How do I get into the trunk with a disconnected battery and closed trunk lid?

[2007LucerneCXL]

Read the original post as this doesn't solve that problem! Only post #38 actually provided a solution to the original problem, lots of other tried but apparently never read or understood the OP problem.

 

[Franke]

I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?

To put down the back seats also jeed power lol any emergency pull cord for the seats if the battery dies since my f$%king booster cables are in lift box in trunk that can't open unless the trunks open.

 

[G-191052]

I just solved mine have to jump it from another car

 

[Danute]

You should never disconnect the battery for storage on newer vehicles, they lose memory and then you have the problem that is being talked about. Put a battery tender on the battery ports under the hood. These work great for storage. I have used them for years and never a problem. Purchase a good unit and it will work and solve your problem. Same also as #43 said, if the battery dies on the road you will need to jump it from the the service ports under the hood, that's what they are for! Techs use those ports for testing also.

 

[G-710866]

I have a 2017 Buick LaCrosse parked for the winter. The trunk battery was disconnected and I closed the trunk without thinking. No battery power means no working key fob. Can I get into the trunk by way of the back seat to open the trunk lid to reconnect the battery?

THIS WORKS 100%
There should be a terminal under the hood connected to the fuse box. It will most likely have a cover with the + symbol on it. Connect a booster box or jumper cables to the positive. The negative can be hooked up on the strut tower or any other suitable ground. You'll be able to use the fob after its powered to access the trunk.

 

[G-689719]

I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?

Moron that's where the jumper cables are

 

[G-688601]

I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?

Battery in trunk not under hood. Back seat does not go down

 

[mrp1937]

Battery in trunk not under hood. Back seat does not go down

The back seat release is in the trunk!
The only thing I say you could do is put a battery charger on the posts under the hood so it would give you enough juice to release deck lid to then get to the battery. 🙂

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Read the original post, the hood wasn't accessible to open lol.

 

[EDSELRANGER]

This thread has been a source of entertainment for several years now. It's been interesting to read the posters who obviously don't understand the predicament laid out in the original post by TTT. Either they haven't read the original post, or they just don't have the intellectual ability to understand it.

For instance, the guy (who will remain nameless) who posted this:

"I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?"

A smart a$$ question loses a lot of its punch when it's painfully obvious that the smart a$$ questioner doesn't understand the situation.

Another reason this thread has been entertaining is to hear the good and useful solutions to the problem. Although unusual, it's pretty easy to see how this situation might come about and a workable way out of it is good for everyone concerned.

And now, the most recent post (again, not mentioning any names) has me wondering what I'm missing.?.

"Read the original post, the hood wasn't accessible to open lol."

I read the original post. I see no mention of the hood not being accessible. TTT does ask about the rear seat access so we have to assume he (or she) is able to open the doors. Why then, would they not be able to open the hood? Where's the "lol"?

One other funny/entertaining thing... As far as I can tell, TTT never bothered to check back in for an answer.

 

[G-237570]

I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?

Battery is in the trunk

 

[G-771374]

Yes we have the 2017 lacrosse and cannot get to the battery to swap it out!! It’s under metal bar and the felt liner and scuff bar in trunk??? Why?? we would have to get the car towed to dealer at this point Since we can’t get any juice to the battery. I’d rather light the thing on fire I’m so annoyed finding this out after the purchase!

I have a 2018, im in the same boat...

 

[Human]

Buick had been putting the battery under the rear seat on some models for years. Possibly just nowhere else to put it the way parts are so tightly squeezed into cars today.

Yeah, I had two Olds Auroras, a '95 model and a '98 that had the battery under the back seat, but it truly is nothing new. That's where the battery is on the older Volkswagens with rear-mounted air-cooled engines. Cadillac did the same thing in the late '90s and early 2000s on Devilles and Sevilles. I had a student who worked in the service department at a Cadillac dealership tell me about having a Cadillac hearse come in for a new battery. The problem was that the shop that built the hearse failed to consider the original battery location under the back seat, and thus they neglected to leave any way to access it. He said they had to cut a hatch in the floor of the hearse to get to it, resulting in a very expensive battery change.

I remember once having a similar conversation with an attendant at a self-service salvage yard. I was trying to remove a driver's seat from a car with power front seats and couldn't get to the rear bolts with the way the seats were positioned. He suggested connecting a booster box to the battery terminals under the hood to give the car enough power to move the seat. Something similar, using the auxiliary terminals under the hood should work.

 

[MidnightleBuick]

I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?

You clearly don't own the Buick we own. You have to get in the truck to change the battery.

 

[G-944341]

Do the rear seats fold flat, exposing the trunk? Or is there a pass-thru in the rear arm rest? Or can you remove the rear seat backs?

no to all of the above

 

[Human]

Can you not get back into the passenger cabin with the physical key, open the hood, and reconnect the battery long enough to pop the trunk?

 

[G-158200]

I am trying to figure out what is the major issue people are complaining about here? So your battery dies... What is in the trunk that's so important that you have to get to right now, before you go buy a replacement battery for the car? Bought some milk from the market that's going bad? Are your tools in the trunk and you can't change the battery unless you have them? WTF? I would rather climb through the back seat and pull the emergency realise cord before I want a key lock cylinder on the back of my car like it's 1987 all over again. I could see if you couldn't get into the car period, but the trunk? Who the frick cares?

The battery is in the trunk. Now tell me if you care when there is no other way to access the trunk because the battery is dead, there is no key port and the seats don’t go down unless you pull the release cord from the trunk. Smart design Buick.

 

[Human]

The answers have been included in several previous posts, but for your convenience, here it is, step-by-step, all in one place:

1. Your car will have an old fashioned physical key hole on the driver's door handle.
2. Your key fob will have an old fashioned physical key, that either flips out with the push of a button. or slides out of the fob when you press a release catch on the back of the fob. With the latter, the fob will come away, leaving the key attached to your key ring.
3. Insert the key into the key hole and turn it to unlock the driver's door, just like in the old days. No electricity is required.
4. Open the driver's door and find the hood release, under the dash, just forward of the door opening. Pull on it to release the hood latch. Again, no electricity is required.
5. Move to the front of the car and reach into the space between the hood and the grille to find the secondary hood latch. It moves side-to-side. Move it to open the hood.
6. Look around the engine compartment, and you should see an auxiliary battery terminal, probably on the driver's side, covered with red plastic and bearing a '+' symbol.
7. Open the cover and connect a red jumper cable there and the corresponding black one to any suitable metal ground. The other end should be properly connected to a charged battery, booster box, or another vehicle. You should now have electricity flowing to your LaCrosse.
8. Open the trunk using the 'trunk' button on your key fob, or press the 'unlock' button inside the vehicle to activate the trunk release button under the lip of the trunk lid.
9. Once your trunk is open, reconnect the battery, and if necessary, put it on a charger before attempting to start the vehicle.

Please understand that I'm not trying to be condescending by offering these instructions. As a trained technical writer, I am endeavoring to relate these steps as clearly as possible for a lay audience.

 

[Danute]

Very well done Human! Maybe it got thru. After 34 years as a service manager, you can't get people to look and read the owners manual. I am retired from the auto industry for over 20 years, and I am GLAD.

 

[Human]

Very well done Human! Maybe it got thru. After 34 years as a service manager, you can't get people to look and read the owners manual. I am retired from the auto industry for over 20 years, and I am GLAD.

I know what you mean. I teach at a community college, and one of my colleagues made the comment that one must repeat something a minimum of 36 times for most students to internalize it. At first, I thought he was exaggerating, but now I think he may have been understating.