Trunk Will Not Open

[Kim]

MY 2000, 996 Cab.

I've got a problem with my trunk that is not the usual "battery is dead" issue that I've seen here before.

After the car sat in the lot for 3 days, the doors unlocked normally with the key remote, but the trunk did not open when I pulled the lever by the driver's seat.

No problem .... thanks to this forum, I had run the emergency release up behind the bumper where I could access it through the plug for the tow hook. I quickly pulled out the cable and gave it a yank. Nothing happened. As with the normal lever, I can feel some mechanical action taking place, but the trunk does not release. It is not a matter of just not popping up .... as I have gone to some risk to my paint to pry it up while holding tension on the release cable .... still no luck.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Kim

[Loren]

Does it move at all?

[Kim]

Does it move at all?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Loren,

I have watched carefully at the nose while my wife lifts the normal lever .... and while I pull on the emergency cable. I can detect no movement of the trunk lid itself.

Kim

[Loren]

Well, you might try pressing down on the front bumper cover it will give a small amount. Perhaps then if the latch is releasing you could slide a thin piece of plastic under the red lever and move it to release the secondary latch.

Did someone slap the trunk perhaps damaging the latch or moving it down in it's adjustment?

[Kim]

Well, you might try pressing down on the front bumper cover it will give a small amount. Perhaps then if the latch is releasing you could slide a thin piece of plastic under the red lever and move it to release the secondary latch.

Did someone slap the trunk perhaps damaging the latch or moving it down in it's adjustment?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As it stands, I can already reach & move the secondary latch release with a thin tool. I have tried releasing that while someone holds tension on the normal release. It does not help.

No one comes in contact with the car except me. When this occured, it had been in a guarded employee parking lot, under the car cover, for the past 3 days. Upon parking, I had closed the trunk normally.

Kim

[GaryFB]

Do you want to open the front trunk because the battery is dead?

I have had this problem numerous times, the front trunk will not open when the battery is dead. I connect a full size battery to the cigarette lighter socket, then close all the doors, lock the car with the remote, wait one minute, unlock the car, then pull the front hood latch. Tell us how it works out.

[Kim]

Do you want to open the front trunk because the battery is dead?

I have had this problem numerous times, the front trunk will not open when the battery is dead.  I connect a full size battery to the cigarette lighter socket, then close all the doors, lock the car with the remote, wait one minute, unlock the car, then pull the front hood latch. Tell us how it works out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is not the "battery is dead" issue. The car is running perfectly normally, remote locking system working, car starting .... and neither normal nor emergency release operating the trunk latch.

Has me stumped.

Kim

[Loren]

When you pull on the emergency cable can you feel it put the latch back?

I don't understand how the primary release and the emergency release would both fail - unless it were jammed. Have you tried (gently) pushing down while you work the release(s)?

I seem to remember Tool Pants or a tech tell about an emergency cable that would not work and they had to fish in there with a snake like grabber to pull the latch - as I recall they said it took hours.

[Kim]

When you pull on the emergency cable can you feel it put the latch back?

I don't understand how the primary release and the emergency release would both fail - unless it were jammed. Have you tried (gently) pushing down while you work the release(s)?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I could feel some mechanical motion in the latch when pulling either release .... just, seemingly, not enough.

NOW, its open: .... following your advice ... I pushed down (further closed) on the hood while holding a strain on the emergency release. I could detect some different motion, so I then pried upward on the hood with the plastic handle of a kitchen tool, wrapped in heavy cardboard (hoping not to ruin paint).

The hood then raised a half inch, allowing me to use my hands to pull it to the normal, secondary latch height, and I released that red handle normally. There was still obvious mechanical binding of some sort when I pulled the hood totally out of the latch. I am now following instructions found here on RennTech on examining and repairing the latch. I have not yet found an obvious problem .... but I certainly hope to, so that I can know I fixed something.

I'll follow up with any helpful info. Thanks for your help, Loren.

Kim

[Kim]

MY 2000, 996 Cab.

OK. Last post, I promise.

Thanks to the terrific instructions and pictures posted by Viper501, I disassembled the latch, found the exact problem he described, and repaired / reinstalled my trunk latch. The bonus is that it is now, thanks to lube and proper height adjustment, very easy to close and open .... as compared to the former, pre-break, status, when I had to push down very forcefully to latch it.

Viper501's instructions would make a great addition to the DIY section, Loren. It certainly appears to be a fairly common problem for MY through 2000.

For you 1999 & 2000 owners who have seen the hints regarding checking fuses and inputting 12 vdc power to the car in order to open your stuck trunk .... that's not for you. The only electrical element in the 99/00 trunk latch is the open/shut sensor for the alarm system. All else is mechanical. If you haven't read how to locate your front emergency release, and reroute it to behind the front bumper, I highly recommend that one, also.

Kim

2000 Cab

[chuckbenz]

THANK YOU for this thread! I had gotten ahold of the emergency cable, but had no luck pulling on it. But wrapping a spatula handle in a towel, I was able to pry the hood up far enough to reach the secondary latch (red handle) and open the hood. It didn't take much force, just a bit more than I was able to apply with my fingertips in the crack.

[brimwin]

Ditto - I used two wooden 5 gal type paint stirrers. :renntech: