Drew62

My trunk lid decided to stop working this past weekend. Nothing would happen when i used the remote or the trunk release button inside the car.

When i opened it manually with the key, the lid opened, but the latch stuck open and the lid wouldnt stay shut.

i did alittle investigating and thought maybe my latch was bad, so i spent $100 on a new latch assembly and replaced it.

Still - the same problem heppened. So i disconnected the wire that runs to the latch assembly (which is the trunk alarm/trunk relaese wire), and the latch started working again... though only manually by key.

but now that the wire is disconnected, i get "Trunk Open" and "License Plate Light" alerts on the iDrive - obviously having to do with diconnecting the wire. But that's the only way the lid remains shut.

WTF??

Rudy

You may want to check the microswitch or the rubber membrane located above the license plate (the are where you normally press to manually open the trunk.) My thinking is that the switch is stuck in the closed position either due to a failure or due to the dislodging of the rubber membrane which might be holding the switch closed.

Without doing any testing, I'm thinking that if one of the above were true, the car would act exactly as you describe (prior to you disconnecting any wires.)

NC916

Maybe the trunk lock button is on in the glove department if we have one

Rudy

Good thinking -- except the button is located in the driver's footwell area near the hood latch release...

NC916

REally by the footwell, I only see the open trunk button hmmm time to search around tomorrow for the button.

Rudy

I think I may have misunderstood your post. I thought you meant the trunk open button, not something that controls the locking of the trunk.

In order to lock the trunk (and disable the interior switch), you need to use the metal key in the lock located on the trunk itself...

Drew62

This is actually the first REAL answer that had some thought put into it. Thanks dude.

Any idea on how you think i might be able to get into that rubber trunk handle area? Think i'd have have to slice the thing open?

NC916

You know how some cars theres a switch in the glove box that you can just flip it and it locks so you wont be able to open the trunk without a key unless you flip the switch back.

Drew62

UPDATE: i was able to pop the trunk lid handle (rubber space above the the license plate) out to inspect it, it was working fine too.

this thing is driving me up the wall. hopefully someone has a solution. it's obviously electronic.
oh, and i checked all of the fuses too.

Rudy

When you say "working fine", exactly what does that mean? Did you test the switch with a meter to see if it's opening and closing properly? What about the interior release switch? Is that functioning correctly?

It still sounds like something is shorting the circuit and making the latch release (or stay in the release position.)