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Can't open trunk - 2008 CTS

15074 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  KirkEllis
I'm hoping you can help me! I cannot open trunk with remote or button inside my door. I've read the
manual and tried what they've posted to no luck? Anyone come across this! I have a 2008 CTS keyless

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Did it just happen? Can you open it with the remote? if you can open with the remote, but not the button on the trunk or inside the car then it's probably one of the switches has gone bad, although I find it odd that both don't work. My trunk switch went bad but I can still open it from the inside of the car. Switches are pretty cheap.
Lynn,

2008 Owner's Manual, page 2-21, did you try it?

If your vehicle is ever without power, the trunk area can still be manually accessed by using one of the following procedures.

On vehicles with a rear seat pass-through door:

1. Fold the rear armrest down and open the pass-through door. See “Rear-Seat Pass Through” following for more information.
2. Reach upward through the opening to locate the emergency trunk release handle. See “Emergency Trunk Release Handle” for more information.
3. Pull forward on the trunk release handle to open the trunk lid.

On vehicles with a split folding rear seat:

1. Fold down the rear seatback. See Split Folding Rear Seat on page 1-11 for more information.
2. Reach upward through the opening to locate the trunk release handle.
3. Pull forward on the trunk release handle to open the trunk lid.

_________

Any history of water leaking into the trunk lid - i.e., water dripping out of the trunk lid from behind the attached trim panel?
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Perhaps a wire connects to the latch and is either broken, disconnected or has corrosion. Must check it out...once the trunk is open of course. Good Luck.
Had this issue before. It was a broken wire in the hinge to goes to the cover lid. Was told it's a bad design since it folds each time we close/open the trunk, leading to broken wires.
^^^^ That makes a lot of sense to me too, when I bought my CTS the trunk light wasn't working - after tracing things out, I also found a broken wire (where the wires have to fold). Wire fixed -light comes on. :thumbsup:
guys, i realize this is an old thread, but this is crazy. the cadillac dealer tech nor did the service advisor hesitate when i brought this up on my 2011 cadillac cts sedan. they have got to be seeing this issue more and more. this is a poor design!
My issue started during the Christmas season (December 2016) on my 2011 CTS4 when I stuffed a too large Christmas tree box in the trunk. After doing research (refer to prior threads), I was also convinced that the issue was a broken wire. I had no clicking sound from the key fobs nor the interior driver side trunk release button.

After discussing with my mechanic, he found the broken wire within 30 minutes.

Advise moving forward, DO NOT PUT LARGE OBJECTS IN YOUR TRUNK THAT CAN FURTHER CRIMP THE WIRING HARNESS!

Electrical wiring Wire Vehicle Auto part Car
Wire Technology Electrical wiring Metal Cable
Wire Reptile Scaled reptile Snake
Wire Tire Trunk Auto part Automotive lighting
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4
Gotta be careful. That Christmas tree could have caused a fire! :duck:
There is a heavier duty plastic "wrap" you can use that won't fray like the OEM stuff. It's heavy and has a slit along the side so you can slip your wires into it.
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It's commonly called "wire looming"
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Great advise guys. My mechanic did modify the repair by re-inserting the factory harness only into the lower mounting hole (done to take some of the angle off of the bending of the wires). He also added some material to the existing wiring harness to stiffen the material to prevent a crimping type bend that could result in the wires breaking.
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