Well my boot lock failed again ! I had that rather familiar sinking feeling when I pulled the SEAT handle but could not feel the catch connect. I could hear the servo clicking back and forth but could not open the boot. The last time this failed the car was under warrantee so it went back and they fitted a new lock mech, however the warrantee has since expired so iam on my own.
I ve often read on here that all is needed is a quick squirt of good old WD40 to get it working again so I decided to DIY. I am really glad I did because it only took an hour and most of that time was trying to get the plastic boot panel off without breaking the clips.
By doing a search you can find a few written guides on here for getting to the lock but they don’t show where the lock has failed. So as this keeps happening I decided to take some pics to show exactly what’s gone wrong and where to apply the oil/grease.
Firstly DON’T PANIC ! You obviously need to get into the boot but you can easily do so by lowering either one of the rear seats and although its awkward you can carry on using the car till you have the time available to fix the lock.
Pull the seats down and remove the parcel shelf by carefully but forcefully pushing it towards the rear window until you can release the catches. You can now get access the plastic boot panel.
The other guides on here tell you to remove the bulb panels and slide your hand in and find the steel boot mech rod and pull up. Well I have slim hands but could not push my hand in far enough to reach it. It was also quite painful as the plastic digs into your hand. After 15 mins of trying from both sides I concluded I could not do it this way. If you manage it well done if not read on.
Now you HAVE to get the panel off to open the boot and its held on by a few possidrive (star pattern) screws and some incredibly strong metal clips. First remove the 2 screws hidden behind the light panels. Then there is a 3rd screw up in the handle reccess. There are 2 more by the latch but you cant get to them yet with the boot jammed closed.
Next is the hardest part and you have to be forceful.
Look at my pic below which shows where the metal clips are located Carefully starting at the top (I found the bulge in the middle the easiest) prise the panel with your fingers way from the hatch. The clips are really strong and the plastic panel and the attachment points really weak so its incredibly easy to snap of a clip and in fact once I had removed the panel I found SEAT had already snapped one and I broke another.
Get your fingers behind the panel lip slide them outwards to you feel the top clips. There are 4 in total 2 at each end (see pic). There’s no friendly way to pop these clips as they need a good tug so I suggest you try to get your hands as near to the anchor points as possible.
Once these 4 clips are released you can look behind the panel and see the 2 middle clips and things get easier. Pop the 2 middle clips and grab the metal catch connection rod and pull up. CLICK your boot is now open.
The final 2 screws are hidden under a plastic panel around the boot catch.
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
The white circles are the metal clips and the green circles show the screws
Now nothing had actually broken on my lock it was just the part that rocks back and forth which engages the handle had become stiff and seized. It’s a square black plastic block on a square metal shaft. The metal shaft seemed to have no (or very little) grease at its ends where it fits into lock and was stiff. (see pic)
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
I sprayed all the parts with WD40 and opened and closed the boot via the remote key and the catch started working once again. Its not easy to explain but once you have done this you can soon see how the sliding bolt action works allowing the boot handle to be isolated when you lock it.
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
I sprayed plenty of oil at the ends of the shafts and finished with applying some grease.
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
Refiting the panel is a lot easier once the boot is open. Take some time to make sure that the metal clips are lined up with the slots in the boot and starting at the bottom simply give each one a firm bang with the palm of your hand. They should snap in first time but if they dont re-check that they are lined up correctly before your hit them again.
This was 3 weeks ago and its been fine. I am hoping the oil / grease works this time as the mech was really dry. If mine goes again iam seriously considering cutting a small round hole in the plastic panel to allow access to the boot release rod so iam not caught out stranded with a jammed boot.
I ve often read on here that all is needed is a quick squirt of good old WD40 to get it working again so I decided to DIY. I am really glad I did because it only took an hour and most of that time was trying to get the plastic boot panel off without breaking the clips.
By doing a search you can find a few written guides on here for getting to the lock but they don’t show where the lock has failed. So as this keeps happening I decided to take some pics to show exactly what’s gone wrong and where to apply the oil/grease.
Firstly DON’T PANIC ! You obviously need to get into the boot but you can easily do so by lowering either one of the rear seats and although its awkward you can carry on using the car till you have the time available to fix the lock.
Pull the seats down and remove the parcel shelf by carefully but forcefully pushing it towards the rear window until you can release the catches. You can now get access the plastic boot panel.
The other guides on here tell you to remove the bulb panels and slide your hand in and find the steel boot mech rod and pull up. Well I have slim hands but could not push my hand in far enough to reach it. It was also quite painful as the plastic digs into your hand. After 15 mins of trying from both sides I concluded I could not do it this way. If you manage it well done if not read on.
Now you HAVE to get the panel off to open the boot and its held on by a few possidrive (star pattern) screws and some incredibly strong metal clips. First remove the 2 screws hidden behind the light panels. Then there is a 3rd screw up in the handle reccess. There are 2 more by the latch but you cant get to them yet with the boot jammed closed.
Next is the hardest part and you have to be forceful.
Look at my pic below which shows where the metal clips are located Carefully starting at the top (I found the bulge in the middle the easiest) prise the panel with your fingers way from the hatch. The clips are really strong and the plastic panel and the attachment points really weak so its incredibly easy to snap of a clip and in fact once I had removed the panel I found SEAT had already snapped one and I broke another.
Get your fingers behind the panel lip slide them outwards to you feel the top clips. There are 4 in total 2 at each end (see pic). There’s no friendly way to pop these clips as they need a good tug so I suggest you try to get your hands as near to the anchor points as possible.
Once these 4 clips are released you can look behind the panel and see the 2 middle clips and things get easier. Pop the 2 middle clips and grab the metal catch connection rod and pull up. CLICK your boot is now open.
The final 2 screws are hidden under a plastic panel around the boot catch.
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
The white circles are the metal clips and the green circles show the screws
Now nothing had actually broken on my lock it was just the part that rocks back and forth which engages the handle had become stiff and seized. It’s a square black plastic block on a square metal shaft. The metal shaft seemed to have no (or very little) grease at its ends where it fits into lock and was stiff. (see pic)
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
I sprayed all the parts with WD40 and opened and closed the boot via the remote key and the catch started working once again. Its not easy to explain but once you have done this you can soon see how the sliding bolt action works allowing the boot handle to be isolated when you lock it.
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
I sprayed plenty of oil at the ends of the shafts and finished with applying some grease.
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
By krussel1 at 2011-04-08
Refiting the panel is a lot easier once the boot is open. Take some time to make sure that the metal clips are lined up with the slots in the boot and starting at the bottom simply give each one a firm bang with the palm of your hand. They should snap in first time but if they dont re-check that they are lined up correctly before your hit them again.
This was 3 weeks ago and its been fine. I am hoping the oil / grease works this time as the mech was really dry. If mine goes again iam seriously considering cutting a small round hole in the plastic panel to allow access to the boot release rod so iam not caught out stranded with a jammed boot.
Last edited:
:thanks:
