Liftgate Rust/Paint Question (2 Viewers)

[Mingus Dew]

My quest to find every spec of rust on this vehicle continues.

Two questions for the brain trust.

1) I found two pretty bad rust spots (bubbling) on what looks to be a piece of metal trim that holds the rubber lift gate gasket in place. One on the driver’s side and one on the passenger side.

It seems like this metal trim just bolts on. Would you all recommend just replacing it? If so, any idea what the part # would be?

2) Any clue why the paint on the top portion of the tailgate is so worn down? Something is clearly contacting it as it feels rough to the touch on both sides.

 

[Mingus Dew]

As a follow-up, looks like the part numbers for the metal trim and gasket are as follows:

84270-60140 (right)
84280-60090 (left)

Of course these are sensor housings or something so they are expensive as hell. Looks like $800 for both sides with the 20% off sale that Toyota is currently running.

I'm assuming this would be a pretty straightforward replacement or is there calibration that needs to be done?

 

[AZLX570]

I've taken these sensors off before to do some cleanup/check for rust. They just unclip and no calibration seemed to be needed. And yes, they're expensive unfortunately. Since they aren't part of the structure themselves, I would recommend just cleaning them up/keeping them around and focus all your effort/money on the tailgate itself if needed.

 

[Mingus Dew]

I've taken these sensors off before to do some cleanup/check for rust. They just unclip and no calibration seemed to be needed. And yes, they're expensive unfortunately. Since they aren't part of the structure themselves, I would recommend just cleaning them up/keeping them around and focus all your effort/money on the tailgate itself if needed.

Fingers crossed there is nothing going on underneath the sensor. There’s no visual evidence that anything is rusting besides the metal bracket, but it’s curious why those are corroding in the first place.

Worst case the lift gate is rusting and I will need to get a body shop involved. Not a visible, exterior part of the car so not the end of the world.

 

[doru]

They are automated tailgate safety sensors.
I'm not sure the power tailgate will function w/o them.
I just cleaned up the rust and repaint after removal.
Chances are that what you see is rust wash from the sensors and the tailgate itself is good.
Why they rust? Because the paint is not great to begin with and tailgate is a place where the water and whatever else is in it in the winter tends to stay and not wash away by the air or water flow.

 

[Mingus Dew]

They are automated tailgate safety sensors.
I'm not sure the power tailgate will function w/o them.
I just cleaned up the rust and repaint after removal.
Chances are that what you see is rust wash from the sensors and the tailgate itself is good.
Why they rust? Because the paint is not great to begin with and tailgate is a place where the water and whatever else is in it in the winter tends to stay and not wash away by the air or water flow.

Thanks man. This is helpful.

The replacement sensors seem to be backordered/unavailable nation wide, so I am going to order from PartSouq (seems reputable based on numerous testimonials on here) and then try my hand at refurbing the old ones. I'll keep them around just in case - I'm sure the new ones will be trash in a few years too.

 

[Mingus Dew]

New sensors arrived from Dubai today. Everything looks to be in order - will have them installed this weekend hopefully.

Am I crazy to want to have an additional coat of Rustoleum sprayed over the new sensors? They look good now but that Toyota paint just seems so lousy. Maybe not worth the hassle.

As for the old sensors, I will probably try to clean up the rust at some point in the next few months. Given the cost of replacement sensors and their relative unavailability I’m also happy to send them to a forum owner in need (i.e., their sensors are actually busted and the auto lift gate is not working) for cost of shipping. The old sensors are perfectly functional but for the cosmetic issues.

 

[Mingus Dew]

My mechanic and I were working on installing the new sensors this morning. Very easy swap.

Then we go to close the power liftgate. Double beep. Won’t stay closed.

We troubleshot for like an hour. Disconnected the battery, tried to reset the liftgate system, looked for debris, you name it.

Gave up and put the old parts back on. Worked immediately.

So yeah. Really disappointing first experience with PartSouq. And a lesson for me that a small cosmetic issue like this is not worth messing with (liftgate itself is fine - no rust).

Now I will see how much of my money I can get back…

 

[gaijin]

My mechanic and I were working on installing the new sensors this morning. Very easy swap.

Then we go to close the power liftgate. Double beep. Won’t stay closed.

We troubleshot for like an hour. Disconnected the battery, tried to reset the liftgate system, looked for debris, you name it.

Gave up and put the old parts back on. Worked immediately.

So yeah. Really disappointing first experience with PartSouq. And a lesson for me that a small cosmetic issue like this is not worth messing with (liftgate itself is fine - no rust).

Now I will see how much of my money I can get back…

Have you checked in the service manual to see if there is an initialization procedure for those sensors? It may not be a parts problem at all.

HTH

 

[Mingus Dew]

Have you checked in the service manual to see if there is an initialization procedure for those sensors? It may not be a parts problem at all.

HTH

Yes. And did lots of online searching. Best I can tell Toyota recommends closing the liftgate by hand following unplugging and replugging the sensors. Did that and no dice.

And again, the old sensors immediately worked even though they had been unplugged. Nothing required to initialize them (which is consistent with that others on this forum have experienced when replacing the sensors).

 

[Mingus Dew]

Alright, I caved and went to the local dealer to see if there was some magical initialization process that I was missing.

Turns out the driver's side pinch sensor assembly was bent, probably during shipping. This caused the pinch sensor to push up against the interior trim of the trunk which is why it wouldn't close.

It's still bent but the tech managed to straighten it enough to get the power liftgate to function consistently.

Definitely lots of fun scratches on the liftgate from this install. Have done my best with the touch up pen but now I'm worried that my quest to remove some slightly rusted standalone parts will put the entire liftgate at risk...

PartSouq was responsive, although not the most helpful. The parts were genuine but damaged. I'm going to let them know that today but I'm not sure there is much to be done.

Moral of the story: Some small things are best left alone, lest you unintentionally cause more problems.

 

[AZLX570]

Is the rust only on those sensors or is it actually on some parts of the tailgate itself?

If the tailgate, I'd recommend just sanding/masking off/spraying down some rust reformer on the inside of the tailgate. No one sees that area and since it's black you can easily get a can to match it, probably even with some gloss. That's a quick way to neutralize anything and then sure if you want to go the professional route down the road you can do that.

But yeah, leave it alone and be done with it if not.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Is the rust only on those sensors or is it actually on some parts of the tailgate itself?

If the tailgate, I'd recommend just sanding/masking off/spraying down some rust reformer on the inside of the tailgate. No one sees that area and since it's black you can easily get a can to match it, probably even with some gloss. That's a quick way to neutralize anything and then sure if you want to go the professional route down the road you can do that.

But yeah, leave it alone and be done with it if not.

No rust on tailgate, only on the sensor assemblies.

The new ones are on now and everything is working despite the slight bend. You just need to get to a point where there is no external pressure on the internal sensor that runs through the rubber strip on the edge.

Tailgate is otherwise fine. Any areas that were scraped down to bare metal during the install or otherwise have been touched up with some base coat.

Case closed for now.