I had the same problem with my 1999 Sienna. I took it to a dealer in Texas to do the work. It cost me $80 for labor and $85 for the part.
When the service manager brought the van back quickly he said that they always keep the parts in stock because they are made of plastic and break all of the time.
You might try just buying the part, "rear hatchback latch" and I have had good luck going to the parts section at a Toyota Dealer and they have printed out the schematic on other do-it-myself repairs that I have done.
Also, I have gone to "junk" yards in the past and looked at my same make and model to see how it works. Take some tools with you and try to remove the old one, it might still be operational.
Hope this information is useful.
Sincerely,
Leonard McCarthy
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Monday, June 9th, 2008 AT 4:52 PM