The back hatch on my 96 TLC would not open. I crawled inside and removed the two screws to the back handle and removed it the the plastic piece around the lock. I pulled on the lever and opened the hatch. I then removed the entire plastic trim piece at the bottom of the hatch by pulling it off. I could see that the metal rod that goes from the back outside hatch lever had pulled out of the lock mechanism. The rod is held in place by a piece of plastic. I went to my friendly Toyota dealer and they could not find the replacement piece. They said I would have to buy the whole lock as the piece was not sold seperately. Smartily, I had brought the broken piece as an example. The friendly parts guy searched in the back and found one similar to the broken one. It is slightly different but has been working for a week, so I think it is a fix. Here is the part number 69293-12060 "Snap, DOO 155D", and only $6.58. I bet Cruiser Dan sells them for $.50.
Cheers
Cheers
