Opening locked trunk with frozen lock & lost key

[PAUL161]

Just thought I'd pass this on. The trunk lock on one of my parts cars was frozen in the locked position and no key. To get into the trunk without damaging the lid took some thinking as there was no way into the trunk. No holes to go through. Knowing that a new lock was going to replace the old one I decided to drill a small hole in the lock between the push button and the handle. Using a 3/16 drill bit to make the hole all the way through and then using a 1/8 bit in reverse to slide in and push the latch hook open. It was a breeze! Naturally the outer latch was ruined, but it's a lot cheaper than a lid. I have enclosed some photos. Their not the best, but you'll get the idea. The bottom photo shows a slight cut at the lower edge of the latch hole. It is easily covered with a new latch. Keep the drill hole as low as you can and in the center side to side. Mine is slightly off, but it worked. PJ

 

[David_DuBois]

Paul - Great information! That sure beats a hole in the forward bulkhead and a long rod with a hook on it that I used years ago.
Cheers,

 

[Steve_S]

You can also drill out the lock assembly itself where the key goes. Once it has a big hole in it, just press to open as normal.

 

[PAUL161]

Re: Opening locked trunk with frozen lock & lost

You can also drill out the lock assembly itself where the key goes. Once it has a big hole in it, just press to open as normal.

That's very true Steve, but sometimes pushing in the button won't release the latch. I had that happen once and I've read of others who have had the same problem. I guess due to wear or whatever. I was lucky on that car, as the PO had cut two holes in the rear panel for speakers the size of trash cans. I used the rod and hook method as Dave did on that one. PJ