996 AERO

Opened my trunk yesterday morning to put in some stuff. Went for a drive came home and trunk will not open. Car starts and runs so it is not the battery. Is there a secret way to open the trunk. I can't get it to a dealer to fix for at least a week or so and would like to get it open beforehand. I have heard there are other ways to get it open ??

Loren

There is an emergency cable pull that is located behind the passenger side headlight. With a little effort you can pull back the wheel liner on that side and get to the cable. Some folks (like me) have relocated their cable so it can be reached by popping off the front bumper tow plug. To do this relocation you have to take the front bumper off (or already have it off... like to clean the radiators, or install the 3rd radiator, etc.)

996 AERO

Thanks Loren. I thought you would have an answer. I will give it a try after work today. I do have 19' wheels. Will I still be able to get my hand in there by turning the wheel?

raffi

I had the same problem, If you cant reach the hidden cable try this: have someone hold the trunk lever up while you slide your fingers under the trunk and pull up with some force. I also accomplished this by putting a towel under the lever to keep it open. When I finally opened the trunk I noticed that there is a metal spring that got worn and came out of place. If this is the case even pulling the hidden cable will not spring open the trunk you will still have to pull it up manually. The MY99s trunk is not related to battery or electrical connections, those are only on the newer models.

wwest

"put in some stuff".....

Coincidence, Murphy, might indicate....

Some "stuff" jammed into the bonnet latch, maybe???

raffi

hopefully, that will be a simple case. but when my hood was broken I had just put in some stuff too. that was the only reason I tried to open it. If that is the case the hidden cable might not work either right? It looks to me as if each cable is responsible for releasing the same latch from a different site. but if there is some fabric or something caught in there you may still need to just pull up the hood while someone is pulling up on the lever. if your fingers dont reach you may try to carefully insert a bent wire close hanger. Again, my case may have been more complicated. but I think alot of these 99 hoods have problems opening and closing. i just bought a new latch off of ebay and it closes perfect. I barely even have to push on it to hear the closing click. All the time I see 996's or boxters the hoods are always at different heights when in closed positions. it seems like there are different size gaps from one to the other. i would attribute this to possibly the spring getting worn out or losing is recoil. maybe some more opinions from earlier 996 owners ?

Tool Pants

The cable.

Torags

Wow, tool pants! You really deliver........

996 AERO

raffi,

Wife and I tried your procedure and it worked!! Thanks much. The only thing different is when you pull the lever you do not hear it click as it did in the past?? Tried it several times on my own after the initial try with my wife and it opens every time. Just no click sound and it doesn't appear to open slightly like it did in the past but I can open it ok. Somewhat puzzling?? Any comments/explanations??

raffi

It really does sound like the experience I had. If you open the trunk lock assembly by just removing the rubber cover held in by 4 plastic screws and get to the box held in by 2 bolts you may see that the spring is out of place. Another problem I experienced with this was that the alarm sensor was messed up. sometimes i would get a chirp after i locked the door meaning it sensed the closed trunk was still open. other times the light in the trunk would be off when it should be on while open. I hope this isnt your problem because you might have to buy that part which is about $200.