How the EX lacking a trunk key-release screwed me...

[DRMex06]

Thought I'd share this experience that occurred during the summer of '07. (It's a little long so grab some )

Living in Northern NJ, my buddies and I decided to take a trip down the shore to LBI (I'm off exit 154 vs LBI exit 63, a terror in good old GSP traffic).

So anyways I'm cruising in my civic with my at-the-time girlfriend while my buddies roll with their girls in their cars... we get to the beach and I go to pull the lever to open my trunk so my girl and I can get our stuff but the cable is disengaged. (To both the gas lid and the trunk release.)

I figure, okay... I have my key to pop it open... hit the button and I hear the clicking, but no dice, the actual hook is disengaged as well.

"Well, all cars have key holes in the trunk..."

Nope, not the EX. (Or SI, I believe. I'm guessing it's for the look.)

So now I'm stuck with a car with a trunk that won't open with all our shit for the weekend in it...

"Ok, I'll just get in through the back seat..."

Go figure, the only way you can pop the back seats out... is THROUGH THE TRUNK... which won't open. Basically, my trunk is inaccessible.

Going back home isn't an option. So I went to Causeway Honda in Manahawkin and asked for help. No one would help me until I basically begged one of the techs. He agreed to help, even though he knew he wasn't going to get paid for it.

About 10 minutes later in 95 degree weather the poor tech was sweating profusely but managed to unbolt my seat barely enough for me to reach in and pull the seat release. He did a quick job on the trunk so I would hopefully not have the problem again until I could get it properly serviced.

I thanked him, tipped him, and was on my way. (5 hours after I first realized I couldn't access my trunk.) Wasn't impressive to my lady friend.

What luck I have, huh? Thoughts? lol

[HondaFREAK]

Sorry to hear that. I'm always afraid that it will happen to me soon...but I will say that I like the cleaner look without having a key-hole, but at the same time, I think honda made a mistake by not putting a seat release in the passenger cabin. That is dumb, because people end up, unfortunately, in your very situation. I have already mailed Honda of America complaining about all of the issue with the new generation civic, and being an R18 EX owner the lack of key release on the trunk lid and seat release in the cabin...just my two cents.

[truflip]

So did you still get laid? lol jk man. sucks to hear about this incident. I should probably always fold down one seat eh.

[fox]

if i'm not mistaken...
the cable the the seat release is on, will come out. i think you could just move the cable into the cabin and hide it somewhere between the seats.
the reason the seat release is not in the cabin is so you can lock the trunk if someone breaks in.

[DRMex06]

Originally Posted by truflip

So did you still get laid?

I didn't let the trunk stop me, lol.

[DRMex06]

Originally Posted by fox

the reason the seat release is not in the cabin is so you can lock the trunk if someone breaks in.

Seems like an idea, but still a flawed design... how about a key-required trunk entry from inside the cabin? Now that would have been smart!

[fox]

Originally Posted by DRMex06

Seems like an idea, but still a flawed design... how about a key-required trunk entry from inside the cabin? Now that would have been smart!

we have that! it's the lock!
this does leave the possibility for it to break though, just as in your case,
anything that is not directly connected to the lock, can (and will) fail at some point.

[DRMex06]

I think I just have bad luck... lol

[jlannoo]

Originally Posted by DRMex06

Seems like an idea, but still a flawed design... how about a key-required trunk entry from inside the cabin? Now that would have been smart!

Some Hondas used to have that. I remember a Accord My Uncle had when I was little had a keyhole on the rear deck

[HondaFREAK]

Originally Posted by jlannoo

Some Hondas used to have that. I remember a Accord My Uncle had when I was little had a keyhole on the rear deck

my old '99 honda civic had it. that was a good design..used the keyhole on the rear deck to release the seats from inside the cabin...safer because it's not just a latch.

trunk release from the driver's footwell was lockable, and still is...but my question is...what happened to the keyhole seat release? when did it disappear and why?

[e60.deluxe]

i just dont understand honda mentality on this. my moms car hides the keyhole. its near the lisence plate lights. you cannot see it from behind, looks clean, but its there just incase.

theres also a realease button there, if lets say a passenger is getting a bag in/out you dont have to reach down to the realease near your foot.

[I Vtec, do you?]

Don't techs get paid by the hour?

[e60.deluxe]

Originally Posted by I Vtec, do you?

Don't techs get paid by the hour?

im pretty sure that jobs are prorated for a certain number of hours, and then only those hours count towards their working hours; they arent "on the clock" so to speak.

[DTNguyen107]

I can't help but ask... did you try the keyhole in front of your gas/trunk lever? Maybe it was in the lock position?

[dtexan]

the keyhole on the rear deck was just to lock the seats from lowering it didnt actually open the seats

[e60.deluxe]

Originally Posted by dtexan

the keyhole on the rear deck was just to lock the seats from lowering it didnt actually open the seats

err, i dont think anyone said it did. the point made by the TC is that with this design. you could still open the seats from the cabin.

Originally Posted by HondaFREAK

my old '99 honda civic had it. that was a good design..used the keyhole on the rear deck to release the seats from inside the cabin...safer because it's not just a latch.

trunk release from the driver's footwell was lockable, and still is...but my question is...what happened to the keyhole seat release? when did it disappear and why?

because its a pain in the ass, and given that you trunk latch doesnt break, its not any safer, or practical.


oh, and TC: ive reread your story and the issues had nothing to do with the remote release, it seemed to be the latch on the trunk itself. thus, a keyhole would have done nothing.

[dtexan]

the seat releases have always been in the truck with every honda I have owned

[DRMex06]

Originally Posted by e60.deluxe

oh, and TC: ive reread your story and the issues had nothing to do with the remote release, it seemed to be the latch on the trunk itself. thus, a keyhole would have done nothing.

The problem was that the cable from the lever was somehow defected. Basically, like a cut tendon. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't the keyless trunk entry only serve as an electrical solution to pulling the cable as opposed to manually pulling it from the driver's seat? IDK if they [the manual lever and trunk release button] correlate but when I hit the trunk release button, I heard the clicking of the cable moving but it wasn't engaged to the actual latch.


I think the actual latch wasn't a problem because once I got inside I pulled the emergency trunk release and it popped out fine. (Which is I believe in direct contact with the latch.) All I know is that the tech at Causeway had to adjust the HOOK. (Said it was off in placement, although I had never had this problem after a year in owning my civic.) Later I had to get the cables to both my gas tank lid and trunk lid replaced, never the latch to the trunk.

My point is with a key entry, I should have been able to just unlock the trunk and if they latch was the problem (being disengaged from the hook) the trunk would pop up by itself. And if the latch was stuck on the hook, there should still be entry from inside the cabin without having to remove the seats!

I'll take a closer look at it today as this has made me curious, although I believe it was more than one thing that lead to it being stuck. At the end of the day I just have bad luck with my EX lol.

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by dtexan

the keyhole on the rear deck was just to lock the seats from lowering it didnt actually open the seats

incorrect

having owned a 6th gen civic, i know for a fact that the old keyhole in the deck released the seats to allow them to fold down, not locked them in place.

they were all ready latched in place, the reason it used the key was so the it was possible to lock the trunk from inside the cabin.

[Duce2k]

Originally Posted by cderalow

incorrect

having owned a 6th gen civic, i know for a fact that the old keyhole in the deck released the seats to allow them to fold down, not locked them in place.

they were all ready latched in place, the reason it used the key was so the it was possible to lock the trunk from inside the cabin.

My seventh gen coupe was like that also, I used the key in the rear deck to drop the seats, there was no seat release in the trunk itself