Rear hatch/cargo door interior latch handle?

I recently bought my 1st 4R, a 2017 rear wheel drive. While still getting to know this truck I discovered there is no convenient way to open the rear door from the inside. Is this true with later model year 4R's or am I just lucky?

 

I don't quite follow, it's just a normal handle in the back?

 

Maybe the child safety lock is flipped?

 

Oops! I misspoke. I was referring to the very back door at the rear of the 4R. The hatch? The overhead door? Cargo door?

 

you have to pop square lid on door panel, stick hand inside, find something to hold on and pull. Very useful if you find yourself trapped in a cargo compartment.

 

You need to perform the interior hatch release mod. I am sure there is one for the 5th Gens, but here is how i did it on my 4th Gen.
https://www.top4runners.com/ja/2007/interiorhatchrelease.html

 

None of the 5th generations have that feature. You have to build it yourself which involves jumping a wire from the rear hatch door ECU to ground through a switch. I was not able to look at the above listed link on my phone but it's probably substantially similar. If you do a search on this forum for the thread title "Ultimate camping mod", you'll bring up a vendor that sells a kit that allows you to build a release button.

 

Clean installation. As well, it's good to know the exterior release switch rubber degrades on its own. I thought it might be the yearly rustproofing since new that caused it.

 

I found a post for a mechanical release which appeals to me. Try searching this site and the "other" site for detailed "how to".
I saved a couple pics. Basically you take interior panel off tail hatch and gain access to white plastic latch mechanism. Pop off a small cover. Attach a strong thin cord inside to the metal arm to pull and trip the mechanism. Drill a hole in the little cover for the cord. I am still thinking about a clean way to terminate the pull cord-got about half the idea figured.