Never came across this problem all the years on this forum. I can't get into my trunk in any way. You can hear the latch working but the trunk is stuck closed. The manual release red strap doesnt even work and I know it worked before. Not sure what to do at this point. Any help is greatly appreciated

Edit: 06 coupe

 

What year - sedan or coupe? Red strap? As far as I know there is a small handle which is whitish and glows in the dark - it's attached to the trunk lid and accessible from your trunk passthrough (sedan) or folding rear seat (coupe). If pulling that cable doesn't unlatch the latch, I'm not sure where to go next. It's possible your trunk's gas struts are worn and you should also try physically lifting the lid while the electronic release is clicking...

 

06 coupe
The red strap I mentioned could be for the rear seat release only. I know the coupe at least has a red strap tucked under the back seats. I guess I'll have to crawl through to the trunk. Hopefully I can move the subs right behind the seats. Thanks though, for some reason I thought the red strap released the trunk as well

 

So I've been through hell the past 2 hours. It was brutal to get to the trunk release, which didn't work. The sub box was a complete bitch to get out of the way. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I finally get in the trunk from the back seat and the trunk release lever wouldn't even work. The actuator moves the latch just as much as the trunk release does. I had to get the latch to move enough with a pick in order to pop it open. If the emergency release doesn't even work, I don't think it's the actuator. I'm just happy I was able to pry the latch open so I can do whatever work I need to do to fix it. I'm wondering if my trunk somehow got out of alignment. Took a video of the actuator working

These are the subs in the trunk. They fit right behind the seat in that little cubby. Clean look, but you're screwed if you get locked out of your trunk. To get them out, I had to bend the metal around behind the seats just to get the box to slide through. Got to the point where I didn't care if I broke the box

 

Oh man... what a mess. The latch sure does appear to be operating as it is supposed to. I can't imagine what's hanging it up..

 

Just looked at my sedan trunk and realized there is a spring loaded rubber bumper right next to the trunk lid "striker" on the body side of the latch. This spring is what is supposed to "pop" your trunk when the latch operates. If that is not working on your car the lid won't move unless you are physically pulling up on it while you operate the latch. Please try that - pull up on the lid while operating the latch.

Drawing below is from your FSM, red arrow points to the part I'm talking about.

 

I was able to pop the trunk from inside by moving the latch with a pick and drove to my mechanic. He said that spring is just to show you the trunk is open. It's working fine. Came to the conclusion that something probably broke inside the actuator not allowing the latch to open fully. The actuator works fine with the trunk open, but doesn't move enough with the trunk closed. Probably going to look a little closer before ordering a new actuator. Said it's actually pretty common with the cheap plastics inside.

 

Congrats on being able to pop it open yourself !
I had a similar problem with the driver's door where it wouldn't open. It was a combination of cold winter car washes and rusty hardware.
Imagine having to get into your car from the passenger side and hopping over the console to get in the driver's seat.
If you're lucky the end of the release cable might be bent, or frayed and rusty ... not fully engaging enough to release your latch.
That's why when you use your pick to pop the latch it opens. You're moving it more by hand . There's not enough travel inside the cable .
Try straightening the cable end with needlenose pliers first, then clean it and lubricate it. The goal is to make the cable travel just as much as a hand release (no homo)
Hopefully your latch is OK and you don't have to replace it .

Good Luck bro.

 

Got it fixed yesterday. Took it off the car and something got bent in the latch. The flange that the emergency release cable attaches wouldnt move enough to pop the trunk. Went to the junk yard and pulled one for $20 and fixed it in the parking lot. SIMPLE job made difficult because of the speakers in my trunk

 

Thanks for updating the thread - makes me crazy when people don't! Glad you were able to fix it but sorry about having to tear your way through your aftermarket subs to get to it...

 

That blows... but hey you got it. I wonder if someone closed it while hitting the unlock button. How else would it break :/.

 

​I hear ya. I can think a couple threads recently that got interesting but never got updated. People will write paragraphs of help. The least they can do is post the results. I actually just got everything put back together this morning

I wish I knew. I was working on a uncle's boat and went to the car for tools, went to put them away and nothing but problems from there. But somehow the emergency release was holding it up. You could see where the metal flange was grinding on the latch. The car was in a rear accident so there's something to blame. The trunk area definitely took the damage. But that was over 10 years ago. Should have taken pictures but it felt good throwing that thing in the trash.
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