Wonder if anyone has any experience with the bolts that hold the receiver in
> place, on to which the truch latch engages. Both bolts are loose on my '02
> Camry, and neither will not tighten with a wrench. The loose bolts allows
> the receiver to move, sometimes not aligning with the trunk latch, resulting
> in the latch not engaging. Bolts can be viewed at:
>
formatting link
> Access to the back of the bolts is almost impossible. The back access is
> blocked by sheetmetal. There is an opening several inches from the bolts
> that might permit insertion of a special tool. I've been to the Toyota
> dealer twice (120 mi.s round trip) without success. A third trip is
> scheduled to discuss with one of the wizards who has been on vacation. The
> dealer has two Toyota wizards, plus support staff who are baffled why they
> can't tighten the bolts.
>
> Does anyone have any experience to actually know what locks these bolts? Is
> it a lock nut (what kind), lock washer, threaded sheetmetal, or what ever? >
> Secondly, is a special tool needed to hold whatever might behind the bolts?
>
> I note that older Camry's seem to have a similar detail.
>
> I'm counting on the wisdom of this NG to offer a better solution than what
> the dealer has offered.
>
> Thanks in advance, and Cheers!
> Jim
>
>
I'm going to hazard a guess that it does not require a special tool as this would slow down the assembly process at manufacture. They are probably welded on nuts that broke loose or are stripped from too much torque, probably the latter. If you can access them easily or with only moderate effort you could try prying out on the latch while turning the bolts to loosen them enough to look at threads. You should be able to tell by looking at the threads if they are stripped or if distorted then the nuts are probably stripped. If still under warrantee I would make dealer do the repairs.
-- Hope This Helps, davidj92