#aravinda777: Infiniti G35 Coupe trunk not opening

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Infiniti G35 Coupe trunk not opening - Fix

Fact - the G35 is an amazing and solid driving machine!

I've got a 2007 G35 coupe and love driving it every day! But there are few little quirks that make things a little less than stellar with age. One common issue is that after few years the trunk lid stops opening, and 90% of the time, this is due to the same reason - which I am going to explain in this post.

In the worst case, you can open the trunk manually from the inside of the car. Make sure you stick to your occasional workout and maintain body flexibility for this! :)

Here's how;

Move the front seat forward and get on to the rear seat.
Put your hand between the back rest and bench right in the middle of the rear seat.
Feel for a small ribbon-like tab and pull it out. This will be a red color fabric tab.
Pull it hard, and this will unhook the back rest, and the seat will fold down revealing the trunk.
Now reach in to the trunk and pull the emergency release, which will open the trunk lid.

So, one fine day, the trunk stopped opening when I used the unlock button on the driver side. A quick check was to see if the valet mode was set by the switch in the glove box, which will lock it out. This was not the case. The G35 has an electronically actuated trunk unlock mechanism. The trunk lid does not have any fuse associated. So, I found it is likely to be something with the connection to the actuator after doing some online research.

Here are my steps. Images are given below.

Open the trunk lid and remove the inner cover.

Use a flat screwdriver to pop the clips that hold the cover.
Give a hard tug at the top and bottom of the emergency trunk release's plate to remove it.
Wiggle out the cover to reveal the wiring and inner workings.

Remove the wire connector at the locking mechanism.
Remove the tiny clips holding the wire to the trunk lid.
Remove the two ends of the rubber collar which runs from the car body to the trunk lid.

Pulling from the top on each end of the collar will get it off.

Pull the wire all the way out from the trunk lid and get it out to a repair-friendly position.
Remove the electric tape insulation from the rubber collar up to the first clip on the wire.
Now try to wiggle the rubber collar and peek in to see if the wire is broken inside this. Usually the wire breaks inside the collar. If only Infiniti made this harness 1 inch longer!!! (Smh)
If (or when) you find it broken slide the collar all the way towards the electrical connector as far as it would slide and get it to reveal the broken wire.

You might need to pull out the plastic conduit-like piece on the body-side end of the collar to make it slide along easily.

Once you reveal the broken wire, use your best judgement to fix the broken wire.

I took a small piece of extra automotive wire and connected it up. I would recommend you solder if you have the equipment to do so.
Insulate all exposed conductive wire.
Re-insulate the wire completely with electric tape.

Give a test run.

Attach the wire connector at the locking mechanism.
Using something like a screwdriver to put it in the middle of the lock on the trunk lid to lock it (This is the same that happens when you close the trunk).
Press the button on the driver side to check if it unlocks. If it does, you are good!

Reinstall the parts;

Put back the plastic pipe piece in to the collar.
Move the collar all the way back and attach on the body-side.
Run the wire through the trunk lid inner portion and attach the clips to hold it back in place.
Attach the connector at the lock.
Put back the cover and clips.