While operating a Chevrolet Cruze, the car owner may encounter the problem of spontaneous activation of the trunk lock, or lack of response from the button responsible for opening it. This is due to design miscalculations in the design of the Chevrolet Cruze. To fix this problem, many car owners decide to move the trunk opening button to the passenger compartment.
Location of the standard trunk release button
Problems with the trunk release button on a Chevrolet Cruze
The trunk opening button is located on the outside of the trunk lid. It is located in the panel on which the license plate lamps are mounted. During operation, there is constant exposure to an aggressive external environment. As a result:
- The contacts located inside the key become oxidized. The button stops responding to the driver's attempts to open the trunk.
- The ingress of water causes spontaneous closure of the contacts. As a result, the trunk lid opens at any time without the driver's knowledge.
The unfortunate placement of the button has led to many Chevrolet Cruze car owners classifying it as a consumable item. The key has serious problems with the tightness of the unit, so visiting a car wash can cause it to fail.
Self-opening trunk
Article number and cost of the original trunk release button on the Chevrolet Cruze and its analogues
The original trunk release button for the Chevrolet Cruze sedan comes complete with courtesy lights and accompanying wiring. The kit has article number 95107229. Its price is more than 2000 rubles. For these reasons, most car owners are looking for alternative options. The main ones are:
- Buying an original button from a car wrecker. Since the unit is quite unreliable, it is very difficult to find a working used key. Installing it may result in the trunk no longer opening after a short period of time and replacement will be required again.
- Purchasing products from third-party manufacturers. As an analogue of a branded key, it is recommended to use a button from Opel, whose catalog number is 9012141. Its cost is in the range of 500-600 rubles. It has good interchangeability with the original product.
- Repair of the original button. In some cases, it is possible to restore the functionality of a dismantled key by cleaning the oxides and sealing the assembly.
Required Tools
In order to dismantle and install the trunk release button, you need the tools shown in the table below.
Replacing the trunk release button on a Chevrolet Cruze
If the trunk release button does not work, then the surest way to eliminate the current situation is to replace the key. It is not difficult to perform this operation yourself if you follow the instructions below.
- Open the car trunk using the key.
- Remove the 12 plastic clips securing the trim.
Location of plastic clips securing the trunk lid trim
Prying up the top of the clip
The process of removing the clip
- Remove the plastic lock protection. It is located at the end of the trunk lid.
Removing the decorative cover of the lock
- Remove the trunk lid trim.
- Using a 10mm wrench, unscrew the fastening of the bar on which the trunk opening button and license plate lights are mounted.
- Disconnect the terminal block.
- Remove the rubber seal for the electrical wiring in the trunk lid.
- Remove the bar. It is secured using two plastic clips. It is convenient to dismantle using a flat-blade screwdriver. All actions must be careful. Otherwise, there is a high risk of damaging the paintwork.
The process of removing the strip
- Install a new set or button to replace the dismantled elements. Experienced car owners recommend filling the button with sealant.
Button body filled with silicone sealant
Repairing the trunk release button
If the trunk is opened normally using the key fob, but the car does not respond to pressing the button, then in addition to replacing the key, it can be repaired. To do this, you must use the instructions below.
- The trunk lid opening button itself is dismantled.
- Using a screwdriver or a blunt knife, the key body needs to be disassembled in half, as in the photo below.
Disassembled button
- You need to pull the key out of the case. It must be replaced. You can buy a new one at any electronics store.
Button to be replaced
- Solder two wires.
- Secure the button in the housing using sealant.
Repaired button
Installing a trunk release button in the interior
Some car owners, tired of the fact that the trunk does not open, decide to radically eliminate the problem and install a button directly in the cabin. In order to avoid a situation where the cover opens spontaneously, it is recommended to cut the wires leading to the button located near the license plate illumination lamps.
In order to install the trunk control button from inside the cabin, you must follow the instructions below.
- Check the length of the wire of the purchased button. It is recommended that the key has at least 2 meters of wiring.
Key to be mounted
- Disassemble the center console. This action should be performed carefully so as not to damage the plastic.
The process of disassembling the center console
- Mount the button.
Button installation
- Make the necessary connections.
Connection
- Reassemble everything in reverse order.
Installed button to open the trunk lid from the passenger compartment
When buying a car, it is important to evaluate all its parameters: fuel consumption, acceleration to 100 km/h, dimensions and interior characteristics. The trunk volume of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan is also an important parameter, especially if you are traveling by car with your family.
Chevrolet Cruze is a family car that is positioned as the most convenient in its class. Indeed, the trunk size of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan is impressive - 450 liters.
In this it loses a little to the hatchback, since it is impossible to increase capacity by folding the rear seats. Nevertheless, the car is quite suitable for trips to grocery and construction stores, as well as for trips out of town. If you don't have enough space, you can always buy or design a roof rack yourself.
Another advantage of the model is its high ground clearance. Moreover, it is higher at the back than at the front. If you load the car, it will become the same along its entire length - 14 cm. Without luggage in the back, the ground clearance is 18 cm.
The manufacturer has thought about the comfort of rear passengers: the car is positioned as the most spacious in its class. There is enough space not only for small children, but also for tall adults.
All these advantages indicate that the car is suitable for traveling long distances with the whole family. Of course, you won’t be able to fold out the seats in it and spend the night, but your muscles won’t become stiff and sore on the road.
Trunk mats
If you often transport construction materials, technical liquids and dirty items in the trunk, you should think about buying a special mat. It will protect the car from dirt and give it an aesthetic appearance.
Today there are several types of trunk mats for the Chevrolet Cruze sedan:
- Fabric, carpet and pile. This is the rarest type, as fabric mats are impractical. They are used in exhibition models that are not used for transporting goods. If you have carpets with a pile in your cabin, it makes sense to put the same in the trunk, but be prepared for the fact that you will have to wash it often and remove stains with special chemicals.
- Rubber. This is the most popular type because it is inexpensive. Rubber does not allow moisture to pass through and is resistant to technical fluids. This rug is easy to change and clean. The disadvantage of rubber is that in the cold it becomes brittle and hard.
- Polyurethane. The most expensive material for making car mats. It is easy and quick to clean, does not allow water to pass through, and is light weight. Unlike rubber, polyurethane is temperature resistant; it does not melt in the heat and does not turn to stone in the cold.
- Plastic. Not a very practical material, as scratches and chips appear on it during use. But it is easy to wash, it protects the internal parts of the machine well, and is resistant to technical liquids.
If you want your car to serve you for a long time and maintain its presentation, you need to take care of it. Periodically remove the carpet from the trunk of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, wash it, and vacuum the interior.
What to do if it doesn’t open
A locked trunk lid is a problem for older cars. If the fifth door suddenly does not open on your new Cruze, you need to figure out the reasons.
The most common cause of lock failure is road dirt. Although the larva is protected by metal, dust, snow or rain can still get into it.
If you have central locking installed, the cause of a locked lid may be a failure of the electric drive. In this case, you will have to open the trunk with the key.
If the trunk of a Chevrolet Cruze sedan does not open, try to find the reason. Inspect the keyhole to see if dirt or a foreign object has gotten into it. Then you need to clean it with water or mechanically.
Advice! A common problem in winter is freezing of locks. This occurs due to moisture entering the mechanism from the street or from a car wash. In this case, use matches, a lighter or liquid key.
How to open from inside
Owners of hatchbacks and SUVs can easily open the lock from the inside. The question of how to open the trunk of a Chevrolet Cruze sedan from the inside is more complicated. With time and patience, this is also possible. If you are in a hurry, it is better to entrust this to professionals in the car service.
Instructions:
- Remove the backrest.
- Remove the inner trim.
- Empty the trunk and get inside.
- Use the crank to open the mechanism.
- If you cannot reach the lock, lengthen the knob with a stick or other object.
If the trunk on a Chevrolet Cruze sedan opens electrically, contact your dealer or service center to have the problem resolved.
Some car enthusiasts advise turning to security experts to open jammed locks. This method is not entirely ethical; it is better to go to a car service center and solve the problem with the help of competent auto repairmen. The main thing is not to panic and not to jerk the trunk lid, otherwise there is a chance of breaking it.
Hello people.
Today my trunk release button broke. When I clicked on it, nothing happened. And if the car came out of the wash, then while driving you could hear the sounds of an alarm bell, the same sounds sound if you open the car door with the engine turned off and leave the key in the ignition. Or your trunk just opened on its own. I got around to seeing all these 3 phenomena ;)
I think it's broken. If the car is under warranty, then everything is fine, we go to the dealer, etc. But if the car is no longer under warranty, like mine, then the actual repair at the dealer will cost us 3,900 rubles for new wiring with a button and license plate lamps + 1,000 rubles for replacement.
I thought it was overkill. I started searching on the Internet for everything related to the article number of this spare part (95107229) and immediately found a price that, let’s say, did not inspire me to buy, from 1,500 to 4,000 rubles.
Well, I think okay, if I don’t do it myself and break it, I’ll buy a new one.
We are starting to repair our button, and as expected in my articles, I will tell you in as much detail as possible how and what I did.
Open the trunk using the key. We look at the decorative upholstery of the trunk lid and see round clasps in the form of clips. There should be 12 of them in total.
We open them with a blunt flat object.
We remove the open locks from their seat.
Remove the plastic cover of the trunk lock.
We push the emergency trunk opening handle through the upholstery; for this purpose there is a special slot in the upholstery.
Remove the trunk lid trim.
The photo below shows the places where there are nuts for fastening the strip on which the trunk opening button and room lamps are located.
We unscrew them with a 10mm wrench and disconnect the bar from the body, but keep in mind that when you unscrew all the nuts, the bar will not fall out, since there are 2 plastic seals that will continue to hold the bar in place. To remove it, you need to pry it off with any tool that will not spoil the paintwork of your car.
To remove the bar completely, you need to pull out the rubber wiring seal from the hole in the trunk lid and disconnect the connector from the socket.
Well, actually the bar is removed, we bite off the 2 wires going to it from the button right next to the button and go home to disassemble this miracle thing.
The design of the button is very simple and not sealed; water easily gets into the inside of the button, which causes our contacts inside to oxidize and rust. As a result, the rusty contacts rot and turn into a pile of rust that spills out of your button when you take it apart.
The disassembled button looks like this. I’ll say right away that the button does not want to open and for this you need to apply a little persistence; it’s interesting, like solving a puzzle.
Remove the silicone glue on the back of the button. We select any non-blockable button that might be useful to us. I chose the most ordinary one, you can see it in the photo. I measured its dimensions and made the required hole so that the lever of the new button could fit inside the button being repaired. I first checked and shortened the lever of the new button, made sure that pressing leads to pressing the lever of the new button, and filled the whole thing with silicone glue, which dries and becomes hard. I soldered the wires and filled everything with silicone so that moisture would no longer get into my new button.
The trunk lid of many modern cars ( Volkswagen Passat, Chevrolet Cruze etc.) is equipped with a special button, by pressing which this very cover opens.
During active use of the car and frequent transportation of things in the luggage compartment, this function turns out to be very useful, since there is no need to constantly stick the key into the lock or open the driver's door in order to reach a similar button in the cabin.
However, like any other electrical devices that operate in conditions of constant exposure to changes in temperature and humidity, the button may work intermittently or even break down.
As a rule, everything happens precisely because water gets inside the mechanism due to its insufficient tightness.
If you have The trunk release button is broken, do not rush to contact an auto electrician - this problem can be fixed with your own hands without difficulty and large financial costs.
First you need to understand how the button itself works and what the principle of its operation is. And here everything is extremely simple: when you press the button, the activator is activated, which removes the latch, opening the trunk. The button itself is a regular switch in a plastic-silicone housing.
Repairing the trunk release button - using the example of a Chevrolet Cruze
To determine the cause of the breakdown of the Chevrolet Cruze trunk release button, you need to remove it, inspect it and ring it.
- To remove the panel (saber) with the button and license plate lights, you will have to remove the trim on the inside of the trunk lid.
- Under it there will be 4 10mm nuts and 2 yellow plastic clips.
- The nuts are unscrewed, and the clips are carefully pressed inward and snapped off.
- After this, it is enough to disconnect the connector connecting the wires going to the button and the backlight to completely remove the saber.
When visually inspecting the button from the inside, traces of moisture will usually be visible under the transparent silicone sealant filler.
It gets there during rain through small gaps between the button key and the body, or at the place where the wires are connected (there is also a small gap there). Trying to dry the button with a hairdryer without disassembling it will lead to nothing.
In this case, there are only two possible solutions to the problem:
- Buying a new button and replacing it completely.
- Complete disassembly of the button body and cleaning/drying and sealing it.
The first option is the simplest, but there is one “but”: the trunk opening button is not sold separately, but only in a group with two license plate illumination lamps.
The original part costs about 2000 rubles. The Chinese analogue from Aliexpress will cost three times less, but there are doubts about the quality of production. Therefore, before going to the car market for a new button, you can try to repair the “native” one.
For repairs you will need a minimum of tools and materials:
- multimeter (tester);
- screwdriver;
- sharp knife;
- sealant or hot glue gun;
- sandpaper-zero.
An electric multimeter is needed to check (“ring”) the button. To do this, just join the contacts button and click on it.
If the multimeter shows resistance, then the button circuit is intact. The absence of resistance indicates a violation of the integrity of the circuit.
The procedure for carrying out restoration repairs:
- Remove the button from its seat. To do this, you will have to remove the hot melt adhesive on which it is attached. This can be done using a knife;
- Remove the rubber cover from the button body and disassemble the button itself;;
- We clean the contacts (if necessary, you can use fine sandpaper), dry the insides with a hairdryer;
- We assemble everything in the reverse order, glue and seal all joints with sealant or hot glue;
- We coat the seat with sealant around the entire perimeter;
- Install the button, let the sealant dry;
- We return the saber to its place.
If the above repair method does not produce results, you will have to buy and replace the entire set (button + license plate backlight).
Soldering a separate trunk button Replacement occurs according to the following scheme:
- Using a Phillips screwdriver, unscrew the fastenings of the license plate lights (4 self-tapping screws);
- We remove the button from its regular place by removing the hot-melt adhesive;
- We install a new kit: we recommend placing the backlights and the new button on silicone sealant to protect them from moisture and dust.
VIDEO INSTRUCTION
Modern cars are a complex system that consists of dozens of components and assemblies operating under difficult conditions. Therefore, each model has a number of typical diseases caused by design flaws or the quality of components. Experienced motorists know the weak points of their car and willingly share with each other suitable ways to eliminate such faults. In relation to the Chevrolet Cruze, one of the common problems is the failure of the trunk release button.
Reasons for button failure
The Chevrolet Cruze trunk release key is located on the outside of the lid, on the panel into which the rear license plate lamps are mounted. Most owners of Cruz sedans and hatchbacks have long classified this part as a consumable item due to its frequent breakdowns.
The main cause of the malfunction, oddly enough, is not wear or mechanical damage to the button, but problems with the tightness of the unit. Temperature changes, rain, snow, ice, as well as high-pressure washers cause oxidation of the connector contacts or the key itself, after which the trunk of the Chevrolet Cruze does not begin to open the first time or completely stops responding to pressing the button.
Debugg
Based on the operating experience of the Chevrolet Cruze and discussions on specialized forums, three main methods for solving the problem have been identified:
- replacing a faulty part with a new one;
- repair and modification of a faulty key;
- installation of an alternative button for unlocking the trunk from the passenger compartment.
Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages, so choosing a specific method is recommended based on personal skills and capabilities.
Replacing the trunk button of a Chevrolet Cruze
In this case, a new part will be needed. Unfortunately, the original Chevrolet Cruze sedan trunk release button (part number 95107229 from the GM catalog) is supplied only assembled with license plate lights and associated electrical wiring. The cost of the part is more than 2 thousand rubles, which is unlikely to please most car owners. Moreover, for this considerable price, the buyer will receive a branded part from the Korean supplier Genuine, identical to that installed on the GM assembly line, and therefore having the same problems with tightness. And there is no guarantee that the new key will successfully survive the next frost and will not fail several months after installation.
Replacement procedure
The procedure for replacing the trunk release button on a Chevrolet Cruze sedan is as follows:
- The trunk of the car is opened with a key;
- Using a suitable device, 12 plastic clips are removed and the trunk lid trim is dismantled;
- The plastic protection of the lock mechanism at the end of the lid is removed;
- Using a 10mm wrench, unscrew the four nuts securing the bar on which the trunk opening button and rear license plate lights are located;
- The electrical wiring connector for the license plate lighting is disconnected and the rubber seal for the wiring in the trunk lid is removed;
- The bar is carefully pryed from the outside with a flat tool and removed from two plastic clips.
- The opening button assembly with two license plate lights are replaced with a new set.
Instructions on how to change the trunk button on a Chevrolet Cruze are given in the following video:
Repair and modification of a faulty trunk button
A less expensive solution would be to restore the button's functionality. To do this, the part is first removed from the car using the method discussed above. The Chevrolet Cruze trunk button is installed in a collapsible housing, but to access the electronics, you will have to remove the rubber-like insulating material that covers the working part.
As a result, highly oxidized contacts are most often found, which are the cause of failure.
In order to remove the button from the housing, you need to cut off the sealant along the contour and squeeze the mechanism itself out of the seat.
Selecting a replacement part is not difficult: any key without locking in size 12 by 12 mm and a height of 4 to 8 mm will do. A laser pointer or an unnecessary portable FM receiver can be used as a donor. In stores of radio components and electronic components you can find a specialized waterproof version of suitable dimensions. Also, such parts are widely presented on various trading platforms on the Internet.
The new button is soldered to the corresponding contacts, placed on glue, after which the case is assembled and insulated with sealant. If the skills to handle a soldering iron yourself are insufficient, similar work can be done at any point for repairing cell phones and household appliances for a couple of hundred rubles. After repair, the Chevrolet Cruze trunk release button is checked for functionality and installed back on the car.
Additional trunk release button in the cabin
For some reason, the manufacturer did not implement the function of opening the trunk from the driver’s seat on the Chevrolet Cruze, which causes some confusion among car owners. To solve this problem, you can install a key from another car, but despite all the functionality, such a part looks like an alien element and spoils the interior of the cabin.
In this case, solutions from the Chinese electronics industry come to the rescue. Especially for the Chevrolet Cruze, on resources like AliExpress, you can order a trunk release key in the center console of the car. The advantages of this part are that it is made symmetrically to the standard Chevrolet Cruze central locking button and is equipped with backlighting. This key is installed instead of a plug on the right side of the console.
The procedure for installing and connecting the additional trunk button is as follows:
- the cover and frame of the gearshift lever are removed;
- the edging of the center console, the panel with air ducts and the lower compartment for small items are dismantled;
- the heater control panel fasteners are unscrewed;
- the panel is removed and turned over with the buttons facing down;
- on the back side of the panel, unscrew two self-tapping screws and remove the plug;
- a button with wiring is installed in its place;
- the yellow wire from the trunk release button is connected to the yellow wire of the central locking button block;
- the red wire from the button is connected to the pink connector located on the right under the center console on the passenger side (to the yellow wire with a blue stripe);
- The black wire (ground) is connected to the car body.
Assembly is carried out in reverse order.
Watch an interesting video on this topic
