Trunk closing on its own after opening.

[XFireXLR]

I did a search and could not find anything on this topic. I had my hydraulic trunk and top pump replaced with a brand new one about two months ago. Now I am having two issues, 1) trunk will open about 6" and then just shut.... 2) trunk will fully open and then slowly start to close on its own. All work was performed at my usual GM dealer whom I trust and I only let two specific techs work on my car. Has anyone else experienced this issue, could it be a bubble in the line and its not holding pressure or possibly a faulty valve in the pump? I plan on taking the car in after the Christmas holiday. Any help or insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[nerkpowers]

You might start by replacing the gas charged trunk lift cylinders. They assist the hydraulic cylinders. If they are totally worn out, there may not be enough in the hydraulic system to lift the trunk or keep it open all by itself.


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[XFireXLR]

You might start by replacing the gas charged trunk lift cylinders. They assist the hydraulic cylinders. If they are totally worn out, there may not be enough in the hydraulic system to lift the trunk or keep it open all by itself.


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Nerkpowers......thanks for the speedy reply and I did not think of that.

 

[nerkpowers]

I bought my hood struts from this online store. Worked well.
2004 Cadillac Xlr Base Convertible 2door Lift Support / Prop Rods


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[rexster314]

Does the trunk work properly when you raise/lower the roof?

 

[BeardBros]

I had to replace one of the struts in my 2004 for the trunk lid. I can tell you that there are 4 of them total and you should buy them from the dealer as they are a specific length and have a specific pressure rating for the trunk operation. I replaced one of the smaller struts and it was no easy task. They are not easy to compress and the areas are tight to work in. I fabricated a tool to keep the strut compressed and aligned so I could install it. Good luck, If I recall the strut was about $70.

 

[hawkeye372]

Nerkpowers......thanks for the speedy reply and I did not think of that.

Wow thanks. I was at the store just now and put one thing in the trunk and when I turned around to put other items in the trunk, it was already shut. So I just put the rest of them in the passengers seat. Then when I got home I opened the trunk to get that item out. And turned around and it it looked like it dropped a couple inches. I was going to post something here butdecuded to look to see if anyone else has had problems. Thanks for the info. Glad I looked before posting. That’s why I like this forum. Now I have to reapply and search for a new aftermarket warrenty

 

[XFireXLR]

It was indeed one of the lift support struts, had both replaced at a cost of $253.00..... The struts were $92.00 each.....wow.

 

[pure zen]

quote: " 2) trunk will fully open and then slowly start to close on its own."


Cold weather conditions have that effect on older strut-shocks.......they lose some of their inner gas pressure, and drop the heavy trunk lid down.

Think you paid too much for those 2 replacements.... jmo

 

[XFireXLR]

quote: " 2) trunk will fully open and then slowly start to close on its own."


Cold weather conditions have that effect on older strut-shocks.......they lose some of their inner gas pressure, and drop the heavy trunk lid down.

Think you paid too much for those 2 replacements.... jmo

I agree, search around a bit best price I could find was $68.92 each plus $12.00 S/H. I have been dealing with it for a few months and just wanted to get it taken care of.

 

[hawkeye372]

Wow thanks. I was at the store just now and put one thing in the trunk and when I turned around to put other items in the trunk, it was already shut. So I just put the rest of them in the passengers seat. Then when I got home I opened the trunk to get that item out. And turned around and it it looked like it dropped a couple inches. I was going to post something here butdecuded to look to see if anyone else has had problems. Thanks for the info. Glad I looked before posting. That’s why I like this forum. Now I have to reapply and search for a new aftermarket warrenty

Back from dealer and had had both my service advisor, my service tech and myself look and figure what’s wrong. I mentioned what ppl said on this forum and everyone agreed to go this route. Then I mentioned the same thing was just starting back again on the hood. My service advisor and I looked back at the records and had both hood struts done in June of 2013. So we all agreed to have those done too. The total for the trunk one is around $358.00. Includes shop time. The hood ones are around $200.00 something. The parts are in Charolette but because of this freak weather system. All parts that were ordered yesterday have been delayed. So any and all parts that have been ordered yesterday will hopefully be here by Monday. I will take the car back in when I get a call from my service advisor.

 

[XFireXLR]

Back from dealer and had had both my service advisor, my service tech and myself look and figure what’s wrong. I mentioned what ppl said on this forum and everyone agreed to go this route. Then I mentioned the same thing was just starting back again on the hood. My service advisor and I looked back at the records and had both hood struts done in June of 2013. So we all agreed to have those done too. The total for the trunk one is around $358.00. Includes shop time. The hood ones are around $200.00 something. The parts are in Charolette but because of this freak weather system. All parts that were ordered yesterday have been delayed. So any and all parts that have been ordered yesterday will hopefully be here by Monday. I will take the car back in when I get a call from my service advisor.

WOW......$200.00 for hood struts, that's just ridiculous I changed mine about 6 months ago for about $37.95 for the struts on Amazon and installed them myself. The installation took less than 15 minutes.

Amazon.com: 2 Pieces (SET) Tuff Support Front Hood Lift Supports 2004 To 2009 Cadillac XLR: Automotive

 

[hawkeye372]

WOW......$200.00 for hood struts, that's just ridiculous I changed mine about 6 months ago for about $37.95 for the struts on Amazon and installed them myself. The installation took less than 15 minutes.

Amazon.com: 2 Pieces (SET) Tuff Support Front Hood Lift Supports 2004 To 2009 Cadillac XLR: Automotive

Idk if that’s true or not. I just overhead that price the dealer quoted. He was talking a lot and was throwing a bunch of numbers out. So that’s the only number that I remember besides the trunk issue. I remember that he was checking when I had them installed last and he found out that back in July of 2013 they were bought for $77.00 Back then. Idk the exact number that was installed. Even though I keep all the paperwork from all my visits for the service, I think I’ll ask my service guy if he could get my a print out. I’m thinking of getting a 3 ring binder book and start putting all my service papers in there instead of shoving them into a folder.

 

[Sli1]

Hood lift supports - I bought the TUFF hood supports 2+ years ago and they already went bad. I give them 1 star at most. I replaced them with Stabilus today. $49 for 2 from Amazon. IMO, easy to install. If unsure, see You Tube.

Trunk lift supports - My trunk opened and roof stored fine. But since it turned cold my open trunk slowly closes by itself. I have to race it to get stuf in or out. I saw that GM originally used Stabilus lift supports, so I bought Stabilus replacements. $48 for 2 from Amazon. IMO, very difficult to install. When I pulled out the old ones, the trunk support hardware dropped over 1/2 inch and would not open enough to install the replacements. Have you ever tried to compress a lift support? What a pain! It took all afternoon, but they are finally installed and now the trunk works as designed.

 

[Sli1]

I was asked in a PM for ideas for installing the trunk lifts. I will share my answer:

Open trunk. Prop the trunk lid open. I used a 2 x 4 about 6 feet long.

For passenger side, remove the cover of the store space (in trunk on right in very back of car). With a flashlight or shop light you can see the old lift support. The top of the old support will be trying to hold up the trunk. You should be able to see the bottom of the support through the storage space. Loosen or remove the retaining clips on both ends of the old lift support. I used a heavy flat edge screw driver to pop both ends off. When you pop the old one out, the trunk will drop a fraction of an inch and you no longer have room to install the new support. I installed the bottom of the new lift support first. Because the trunk dropped, I did not have enough clearance to connect the top of the support. I jammed the 2 x 4 holding the trunk closer to the car and forced the trunk higher. I did not want to push too hard to not damage the trunk lid. I still needed more clearance. I has several lengths of landscape timbers from a yard project (2 inches x 3 inches by about 2 feet). I set the timber in the storage space. Then I took a crow bar and used the timber as a fulcrum to force the trunk lifting hardware higher. I used the "V" on the end of the crow bar to grip the lift hardware so that it would not slip. A longer pry bar would have worked better, but I used what I had. I was very worried I would break something, but it held.

The driver side is even harder. I had to get into the compartment that houses the hydraulic fluid for the roof and trunk, under the left back corner of the carpet. There was a wiring harness and fluid hoses that made it very difficult to get the landscape timber into the compartment. I managed to snake the timber in and use the crow bar again. ​

Try this at your own risk!

If careless, it would be easy to damage the support mechanisms, the trunk, wiring harness, or a fluid hose.

I got lucky and it worked for me. If I had it to do over I would take it to the dealership to avoid the risk.​

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[Dand]

Holding trunk open

Speaking about holding the trunk open ,how do I remove film from the back window applied by previous Florida owner? Not permitted in my state so I have to remove it before annual inspection sticker or get stopped by over-zealous trooper. Can’t seem to get top into a position where I can get to all of the film. Dealer says leave it alone, as could damage defroster wire. Car will never see snow or ice while I own it, so I don’t care. Looks like a precut piece, as film has rounded corners and fits perfectly. Can’t get into trunk to access it, and can’t get to it from seat positions. HELP!

 

[rexster314]

You'll have to have a second pair of hand first. Then lower the top halfway. Using a good hairdryer start at one side of the film and using a rubber or plastic spatula begin peeling the film off. Take your time with it. There'll be some sticky residue that should come off with a good window cleaner

 

[Tikiman100]

Dealer had 3 service technicians working on the replacements

I'm glad to hear that you finally got them fixed. I'm impressed with the guys who actually did the installations themselves. As I kid I grew up learning how to do almost all mechanical repairs myself. But after having 8 spinal surgeries, there's no way I can do much anymore when it comes to repairs. When mine went bad I took my Xlr-V to Mike Erdman Cadillac on Merritt Island, FL to have them replaced but what truly amazed me was how hard they were to install, and the dealership had 3 service technicians working to install them. The service bays are right across from the customer waiting area and I could watch them the entire time. There were 2 technicians lifting up on the trunk (with a lot of pressure) to get the trunk lid high enough for the 3rd technician to actually install the trunk lifts. I'm was really glad that I had them do the job instead of me trying to get it done.

 

[pure zen]

For other owners having hood or trunk 'support strut issues',,,,,you might check with:

High Quality Automotive | Marine | Industrial Lift Supports first. I've found their prices reasonable, and the quality better than many OEM support struts. JMO

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