Key will not turn in lock

I take it the dash button does not work either? From the look of the damage and your description I suspect that the only way that you are going to get the latch to release will be through the emergency release if it still operates at all. To get to that you need to remove the license plate, then using a long thin screwdriver you can reach in through the lower access hole to release the latch. Or if you cannot seem to get that to work you can take a one inch hole saw and cut out a hole behind the license plate to get to the latch assembly and pop it open. Then use a one inch hole plug to plug the hole. With the plate on it will not be visible. Once you get it to open you can look at the other releases to determine if they can be repaired, however with the damage you have there the lid would be replaced anyway.

I am going to try all you said to do, as soon as I get a chance here! Well worded and easy to understand.Thanks Steve , hopefully I can get this resolved myself! Let you know how it goes. Lisa

Please let us know how you fare. No rush, we will be here when you have the time.

Oh, and how to shut trunk again (since key,despite oiling it, will not turn in the lock cylinder, still),without getting locked out of it again? *Lisa :)

The latch should still work to hold it shut if you can get it open. But keep in mind that if you close it, you will get locked out again unless you repair/replace the damaged parts while you have it open.
What you can do depends on the damage and what will not move. It may be possible to hammer the damage out enough to make the trunk work again but without having it in front of me I cannot tell for sure, a shop should be able to figure it out though.

I did get the latch to open trunk with the wire hanger idea with for the help. Got all my stuff out of there. Anyhow, of course now I do not want to lock myself out, because battery is dead. That is the question, despite oiling key hole, still does not turn to open it though. Must be lock cylinder I am thinking? So how to keep it closed now without actually engaging latch again? Should I put something over where latch on car is, so it cannot lock?

Nope, never saw that, but great job. More than likely that the lock cylinder itself is okay but the linkage from it to the lock itself is bent or blocked in some way. The cylinder cannot turn because that cannot move. Because you got it open we know the latch will work. You might want to just get a used battery from a salvage yard and install it. That would let you start the engine and move it around and should make the electronic latch release work. Would also make it easier to sell if you can demonstrate that the car does run and drive. If that is not an option then you might be able to rig a piece of wire to do what the hanger did and leave that as a latch release, as you can now see how the latch was released.

Cool, I will try that with another wire I have here. Kind of hard to see the latch assembly with that inner lining in the way though! Should I undo that from underneath the lid area? Better yet, is there a picture of what it looks like, so I can attach the hook to the right part of the latch, to pull it and have it open?

Hello,

Steve will be back in a bit I will help you. I found this diagram that shows the trunk lid latch assembly. Check out the diagrams (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.

Cheers, Ken

I would remove the cover and see if you can bend the lock linkage a bit to get it to work, or just connect a wire/string to the pivot at the latch end. Then just a tug would release the latch.

Hey there,

The linkage from the lock cylinder to lock, bent or blocked? I do not have a clue as to where that is located in the latch assembly diagram though! Sorry.
But I did take down that material that covered it, and now can still only see it from the side view. And that is with a flash light at night. By day, forget it! Have no idea where to attach wire/string to, since when I actually did release latch I was not looking at it, just fishing around blindly with the wire hanger.
So where is this lock linkage that I may need to bend located? Or the pivot at the latch end, for that matter?
Is there some other diagram that looks at it as it looks all together, not in segments, like the other one? That was confusing.

That electronic latch release button on dash did not work. Neither did the button on the trunk, when the battery was charged up, btw. Thanks for thinking of that.I appreciate your knowledge about these things.:)

If neither of the buttons work with a good battery then the linkage must be bent to the point it cannot move. To release it without either of those functional you would attach a wire or string to the circled part that is on the latch itself. With the trunk open you should be able to remove the two bolts that secure the cover then the latch will come down enough that you can see that lever to work on it.

Okey-dokey, Steve. I will get to looking at it ASAP.
Been rainy here lately, so was hoping to get it shut more securely, before it gets wet in there!
And before I stick a battery in there (after I re-insure it, so I can drive it around town, with the FOR SALE sign on it). As I do not
need the battery ripped off either (I can hide the string behind the plate, Im thinking?)!
Thanks for circling. :) I did not know there were two bolts to take out, so I can see everything better either!
Lyk what happens--much thanks!
Learning more every time we speak on here..

Nice work, we are here to help, please use 2CarPros anytime.

Cheers, Ken

Did you have any luck getting it open and repaired?

I did get it opened, before i sold it.Thanks to you guys instructing me how to do it, of course! Just glad to be done with that car....Now i can just concentrate on the one i normally drive ,the MR2 ;)

Great to hear that you got into it.
An MR2 huh. What year? I drove an 89 Super Charged for a while. Played with a few pieces and made it into a very fast little car.