Boot release will not open?

Technical advice Q&A

MarekH
Posts: 1565
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:30 pm
Location: Surrey
Great Britain

#21 Re: Boot release will not open?

Post by MarekH » Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:52 pm

You may get enough access into the boot to lever the luggage around or investigate whether the arms of the hinge assembly are fouling by removing the interior light and bezel in the centre of the cabin and using a stick or hook through the light fitting hole into the boot.

kind regards
Marek

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Mark Gordon
Posts: 987
Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2009 3:33 pm
Location: Columbus, Ohio
United States of America

#22 Re: Boot release will not open?

Post by Mark Gordon » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:10 pm

While the forum was down, I attended a car show which was held about 125 miles from home. Upon arrival, I opened the boot and retrieved my detailing materials and went about removing the road dirt that had accumulated on the trip to the show. The morning was starting to warm up by then so I removed my windbreaker jacket and sweatshirt and tossed them and the detailing stuff into the boot and shut the lid. Later, when I tried to open the boot, the catch would release, but the lid only moved upward perhaps 1/4". I immediately thought about this thread. Try as I might, I couldn't get it to open. One of the attending vendors facetiously suggested that I get up to about 60 mph down the center drive of the show and slam on the brakes to see if I could shift whatever the offending object was forward and thereby release the lid.
Needless to say, I didn't try that, but later on my way home, I was driving on a street, 8 lanes divided with stoplights every 200-400 yards and plenty of traffic. I was first in line at a stoplight, so when it turned green I and everyone else that had stopped at the light accelerated to the 45 mph speed limit. At the next intersection, 3 teenaged boys (15-17 yo) were standing in the medium, eyeing to cross our side. One of the idiots suddenly dashed across in front of our oncoming traffic while the other two hesitated. At the last instant, they too dashed across. I slammed on my brakes and laid probably 10 feet of rubber on the road while coming to a stop. Fortunately, all the cars came to a stop without incident and the idiots made it across safely.
When I arrived at home, I tried the boot lid again and Bingo! It popped open as if nothing had ever been wrong. Obviously, the hard braking had shifted the offending item away from the catch mechanism. Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best.
Mark

67 OTS 1E14988, 2015 Camry XSE

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JJC
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Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:06 pm
United States of America

#23 Re: Boot release will not open?

Post by JJC » Fri Nov 02, 2018 4:36 pm

Simon has the right idea.....two person job.........one pulls on the interior handle, while someone plays with the boot. It will work.

JC

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ralphr1780
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Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:29 pm
Belgium

#24 Re: Boot release will not open?

Post by ralphr1780 » Fri Nov 02, 2018 4:47 pm

One very helpful item to all OTS driver to carry in the cabin is an old X-Ray negative: this foil is very rigid and will slide easily enough when the trunk lid is little lifted to push any jamming object away from the latch.
Who said you never get caught twice? :banghead: I got the boot latch jammed again yesterday with the hood enveloppe strap.
The idea of the X-Ray negative came from my wife :rvrence: , she recalled we had used that to open her parents house door few years back when the keys had been left inside...
Ralph
'69 OTS + '62 OTS - Belgium

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Mark Gordon
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#25 Re: Boot release will not open?

Post by Mark Gordon » Sun Nov 04, 2018 2:02 pm

As a post script to my earlier post, I made this thingy to help keep items in the boot away from the catch. Obviously, one should be careful before closing the lid to make sure that nothing is near the catch, but this device adds another layer of protection and doesn't interfere with the closing of the lid. The notch is sized so that the barrier slides snugly between the boot floor and the lip of the tub.
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Mark

67 OTS 1E14988, 2015 Camry XSE

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