Boxster Rear Trunk/Boot latch gone - any ideas?

[johnappleby]

So it looks like the cable holding the boot latch has gone on my Boxster. Not a good week! I can hear the solenoid actuating when the button is pulled, but it does not open. I've tried the usual things and I'm stuck

- Pressing, shoving, lifting, nudging the boot whilst someone else presses the button
- Taking the rear bumper off to find the backup boot latch, which is also broken (pulled right out the car)

I read that there are two solutions - first, taking a saw to the trunk and then replacing it once you are inside. Second, there was one poster who described using a very slim spanner/wrench to slowly remove the lock.

Does anyone have any other ideas, or more detailed instructions of how to remove the lock? Actually right now I'd probably settle for a good photo of the lock mechanism of the rear trunk so I can see what I'm working with. Not even sure what I will do if I get it open - tape the trunk shut until I get new parts?

Thinking to get a slim wrench and have a go next weekend, I will photograph the experience if I do it. Suspect it will be time-consuming and frustrating. Any/all ideas or experiences hugely appreciated.

[johnappleby]

Yikes - really no ideas? I took it to the shop today and they had lots of ideas of prodding and pushing the trunk - same that I already tried and none of which work.

I've got to get it open for the impending oil change I guess. Will let you know how it goes but any experience much appreciated.

The car was rear-ended a few years ago and I'm guessing that is the reason why the emergency release cable is broken.

[particlewave]

This isn't going to help you any, but I thought I'd at least post a pic. This is from inside the trunk. Mine is a '99 with manual levers and the actuator for the key fob release. I don't see any way to get to it from the outside

[particlewave]

Here's an idea: short of destroying the whole lid, if you can remove the bumper and spoiler somehow, you could drill a hole right behind the lever and pry it to the side with a screw driver.

[tonycarreon]

found this on another site...

"The release cable is behind the rear bumper on the nearside below the tail lamp. if you remove the inner arch liner and heatshield for exhaust enough to get your hand up there to reach and pull wire as you cant remove bumper without opening the boot."

and a little more detail from this forum Rear Boot / Trunk Won't Open Anymore

[johnappleby]

@particlewave Cool thanks that is really useful. I think that may just work. Taking the bumper and spoiler off is very straightforward.

@tonycarreon I hear ya, tried it already but the mechanical release is broken :-(

[johnappleby]

So this was quite easy - but time-consuming and painful.

1) Remove bumper as per the article posted
2) Drill several large holes through both skins of the trunk so you can access the lock mechanism
3) Shape a coathanger to grab onto the pin (the wires had both fallen off)
4) Fiddle and fiddle and fiddle until you can pull the pin with the coat hanger

That's really it. Here's a picture of the ugly holes I made behind the bumper. You can't see them once it's all re-assembled.

[Spinnaker]

Five months later..., wow, that's persistance. Glad you found a solution.

[johnappleby]

Well you don't really need the rear trunk on a day to day basis :-)

But eventually you need an oil change, and one of my brake lights failed. This was enough to galvanize me to get off my fat behind and fix it!

I took more photos, will post them later on. Thanks to everyone who helped.