Power lift gate concerns

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Power lift gate questions for current 6th gen Premium owners:

I have an Off-road Premium on hold to replace my 2014 5th gen. I run a 1up bike rack installed 24/7 with bikes loaded most of the time. The power lift gate creates concerns. I'm trying to figure out the best approach to prevent accidentally opening the rear door from the key fob and damaging it.

I experimented with the power lift gate settings at my local dealer with mixed results.

(1) When fully disabled, it’s insanely hard to open and close the rear door manually. How are you expected to open/close it manually when it requires so much force to override the motors? Did I miss something obvious?

(2) If I keep it enabled, it would open right into test objects and required an impact to stop. In this case, I was standing back there as if I was the bike rack. Truly surprised it doesn't take the rear parking sensor readings into account.

(3) I also tested having it only open a small amount (the setting below 1 with a little person icon next to it), but then opening and closing it manually requires too much manual torque and force.

There’s got to be a better solution. What’s everyone else doing? I'm on the verge of canceling my order if I can't figure out a practical solution for everyday use.

Maybe there's a way to disable that functionality from the key fob? Similar to how I programmed my 5th gen to open the windows from the key fob?

Thanks in advance to anyone with a 6th gen who could run some more tests or share your own experience.

 

[DocASim]

That’s an interesting thought. I also have a ORP coming and I too use a hitch mt bike rack. I didn’t think of that when I ordered it. My bike rack tilts back, but I’m not sure if the door will clear the bikes.

 

[vready]

Perhaps you could put a foam pad on the 1Up bike rack where the rear hatch would make contact so that if it does accidentally open, it won't cause any damage to either the rack or the car?

 

[Hacksaw]

You might read through the manual. There's a looong section about the liftgate. I only scanned it quickly but I think you can disable the FOB from being able to open the liftgate via some setting. If you did accidentally hit the FOB while enabled and with your rack in place, you can quickly hit the FOB button again to stop it, then again to reverse it (like an electric garage door). Or it will stop on its own when it hits the rack and it's not clear whether it would damage the liftgate since it doesn't slam open. I guess it depends on sharp edges on your bike rack relative to the door path. Or just get in the habit of putting a towel or chunk of foam on the part of the rack that the liftgate would contact if it did open (i.e. it would hit with a cushion before it stopped itself). You might also consider disabling the "foot swipe" opening feature. Anyway, just a few thoughts.

 

[Nodak]

to disable the fob opening, you need techstream or carista. this is the same issue that the tundra has with people accidentatlly dropping the tailgate in the garage via the fob onto the garage door (for those with short length garage)

but this will be a mute point for me, since we are looking forward to using the digital key

 

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Thanks for the quick replies. I read through the user manual in detail last night. On page 642, it has some options for the wireless remote control. It appears you can turn off the panic mode. For the power lift gate, it's not entirely clear if can be disabled. It shows the default setting as "off" which isn't the case, and appears to actually apply to what doors unlock WITH the power lift gate action.

Does anyone with a 6th gen have a Carista or access to techstream to see what else is possible outside of the normal settings control? Can the 6th gen put the windows down with the key fob like the 5th gen?

 

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As the dust settles, I'm also thinking that I might be able to do a power lift gate delete. Replace the struts and locking mechanism.

 

[Hacksaw]

to disable the fob opening, you need techstream or carista. this is the same issue that the tundra has with people accidentatlly dropping the tailgate in the garage via the fob onto the garage door (for those with short length garage)

but this will be a mute point for me, since we are looking forward to using the digital key

Interesting. I hadn't heard about the tundra (and I presume the power tailgate tacoma models too) issue with hitting the garage door. Do you know if it has actually damaged a garage door (that would be an expensive accident) or is it more about damaging the tailgate?
On Carista, the website doesn't yet list support for the 6th gen. Wonder what's up with that.

When you have a moment, could you explain why the digital key would make this issue go away? Can you add digital key after-the-fact or is there some factory-only module needed?

 

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Interesting. I hadn't heard about the tundra (and I presume the power tailgate tacoma models too) issue with hitting the garage door. Do you know if it has actually damaged a garage door (that would be an expensive accident) or is it more about damaging the tailgate?
On Carista, the website doesn't yet list support for the 6th gen. Wonder what's up with that.

When you have a moment, could you explain why the digital key would make this issue go away? Can you add digital key after-the-fact or is there some factory-only module needed?

I'm not exactly sure how it would apply to this scenario, but I don't plan to use it. Digital key has a subscription cost associated with it. It also appears to require data connection which many of us might not have in the wilderness. I recall reading that if the digital key isn't used within a few weeks, you'll have to set it back up again.

I sent a message to Carista to ask about 6th gen support. Will report back later.

 

[Hacksaw]

[...] On page 642, it has some options for the wireless remote control. It appears you can turn off the panic mode. For the power lift gate, it's not entirely clear if can be disabled. It shows the default setting as "off" which isn't the case, and appears to actually apply to what doors unlock WITH the power lift gate action.

I see what you mean. I wonder if that's a mistake. It seems that ON would be the natural default, given that the FOB has a dedicated button for it (i.e. the dealer would get post-delivery calls from every owners saying, hey my FOB won't open the liftgate). Also not clear why they would make this a dealer-only setting.

 

[Nodak]

Interesting. I hadn't heard about the tundra (and I presume the power tailgate tacoma models too) issue with hitting the garage door. Do you know if it has actually damaged a garage door (that would be an expensive accident) or is it more about damaging the tailgate?
On Carista, the website doesn't yet list support for the 6th gen. Wonder what's up with that.

When you have a moment, could you explain why the digital key would make this issue go away? Can you add digital key after-the-fact or is there some factory-only module needed?

usually the garage door doesnt get damage. its the tailgate on the tundra getting damaged by accidental activation and hitting the garage door at different angles. depending the angle it will either hit the paint or the tailgate top cover

here is the thread over there

https://www.tundras.com/threads/sol...ng-tailgate-from-key-fob.152998/#post-3817818

 

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That's a helpful thread, Nodak. Good options for modifying the key fob, if needed.

The manual does clearly state that techStream will be able to roll the windows down with the key fob. That's good. No clarity on customizable options for the power rear door though,.

 

[Nodak]

That's a helpful thread, Nodak. Good options for modifying the key fob, if needed.

The manual does clearly state that techStream will be able to roll the windows down with the key fob. That's good. No clarity on customizable options for the power rear door though,.

if you look in the owners manual, there is a matrix of items you can modify either by ...

(A) Settings that can be changed using the multimedia system
(B) Settings that can be changed using the multi-information display
(C) Settings that can be changed by your Toyota dealer (techstream or carista)


you can start at page 638 for customizations

 

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Yep. That's where it's a little confusing as pointed out earlier. It shows the default setting for the power back door set to OFF. Clearly that wouldn't make sense for 99% of the users who want this feature. I'll have to get with a dealer tech and confirm.

 

[Nodak]

i think they learned the lesson from the tundra as it was set to be on as default. now its set to default off so people dont do what the tundra folks did with the tailgate in the garage issue

here in the tundra manual its set to be on