I closed my rear hatch in the middle of laying sound dampening material in the back area. I had removed the battery to get the area well insulated and it was still out when time ran out for the day. I go to open the back and find it is affected by the lack of power to the vehicle. Now my trunk is locked and can't get it open. Is there a way to open the back that I am not aware of? Help from anyone please.
You could connect up another 12V source to the jump-start points in the engine compartment, that should provide power for the regular/electric trunk release (but I would be careful in case the leads you disconnected from the battery were both touching metal, which could cause a short).
Dead center, of the lower sill of the hatch. The diagram for Step 1 is the view looking straight back from the inside of the cargo area. The lever in Step 2 is small, so you'll have to feel around for it.
Toyota.com has the owner's manual chapters in PDF. It's so much easier than flipping thru the paper version. https://auth2.toyota.com/owners/apps/manuals.do?siteid=too_toyota_manuals The access hatch you need to find is not on the rear hatch itself, but on the sill of the cargo area, below the removable floor. Maybe below the removable cargo tray, not sure.
This is another illustration of why there should be a visibly obvious and easily reachable manual hatch release from within.
