Interior glass release (1 Viewer)

[ducktapeguy]

My new favorite mod, an interior button. I was originally planning on adding an interior release for the rear cargo door, but while I had everything taken apart I figured I could add a release for the glass. So with a spare button I had laying around and some wiring it's done. I placed it inside the door pull to prevent anything from accidentally hitting it while driving. Got to try it out this weekend and it worked great. I like it so much that I don't think I'm putting in a handle release anymore, it's easy enough to reach out and open it from the exterior

Sitting in the back of the GX while warming up some hot soup. Being able to open the glass from the inside is a game changer. I probably use the button a hundred times this weekend. Also, the fridge enclosure makes a great table for eating.

I also added a rear fold down table at the same time. Originally I wanted the front runner table, but didn't like the way it covered the two panel openings. I ordered this fold down table from Amazon, but the quality, weight, and size were not what I wanted. It was just way too thick and was interfering with my drawer and fridge slides and had some other quality issues. In the end I cut a scrap piece of plywood and screwed it directly to the back and used some paracord to hold it in place. A bit of a hack, but until I find something better this is what I'll be using.

 

[Acrad]

Assume you tied into the external window switch wiring since it is a simple 2 wire circuit?

 

[Tex68w]

My new favorite mod, an interior button. I was originally planning on adding an interior release for the rear cargo door, but while I had everything taken apart I figured I could add a release for the glass. So with a spare button I had laying around and some wiring it's done. I placed it inside the door pull to prevent anything from accidentally hitting it while driving. Got to try it out this weekend and it worked great. I like it so much that I don't think I'm putting in a handle release anymore, it's easy enough to reach out and open it from the exterior

View attachment 2491211

Sitting in the back of the GX while warming up some hot soup. Being able to open the glass from the inside is a game changer. I probably use the button a hundred times this weekend. Also, the fridge enclosure makes a great table for eating.
View attachment 2491214


I also added a rear fold down table at the same time. Originally I wanted the front runner table, but didn't like the way it covered the two panel openings. I ordered this fold down table from Amazon, but the quality, weight, and size were not what I wanted. It was just way too thick and was interfering with my drawer and fridge slides and had some other quality issues. In the end I cut a scrap piece of plywood and screwed it directly to the back and used some paracord to hold it in place. A bit of a hack, but until I find something better this is what I'll be using.




View attachment 2491212

Please let us know where you tapped into the wiring. I did a hatch release button on my last 5th Gen 4Runner and I used it a lot, I'd like to do something similar with the GX since we sleep inside.

 

[Gx460sd]

Did you take a picture of the internal wiring for the switch? This is a mod on my list of things to do

 

[r2m]

That is a great tip. The only time I've ever needed it, which wasn't a big deal sine I just climbed in and out the side rear door. I was doing some Army exercises and had to bivouac. I didn't have my RTT on at the time and had to sleep inside in the back. Aside from barely fitting at 6'-0" with both middle and rear seats down, it would have been nice to exit the rear or crack the rear window for some ventilation. But that is not very often that has ever happened.
I can see it being very handy.

 

[Acrad]

X3 is where the popup window switch plugs into

 

[Acrad]

I wonder if it is this one here?

 

[RussianGx]

I wonder if it is this one here?

View attachment 2491734

seems about right. I will use my tester tomorrow to check as well

 

[ducktapeguy]

I wonder if it is this one here?

View attachment 2491734

Yup, that is the wiring harness that leads to the switch, all you need to do it tap into those wires and connect another switch in parallel. My original plan was to connect to the factory switch, but during installation I changed my mind and tapped into the main harness side of the connector (as opposed to the switch side) and put a 6 pin connector. The reason being I may add some other items in the future and would probably need to tap off the main harness wires for those items. A connector is necessary because you'll need to be able to disconnect it when you remove the interior panel.

 

[ducktapeguy]

That is a great tip. The only time I've ever needed it, which wasn't a big deal sine I just climbed in and out the side rear door. I was doing some Army exercises and had to bivouac. I didn't have my RTT on at the time and had to sleep inside in the back. Aside from barely fitting at 6'-0" with both middle and rear seats down, it would have been nice to exit the rear or crack the rear window for some ventilation. But that is not very often that has ever happened.
I can see it being very handy.

I've camped inside before doing the mod, and did the same thing exiting through the side door. This just adds a lot of convenience if you do happen to spend a lot of time in the back of the car like I did this weekend. Snow was blowing so hard it was difficult to cook because everything was getting wet and the burner on my stove was getting clogged from the melting snow.

It was also nice to be able to leave my daughter in the back with the rear window cracked open, much easier to adjust the ventilation than turning on the car and rolling the windows up and down.

 

[Acrad]

Another window ventilation option. I picked one up too but another member on CL bought one and it works fine on 460.

Rear Glass Stabilizer – Rad Rubber Design – FJ Fender Flaps, Toyota Engine Splash Guards

 

[Tex68w]

That looks like a nice idea but down here in Texas I would be letting in hundreds of blood sucking mosquitos and lord knows what else. I do like how they used the cargo net on the door to carry dirty clothes, I might have to try something similar.

 

[gbell210]

Excellent! A few questions to confirm though:
- If you lock the rig, will that button still work if you have the keys INSIDE the vehicle? ( or do you have to unlock it first?)

- If locked, and keys are not near vehicle, I assume the button will not function?
I’ve had something like this on my list of things to get to, after I locked myself in the back while cleaning windows , and I could not crawl over with dog barrier in place. The wife liked the call I made to her to let me out

 

[r2m]

I'd probably need a dual position, one that can be used as a small opening, just before touching the spare tire and then the other position would be past the the spare tire.
This would be because with the rear door and tire swing out closed, I can only open the rear window a wee bit, unless I swing out the spare then I can open it more/all the way but have to leave it open if I close the swing out.

 

[r2m]

I've camped inside before doing the mod, and did the same thing exiting through the side door. This just adds a lot of convenience if you do happen to spend a lot of time in the back of the car like I did this weekend. Snow was blowing so hard it was difficult to cook because everything was getting wet and the burner on my stove was getting clogged from the melting snow.

View attachment 2491987

It was also nice to be able to leave my daughter in the back with the rear window cracked open, much easier to adjust the ventilation than turning on the car and rolling the windows up and down.

View attachment 2491990

That's a pretty crazy awesome trip for you and your family had! Definitely some great memories to be had there!
"Yea, remember the time Dad almost killed us in that blizzard of 2020? He locked us in the back of his ol' GX with just a window cracked! Boy that was a cool trip"

 

[Acrad]

This is smallest version example from that thread I linked to.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Excellent! A few questions to confirm though:
- If you lock the rig, will that button still work if you have the keys INSIDE the vehicle? ( or do you have to unlock it first?)

- If locked, and keys are not near vehicle, I assume the button will not function?
I’ve had something like this on my list of things to get to, after I locked myself in the back while cleaning windows , and I could not crawl over with dog barrier in place. The wife liked the call I made to her to let me out

The button has the same functionality as the exterior button, so if the car is locked, the button will not work. It also will not work if the door is open, you need to depress the door switch to fool it into thinking it's closed for the window release to work. Not sure what happens if the key is INSIDE the vehicle, I don't think I ever tested it. I'm guessing you could tap into the door harness for the lock/unlock buttons and add an additional set of buttons inside for unlocking, I had never really considered the possibility of an adult locking himself in a car before

I was also thinking about using a suction cup dent puller on the inside of the glass for a handle, but grabbing the latch mechanism worked just as well too. I'm still undecided whether I'm going to add an interior door release handle, for now I'm pretty happy with just being able to open the window. It's pretty easy to reach outside and open the door with the exterior handle so the interior release doesn't seem that important to me anymore.

 

[r2m]

Keep in mind that if you ever add a rear tire swing-out, this whole interior window opening topic may be a moot point, depending upon which swing-out rear bumper you choose.
With my swing-out closed, I can only open my rear window a few inches and even if I could reach out my hand out to the door handle, I'd have to open the swing-out first, which is absolutely impossible from inside.
Ideally I'd really like a swing-out rear bumper that had a much lower tire carrier for several reasons, one is being able to add the mod we've all been talking about here and second, to get back more of my rear window visibility. Also on a more engineering point, lowering that heavy tire would reduce some of the stress on the arm and hinge.
Or I can go with a 28" spare tire!

 

[ducktapeguy]

That is one of the reasons I hesitate to get a tire carrier on the bumper, it blocks too much visibility and interferes with day to day activities. But if I ever decide to get a rear tire carrier, most likely when I'm at camp the swing out will remain in the open position for the entire time I'm camping. That's how it is when I use my FJ40 with ambulance doors, I typically never shut the tire carrier because I know I'll be in an out of the rear door often so it stays open until I'm ready to leave. What I want to do is get a tire carrier that is attached to the bumper, but with the swingout linked to the door. I want the weight bumper to take the weight, but I want the carrier itself to swing with the door without having to go through the extra step of unlocking it.

 

[Tex68w]

I like the connected swing out as well. I think the Expo1 does this but I have been burned by them in the past so I am hesitant.