Avalon trunklid latch: I WAS WRONG

I sounded a false alarm regarding an inabiliy to unlatch the trunklid
when the electric system fails.

THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA THE
PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE PASS-THROUGH'S
KEYED LOCK.

I finally talked a salesman into letting me sit in a corner and read
the owner's manual. (Thank you for the prompting, Merritt.) Right there
on page 45 was the text and illustration of the factory-installed
mechanical alternative.

I apologise for the misinformation. I'd done some of my homework but
not enough. OTOH, it's still true that no one at the dealership knew
the truth until I briefed them this evening.

To all who doubted me: keep up the good work.

Now, about that note I sent to Consumer Reports.... :-(

Brent
"Look out how you use proud words.
When you let proud words go,
it is not easy to call them back."
-- Carl Sandburg, "Primer Lesson"

Sounds like what you are saying is if you loose the key you can't
open the trunk OR the fold down rear seat to open the trunk lid,
correct? ;)

mike hunt



Brent wrote:[color=blue]
>[/color]
[color=blue]
> THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
> TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA
> THE PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE
> PASS-THROUGH'S KEYED LOCK.[/color]

In article <200720052123251164%bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk>,
Brent <bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
[color=blue]
> I sounded a false alarm regarding an inabiliy to unlatch the trunklid
> when the electric system fails.
>
> THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
> TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA THE
> PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE PASS-THROUGH'S
> KEYED LOCK.[/color]

Thanks for doing the research and getting at the real facts. You would
think any salesman would have been able to point that out, but I find they
usually know less than I do, and I am just an average consumer, not an
auatomobile mechanic.

Merritt

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 02:17:56 +0000, Merritt Mullen wrote:
[color=blue]
> In article <200720052123251164%bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk>,
> Brent <bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>[color=green]
>> I sounded a false alarm regarding an inabiliy to unlatch the trunklid
>> when the electric system fails.
>>
>> THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
>> TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA THE
>> PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE PASS-THROUGH'S KEYED
>> LOCK.[/color]
>
> Thanks for doing the research and getting at the real facts. You would
> think any salesman would have been able to point that out, but I find they
> usually know less than I do, and I am just an average consumer, not an
> auatomobile mechanic.
>
> Merritt[/color]


Most of the salesmen where I work don't know a Toyota from a Fender
guitar. They are salesmen. They would sell a product, any product, just to
make a living.

In article <42DF03FD.BFF37BE9@mailcity.com>, <BigJohnson@mailcity.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
> Sounds like what you are saying is if you loose the key you can't
> open the trunk OR the fold down rear seat to open the trunk lid,
> correct? ;)[/color]

Yes, Mike. Of course, that's a smaller problem with the Limited. You
can keep the key under a floormat and do everything with pushbuttons.
<Hehe>

Brent

In article <pan.2005.07.21.03.07.12.989442@Trueno.GTS>,
hachiroku <ae86@Trueno.GTS> wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 02:17:56 +0000, Merritt Mullen wrote:
>[color=green]
> > In article <200720052123251164%bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk>,
> > Brent <bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> >> I sounded a false alarm regarding an inabiliy to unlatch the trunklid
> >> when the electric system fails.
> >>
> >> THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
> >> TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA THE
> >> PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE PASS-THROUGH'S KEYED
> >> LOCK.[/color]
> >
> > Thanks for doing the research and getting at the real facts. You would
> > think any salesman would have been able to point that out, but I find they
> > usually know less than I do, and I am just an average consumer, not an
> > auatomobile mechanic.
> >
> > Merritt[/color]
>
>
> Most of the salesmen where I work don't know a Toyota from a Fender
> guitar. They are salesmen. They would sell a product, any product, just to
> make a living.[/color]

When I recently went in to see the salesman who sold me my last Toyota, he
was busy at the computer. He said he was taking a Toyota test that
qualified him to sell the latest cars. I wonder what they teach them?
Probably about the added cost options.

Merritt

In article <42DF03FD.BFF37BE9@mailcity.com>, [email]BigJohnson@mailcity.com[/email]
wrote:
[color=blue]
> Sounds like what you are saying is if you loose the key you can't
> open the trunk OR the fold down rear seat to open the trunk lid,
> correct? ;)[/color]

Just like in any locked car, right?

Merritt

I still say you will, based on our less than two weeks with the
Limited, love it!

Even if you must reach thru the pass thru to open the trunk if the
battery dies. (that's a lot of if's)

Ron

In article <FbODe.5356$_%4.1109@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com>, ron
<randus3remove@pacbell.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
> I still say you will, based on our less than two weeks with the
> Limited, love it!
>
> Even if you must reach thru the pass thru to open the trunk if the
> battery dies. (that's a lot of if's)[/color]

Hi Ron,

I know you're right.

And BTW, thanks to you and others who haven't mocked me for my error.

Best wishes,
Brent
"The optimist proclaims that we live
in the best of all possible worlds;
and the pessimist fears that this is true.
-- James Branch Cabell

would seem to me that Toyota would have made the "emergency" key on
the fob to allow access to the trunk as well as the doors.

I had the car at Calif DMV yesterday to get registered in this state.
The number verifier was amazed at it. "Is it a hybrid?" only 399
miles? Wow, what a beautiful car. I can see why you went to Oregon to
get it etc.

The whole DMV thing (with an appointment) was about 20 minutes or so -
maybe it WAS the car..

Maybe I can drive it again sometime!!!

Ron

"Brent" <bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:200720052123251164%bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk...[color=blue]
>I sounded a false alarm regarding an inabiliy to unlatch the trunklid
> when the electric system fails.
>
> THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
> TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA THE
> PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE PASS-THROUGH'S
> KEYED LOCK.
>
> I finally talked a salesman into letting me sit in a corner and read
> the owner's manual. (Thank you for the prompting, Merritt.) Right there
> on page 45 was the text and illustration of the factory-installed
> mechanical alternative.
>
> I apologise for the misinformation. I'd done some of my homework but
> not enough. OTOH, it's still true that no one at the dealership knew
> the truth until I briefed them this evening.
>
> To all who doubted me: keep up the good work.
>
> Now, about that note I sent to Consumer Reports.... :-([/color]

I would not worry about the letter you sent to Consumer Reports. The editors
automatically discard any negative comments directed towards a Toyota.

Ed

In article <0vTDe.5568$_%4.4491@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com>,
"ron" <randus3remove@pacbell.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
> would seem to me that Toyota would have made the "emergency" key on
> the fob to allow access to the trunk as well as the doors.[/color]

If you had a key, you would have to have two keys, one that opens
everything and a "valet" key that doesn't open the trunk. The Toyota
solution takes care of that with one key.

Merritt

If the key is lost in my BMW, and the doors are locked, the Auto Club can't
even open the doors.

It's true. If the doors are locked with the key, they can only be unlocked
with the key. Even if the windows are down and you can pull the door lock
button, the doors will not unlock. The trunk is locked too. If there is a
passenger inside the car, and the doors are locked by the key, the passenger
is trapped inside the car until the key returns. That's scary.




<BigJohnson@mailcity.com> wrote in message
news:42DF03FD.BFF37BE9@mailcity.com...[color=blue]
> Sounds like what you are saying is if you loose the key you can't
> open the trunk OR the fold down rear seat to open the trunk lid,
> correct? ;)
>
> mike hunt
>
>
>
> Brent wrote:[color=green]
>>[/color]
>[color=green]
>> THE '05 AVALON IS EQUIPPED WITH A CABLE FOR MANUALLY TRIPPING THE
>> TRUNKLID LATCH FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THE CABLE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA
>> THE PASS-THROUGH AND IS PROTECTED FROM INTRUDERS BY THE
>> PASS-THROUGH'S KEYED LOCK.[/color][/color]

"J Strickland" <spam@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:G8mdnUuFIb5alX3fRVn-tw@ez2.net...[color=blue]
> If the key is lost in my BMW, and the doors are locked, the Auto Club
> can't even open the doors.
>
> It's true. If the doors are locked with the key, they can only be unlocked
> with the key. Even if the windows are down and you can pull the door lock
> button, the doors will not unlock. The trunk is locked too. If there is a
> passenger inside the car, and the doors are locked by the key, the
> passenger is trapped inside the car until the key returns. That's scary.
>[/color]

You could use a BFH or a BFR to open the windows. If you need the doors
unlocked, apply a BFT to the front end, you will have the benefit of also
turning on the interior dome lights at the same time.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

In article <EDTDe.192792$xm3.59571@attbi_s21>, C. E. White
<cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> "Brent" <bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:200720052123251164%bsecombe@yahoo.co.uk...[color=green]
> > Now, about that note I sent to Consumer Reports.... :-([/color]
>
> I would not worry about the letter you sent to Consumer Reports. The editors
> automatically discard any negative comments directed towards a Toyota.[/color]

<Hehe> Maybe you're right, Ed. I confess to a bias myself.

I came to buy an Avalon after a series of betrayals by Honda, Mercedes,
Chevy and Lincoln. I had two excellent Volvos in the late 50's/early
60's. It was a long, dry span for me until the '98 Avalon.

Even my beloved '89 Scorpio was a maintenance disappointment; to my
eyes it remains the most beautiful machine i've ever owned, though. I
think it will be displaced by the new Avalon.

Brent