Entire lift gate handle snapped off

Replaced broken hatch door "garnish" | PriusChat

Good luck with finding a replacement for a reasonable price.

 

You can buy a replacement part, called the hatch garnish (or something of that ilk) and replace it. The garnish comes pre-painted so be sure to order the correct colour.

There are plenty of threads by people who have done it themselves (search is your friend) and having the dealer do it, is an option too.

Search the "Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting" forum using the search term "replace garnish" (without the quotes).

 

I see I wasn't the only one out in Colorado's snow today. Cold weather can definitely make plastic brittle. It shouldn't be too hard to replace once you get a new one: unplug everything, pop out the stuck pieces of plastic, pull the inside panel off as you would if you were replacing the licence plate bulbs, and then pop an new one in and reassemble.

In the future remember to wait before pulling up on the trunk handle. Mine always takes a second or two to unlock once it detects the touch of my fingers, so it's easy to pull on it unnecessarily.

 

You can fix this yourself! I know because I did this very repair just 2 weeks ago. And I am all thumbs.

My rear garnish / lift gate looked exactly like yours. I had to tape it onto the back, because only the smart button wire was holding it on. I used posts from this forum and YouTube videos for how to get the cover off the inside of the back hatch.

Dealership quoted me about $500 to replace it. Part was available online in my Barcelona red color for $255. I bought a aftermarket, non Toyota part off ebay for $45. I decided that I didn't know if Icould ever get paint to match, so I left it the black paint primer color, like another diy replacer on this forum. Glass directly above it is black so it looks different but not odd. With a DEEP 10mm socket ($8 from home Depot) and an automotive pry tool from advance auto (saw it in on a YouTube video), the repair took 3 hours. And That's because I am slow and cautious (plus I had to use goo gone to remove the tape residue). I also had to carefully pry the Toyota symbol and transferred to the new piece. My car lift gate / rear garnish also has the backup camera and the smart button, which weren't hard to fit in the new piece.

2016-11-21 11.20.36 by ArnoldZiffel posted Nov 21, 2016 at 11:37 AM

I also replaced the two bulbs over the license plate, while I had the inside cover off.

Total Cost: $ 75 (Thanks to everyone who contributes to the priuschat community. I never would have tried this repair, without the information that I found here.)

 

Repair looks good Arnold! Thanks for joining Prius Chat just to post this!

 

Yup, I've seen that happen before. When I first saw someone post that on this forum, I started using the button to pop the trunk, but lift from the lower part of the hatch, down by the bumper.

 

I had the same problem with mine. Thank you for reporting your problem here, it helped me a lot.

 

Mine just exploded into two parts spectacularly. Just wow. I've had the car for a week Also gas hatch froze. My lucky day.

 

Bought an aftermarket replacement abs part from eBay. Reinforced all screw attachment posts underneath with expanded metal mesh and abs adhesive. Now it is rock solid. it would not flex even with very strong force applied.

 

I found one too, but unfortunately the shipping is as much as the part ($50), so I think I'll hold off and try fixing it. I'd love to try 3D printing a replacement, but I don't have a 3D scanner which would help

 

Need a U-tube video of how to do this. Anyone know what to type in as key words?

 

Here's a few different videos on the subject:
prius tail hatch replacement - YouTube

The part is called tailgate handle garnish. I got one of these as replacement
For Toyota Prius 04-09 Rear Tailgate Liftgate Handle Garnish Non Painted Black | eBay

 

Reinforcing the weak spots is a great idea. Can you explain a bit more how you did this? I'm about to replace the broken one with a used OEM one and don't want to have to do it again down the road!

 

here is a link to ebay with the different replacement parts. most come with a metal reinforcement piece that will never let this happen again. they also come in painted colors. i bought one of the painted colors and it matched very well considering i put it on a 11 year old vehicle.
the kit io bought came with install directions. when you do a search use the term hatchback garnish- for example : 2008 Prius white hatchback garnish.

prius hatchback garnish | eBay

 

I bought a new part from eBay. Then I covered the entire plastic screw posts on all sides all the way down to the bottom of the post and beyond with flattened (by pounding with a hammer) expanded metal mesh sheet (Everbilt 24 in. x 3/4 in. x 24 in. Plain Expanded Metal Sheet-801427 - The Home Depot). I may have pressed in some metal mesh inside the plastic post if there was access. Pressed metal mesh to closely follow the shape of the plastic post. Then I applied very generous amount of abs pipe cement (also from Home Depot) to cover and bond the expanded metal mesh to the plastic post. You probably can use epoxy instead of abs pipe cement if the replacement part is not made of abs plastic. Sorry, no photo was taken during the reinforcement process.

 

Hello! I'm starting the process of replacing the rear garnish. I have all the parts ordered but wonder if I need to order new clips? Thank you!

 

I did not have to. Everything I needed came with the kit i ordered

this is the kit i ordered

http://go.priuschat.com/?id=70536X1519087&isjs=1&jv=13.25.1-stackpath&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fpriuschat.com%2Fthreads%2Fentire-lift-gate-handle-snapped-off.173716%2F%23post-2974820&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm570.l1313%26_nkw%3Dprius%2Bhatchback%2B%2Bgarnish%26_sacat%3D0%26LH_TitleDesc%3D0%26_osacat%3D0%26_odkw%3Dprius%2Bhatchback%2Bhandle&xguid=01DVS5PCPH2GXHQZBA8ZAD7TPK&xs=1&xtz=300&xuuid=904bf0a7b3bccd68d7e0fe1829fabc0a&abp=1

if yours is similar everything is included

 

I will share a little tidbit on this one, first the reason the part crapped out is because you need new hinges on the tailgate. I swear I have the same color car, but I am colorblind sometimes but got this can and spray painted the 45 dollar ebay part. Looks magical. The link wont work, but search amazon for Harpy Motors 12oz Aerosol Automotive Paint Compatible with 2004-2009 Toyota Prius 4S2 Driftwood Pearl -Color Match Guaranteed Its a 1 part paint that works out just fine! Hardest part was removing the black glue the previous owner tried to glue it back together with. You have a can of paint almost full for future touch ups.


BOXI 2pcs Hatchback Lift Supports Fit Toyota Prius 2004-2007 Hatchback SG329019, 689600W193 here are the supports, like 20 bucks for both

 

I have a similar problem with my 2007 prius and I cant wait to try to fix this finally. This past summer was not kind to my duct tape repair job. My prius happens to be the same color as duct tape but it still looks like sh*t.

There is something draining my battery enough so that it won't start after just one day. My mechanic could not find it, but I don't think he looked very hard.

The open door light is on I presume because the latch won't lock (unless the battery dies, then it locks up real tight.)

Is there anything associated with the malfunctioning rear gate latch or anything else on the broken panel that would drain the battery?