On my 97 Maxima :

The trunk door bypass switch (in the trunk where the latch is) got bumped by certain items such that the trunk door could only be opened with the key --- inputs from the remote and the remote trunk release button on the door are bypassed. I was trying to fix it by flicking the bypass switch, which should fix the problem. Same problem arose a couple of years ago and flicking the bypass switch got rid of the problem, just like it should.

Now the trunk cannot be opened, period. It seems that the bypass switch is in some intermediate state. Using the remote button on the door, the button on the remote and the key itself result in 1 clicking sound at the latch. But the trunk door remains closed as the latch cannot be fully opened, thanks to the bypass switch.

Any suggestions?? I tried to reach the bypass switch through the ski-pass-through at the backseat. I reached the switch but was unable to set it to 'unlocked' state. Should I knock off the back seat all together?? Should I take the car to the dealer or should I attempt to fix it myself??

Thanks in advance. Appreciation is beyond words.

 

borrow a neighbors kid or something. squeeze him/her throught the armest space...then give them directions on what to do....then buy em some candy or something

 

Other than that find a friend with a really long arm. Once the switch is fixed then the trunk should open up for you. Please don't use a kid for this. I would hate to see a kid get stuck inside the trunk area.

Ken

 

 

Thanks for the reply. With a long stick, I was finally able to reset the latch. With that in place, I was able to open the trunk. But that's not the end of the problem.

When the trunk release button on the door OR that on the keyless entry remote is pressed, a relay is momentarily closed and opened, causing the trunk lid latch to disengage momentarily. Trunk lid is consequently opened. Something is screwed with my relay-latch combo such that the latch is unable to disengage fully during this action sequence. The trunk lid becomes half-released. In this state, even the key itself is unable to get the latch out of the misery. The latch can however be reset manually/mechanically if you can reach the remote bypass switch.

Under normal circumstances, sticking the key into the keyhole released the latch itself without using the relay.

Now I can consistently use my key to open my trunk. The remote trunk release buttons cannot be used till the relay-latch combo problem is resolved.