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Trunk Stucked, locked and sealed off!!!

5572 Views 16 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  daniel2002p
Hi, My 03 Corolla is having some problem. Yesterday, when I tryied to pop the trunk open, it stucked. it won't even bulged when i tried opening it using my key. The interior trunk release level seem to feel "detached".

Is there anyway for me to get to the problem??? [I can't pull the rear seats down since(I think) the only way to do so is from the trunk.]

Help Please!!
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Damn that sux. Hopefully some one here can help you.
it sounds like somthing seized. if you can't figure it out on your own, i think you should take it back to the dealer, since it's an '03, it shouldn't fail on you like that, & there might even be a warranty on it :thumbup:
well, i got it via a 2nd hand owner, so no more factory warrenty. Anywayz, problem solved, remove back seat using brute force and some tools. get in the trunk and the locking mechanism is out of aligment.

Thankz for the help.
do the back seats of any corolla lay down? so you can get into the trunk?
yeah, i know our 93 does. it's an option on all corollas, but it's not very popular i think.
You should be able to get into the trunk of the car by removing the bottom rear seat cushion and unbolting the bottom of the seatbacks, and pull them out. BTW, my '93 has the release buttons on the seatback in the cabin; only the seatback lock is in the trunk. I've done this on a '92 Camry whose lock tumbler froze in the position which disables the interior release, and the seatbacks were locked. It was a bit of work getting into it, but no telling what a dealer or mechanic would charge...

And furthermore, just because you're the second owner does not mean the warranty is no longer any good. It just doesn't work that way. As long as the car doesn't have more than 36,000 miles, the bumper-to-bumper warranty is still in effect, as the earliest '03 Corollas were sold in January '02, so time is not even a factor yet. I, personally, would take it to the dealer and raise hell if they try to charge you to fix it.
my '05 has that exact problem! and it happened today!! I closed my trunk, went inside, pulled up the trunk releaser and NOTHING happened. and yes, i get that "disconnected" feeling. I cant open it with my keys either(not sub keys). Dammit my car is 2 weeks old with 168 miles!! :disappoin
the seats should fold back and there are release levers you can pull to open the trunk, near the speakers inside of the trunk that are put there for kids that accidently lock themselves in there, or for kidnapped people in the trunk to be able to get out. lol
01loadedLE said:
the seats should fold back and there are release levers you can pull to open the trunk, near the speakers inside of the trunk that are put there for kids that accidently lock themselves in there, or for kidnapped people in the trunk to be able to get out. lol
The 60/40 seat releases are in the trunk...If you can't get in the trunk then you can't release them to get to the trunk release :yikes: ...Radd Guy...
02RSX90camry said:
yeah, i know our 93 does. it's an option on all corollas, but it's not very popular i think.
60/40 rear seats a great feature for long oversized stuff(lumber, furniture, trips, etc.etc.(even slept there at a road stop)one of the reasons I waited for the 03's to come out..very useful and can't hurt... its a plus in my opinon :thumbup: ....Radd Guy...
one more question- if I take my 05 rolla to the dealer to get the trunk fixed, how are they going to fix it if the trunk cannot be opened from inside nor outside and the 60/40 seat releaser is in the trunk??
If they break something to get in , they can fix/replace it.
Just had the same problem twice in an 05. If you turn the trunk key anti-clockwise it has a feature for valet parking to disable the trunk release inside the car.

It appears that the lever on the latch that does that hangs and stops anything opening the trunk. Although I can’t be sure it looks like the lever hangs on the edge of the hole that the latch fits into. I filed it a little and so far so good but it might be something else. The area behind the latch is all twisted and badly manufactured so it might be that.

Anyone have a proven permanent fix?
I have a 05 and I use the anti-clockwise turn all the time and never had this problem..... pics may be nice to see what is going on....

D
I know the Corolla GTS seats fold down for trunk access from inside the vehicle. Each rear seat has a release and they fold down individually. I would also take it back to the dealer. If they manage to tear anything up they HAVE to replace it at no additional cost to you. If its still under warranty especially.
On the corolla 03 and up the back seat release is in the trunk no luck there....

D
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