doesn’t go 100% all the way up and a little push of my hand is needed. I am reading this as the struts are loosing power and weighing more on the motor. And does buying OEM rear hatch struct make a difference or can you get the same aftermarket, to save a few dollars. Thank you let me know what you think

[@jeffreyknaub9935]

I did this job myself a month ago. I wish this video had been up then. The job would have been so much easier.

[@franklinsteen4721]

Glad we got the 2024 CCHybrid SE without the power hatch. Fast and light.

[@MateenK]

It would help if you could post the year, make and model.

[@farhadgharagheizi492]

Nissan Armada review please!