HELP! How do I open a jammed trunk?

Factual Questions
1

I work as a crossing guard, and this morning I ran into a calamity- I can’t get my car trunk open! It has my stop sign and folding chair, I NEED the stop sign for my job. I have to go back there this afternoon, and would like to get this sorted out by then (if that is possible).

My car says the trunk is ‘open’ but the stupid thing won’t budge. Pressing the ‘open trunk’ button, or just trying to unlock it and pull it open doesn’t do anything. What’s worse, I can’t seem to get the back seats down to get at the inside of the trunk.

My car is a 2000 Ford Focus. If anybody has any advice on how to un-jam the trunk or some non-destructive way to rip the back seats out, I’d love to hear it!

2

Look for a “lock” on the back seats. According to ford’s website, 60/40 fold down back seats are standard on all focus models.

Good luck.

3

Get a 13mm socket and wrench, and a pair of pliers. That should allow you to get any stop sign you want. There are tons of them out there.

4

quote incubus
or just trying to unlock it and pull it open doesn’t do anything.

Does this mean the key doesn’t turn?

My daughters car did that the other day. I used air to blow out the dust and sprayed it liberally with a light lubricant ,like wd40. It opened right up.

5

I blew air in the keyhole and used the long nozzle from the lubricant can to force the oil in. I then blew more air in the keyhole to make sure everything was lubricated.

6

Here’s the situation-

I can’t get the seats down, because the switches to unlock them are in the BACK, where I can’t reach (because the friggin trunk is jammed shut). The trunk lock WILL unlock, it just won’t open. My mom’s boyfriend and I spent half an hour with pliers, socket wrenches and other tools trying to get the thing undone to no avail.

7

Try pressing the trunk lid further down, then lifting it. Also (while pressing down) try beating around the trunk latch area vigorously with a fist, or even a rubber mallet, but NOT hard enough to dent the body. Do the above with the trunk release lever pulled and/or the key turned to the “open” position (don’t assume it’s unlocked just because the car’s indicator says so – it could be giving a faulty reading).