rear hatch lever doesnt work?

[americanjebus]

since i got my car i've never fixed this but the small lever next to the gas cap lever for the rear hatch doesnt do anything, i can hear the sound of a cable in the back but what should i look for when i decide to tear off the rear panels and what should i tear off.

has anyone dealt with this. i've never been able to just open my hatch without turning off car getting out using hte key and saying god damnit.

 

[shaeff]

i had the same problem. when i pulled the trim right near the release in the back i noticed that my cable was about 3/4" too long. i got a tiny piece of brass pipe, cut it lengthwise, opened it, and put it on the cable to take up the gap to the ball end. now when i pop my trunk, it opens immediately it works great, and was free! there might be an adjustment for the cable on th bottom of the lever near the gas door lever, but i found my alternative easier than ripping all that out.

-shaeff

 

[Satan]

I just ordered a $15 kit off of Ebay and put an electric solenoid/popper, replacing the need for a replacement cable. What's even neater is that we installed a relay with the alarm, that allows me to pop the hatch remotely as well. Well worth it in my book... good luck!

 

[Silvasoup]

I know this is a really old thread but I just wanted to thank Shaeff for a really great idea that saved me some cash. I was going to have my trunk release fixed, but after reading Shaeff's idea I decided to try it. I used some small aluminum tube I had laying around. I put a small slit in the tube with my grinder and put it on the cable end with the small ball. Then I used some Epoxy glue to close the end up and make it stronger and now the trunk release works great. Thanks again Shaeff!

 

[robeats91t]

Y'know, I'm having a similar problem. A few years ago, I used a solution similar to Shaeff's to fix my stretched trunk release cable. Worked beautifully until a few weeks ago.

I accidentally turned the key in the trunk the "wrong" way, disabling the trunk release lever inside the car. I turned it the other way immediately to open the trunk, and the alarm went off.

Ever since then, the trunk release lever has failed to work. Any ideas? Any way to reset the lock to enable the trunk release lever? It's such a pain to have to use the key all the time...

I like Satan's idea; but I need to get the release lever working again to be able to use a solenoid.