Focus Trunk Lock Problems

I've done some researching and apparently this is just another example of Ford screwing up the Focus. So added to the HUGE list of stuff that goes bad and sucks more of my money down the drain, the trunk WILL NOT OPEN. The lock just stopped functioning, the remote, key and inside release will not do work. No its not frozen. I had to take the back seats out (mine is a 4 door sedan) just to get in to the trunk. That was no easiy task that's for sure becuase they are not made to be removed that way, but who ever had the dumb Idea not to put a seat relase inside the cabin was a real jackass, thanks Ford. Besised the fact that the seat is held in by a bunch of bolts you can't get to part of the stupid hinge is inside the crappy plastic molding.

So does anyone know how to get the lock to open from inside the trunk (the only good thing about the focus is there is plenty of room in the trunk to crawl in there and work) I don't see anway of removing the lock assembly from inside the truck and Ive tried and tried to force where the metal hook goes around the metal bar (Im not a locksmith don't know technical terms)

Has anyone figured thi sout? I'm having the same problem. Course I don't even know how to get the seat out.

Hi have had the same problem: You have to replace the whole trunk lock latch unit, and move the keylockcylinder to the new unit. The "thing" ia made partly from plastic so it tends to fall apart... Price parts est:115usd

these are cronic problems - the whole unit needs to be repalced so simply smash it appar and poof the trunk opens - good luck cleaning the mess of plastic up after the lid opens

i had the inside switch not work the switch was bad.

Thank you! You took the words right out of my mouth! This car sucks! I think this truck problem should be a recall! I drilled out my lock last night and the stupid truck still will not open. I am on try 10 of ways to get it open! I hope that you fixed your problem. Thank you! I've done some researching and apparently this is just another example of Ford screwing up the Focus. So added to the HUGE list of stuff that goes bad and sucks more of my money down the drain, the trunk WILL NOT OPEN. The lock just stopped functioning, the remote, key and inside release will not do work. No its not frozen. I had to take the back seats out (mine is a 4 door sedan) just to get in to the trunk. That was no easiy task that's for sure becuase they are not made to be removed that way, but who ever had the dumb Idea not to put a seat relase inside the cabin was a real jackass, thanks Ford. Besised the fact that the seat is held in by a bunch of bolts you can't get to part of the stupid hinge is inside the crappy plastic molding.

So does anyone know how to get the lock to open from inside the trunk (the only good thing about the focus is there is plenty of room in the trunk to crawl in there and work) I don't see anway of removing the lock assembly from inside the truck and Ive tried and tried to force where the metal hook goes around the metal bar (Im not a locksmith don't know technical terms)

I had the same problem as everyone else today. Now I get to tell you how I managed to brake into this trunk. Not knowing much about the lock assembly I try to use the key to unlock and also tried the trunk switch and could also hear it trying to work. The problem I found out later after I already had the trunk open was the whole lock assembly is made of plastic and probably just whore out. It's a cheap made part. one of the post I read said you could just punch out the whole lock. I did not use this tactic but it might work and might be easier than what I did.
Hear is how I got into this trunk. After trying to get one of the back seats to swing down I found that getting to the lever that unlocks the seat was difficult. Being on the passerger side I found a side cover plate that runs along the seat belt. I pried that cover off. It did take some force and the cover was slightly damaged, but not to the extent that anyone would know once you put it back together. Once I had the cover off I could stick my hand thru a little opening and found the cable that goes to the back seat latch. I pulled on this cable to the left as I was facing the back end of vehicle and was able to get the seat to unlatch. Once I could get into the back end of the trunk I could grab the lever to the other side of the seat and was able to get that seat down. Now I have plenty of room to get around. I then took a screw driver and pried the lever on the trunk latch and it open right up. After inspection I found the lock assemble defective and replaced it. I hope this helps someone.

Pulling the seatbelt cover off worked!!!
We were able to finally retreive our long lost vacuum and other household items from our move 3 months ago!

Thanks hip for the suggestion!

Peace

Hi have had the same problem: You have to replace the whole trunk lock latch unit, and move the keylockcylinder to the new unit. The "thing" ia made partly from plastic so it tends to fall apart... Price parts est:115usd

I got hold of a used mechanism, which seems to work when I plug it into my car, but I can't figure out how to switch our the lock cylinder. The mechanism has a plastic and metal side, looks like it should come apart but it doesn't seem to.

My old trunk latch only opens with the key, I don't want to lose that ability if it ever dies again.

I've taken the seatbelt cover off as noted above but am not sure where the cable to the back seat latch is (or which opening I'm supposed to stick my hand through).

Can anyone help that has already tried this method?

Thanks

I've taken the seatbelt cover off as noted above but am not sure where the cable to the back seat latch is (or which opening I'm supposed to stick my hand through).

Can anyone help that has already tried this method?

Thanks
I have the cover off as well. I the hole towards the back of the car and the seatbelt or towards the front of the seatbelt and the front of the car. Anyone no?

The top hole is the one you want-stick your hand thru(about up to your elbow) and feel along the back of the seat-you should come across the latch.This part is tricky(and a lil painful) use your finger to pry the latch(its like a claw,just pull on the closest piece) and the seat should unlatch,giving you access to the trunk

First of all, thank you very much to all of you for the info. I tried it and it worked. Now, I suggest that after you take the seatbelt top cover off, stick your hand not from the top hole, but from the side...this way you don't get your arm as scratched and cut (believe me, I tried both). Once you feel the cable which is usually wrapped in a layer of foam, I suggest you follow it towards the back seat, and as mentioned by someone else on the blog, try to find the plastic latch which you then pull and voila, your seat will be released.
One thing that seemed to make matters easier was to bend the cardboard backing of the back seat. This will give you more space to wiggle your arm around.
So, I've gotten that far...how I'm gonna get the trunk open is the next little project...
Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the advice on removing that plastic part by the seatbelt - it took a bit (an hour) of manevuering with a long-handled broom but we were able to get the seats down. Good thing, too, because my parents had just borrowed the car to buy christmas gifts for the grandkids and they all were locked in the trunk (the gifts, not the grandkids). I have been happy with the Focus during the 10 years I've had it and have driven it all over including repeated trips to Mexico. But ten years may be the limit.

Yes! Pulled the passenger side plastic seatbelt cover off (broke it...oops!) and bent back the cardboard trunk liner on the lower hole next to the seat. I could now see the release knob at the rear of the trunk (follow the foam covered cable), which pulls to the rear of the vehicle. I couldn't get my arm in, but with the scraper blade end of a snow brush poked through the hole next to the seat I was able to catch the back end of the release knob and push it rear-ward and then 'click' the seat released. I released the other seat and then crawled back and was able to get my finger into the down facing trunk latch opening and slide the black plastic thingy sideways and release the trunk. Now to get a new trunk latch (or lube/fix the old one) so that it works without all this hassle again! Thanks Automotive Forums!

Just got into the trunk last night. When the latch is stuck/locked closed, it is best to access through the back seats. No need to break anything. To lower the back seats, you have to trip the connector on the back side seat. This is the part that releases when you pull the release to lower the seat, when you can get into the trunk.

How to do this: When in the back seat, facing the rear of the car, open the small plastic center child car seat anchor cover. It is centered on the shelf behind the rear seat. After opening the cover, you will see a small rectangular opening in the metal on the right hand (drivers) side (still facing back of car). Insert a small diameter (approx. 1/4 inch) metal or wooden rod a distance of 10 - 12 inches, angled to the right towards the top center of the drivers side seat and up against the seat back. Keep moving the rod around against the back of the seat and you will eventually push the catch or the cable that releases the back seat.

Lower the back seats. Crawl into the trunk. Get close to the latch and you will see a portion of the latch that is wrapped around the right-hand (drivers) side and underneath side of the latch post. Take a screw driver, place it against that piece and push hard to the drivers side of the car. That will "unlock" the latch sufficiently to open the trunk. You may not be able to get the trunk to close/lock again as the latch was already broken.

Tools:

2 foot long 1/4 inch diameter rod
Flashlight (it's dark in the trunk)
screw driver

Took me about 15 minutes after having taken it to 1 mechanic, 1 Ford Dealership and 1 collision shop (twice).

Hi, take the plastic cover off the top of the seat belt cover and trim by the back window on the passenger side. Pull up the carpet enough to put your arm through the second (back) hole . At hand to elbow length the pull button to the passenger seat is there. Takes about 30 sec to do all this. Now you have to crawl in and stick a big screwdriver in where the lock latch meets the the post, and twist on the the black coated lock lever. You might have to push a little but it will unlatch. Good luck. It costs $168.00 (in Canada where i live), Half that if you can find one at a wreckers. My father in law says " just put a latch on it" .....Padlock? Since it's my other half's car....maybe a pink padlock...

Just finished the "fix" for the "non-opening" trunk problem.
Not clear why they didn't add a "pull string" to allow the trunk to be opened via access thru the rear seat drops. You are forced to dismantle the rear lower plastic trim from inside the trunk, get to the deeply set Torx screws and thus allow the trunk to open. Not too difficult really, but it could have been made easier.
Having opened the trunk the diagnosis is more difficult. My Focus 4 door, has a key-fob activator as well as the electric-switch-grip between the taillamp illumination lights. In my case nothing worked - no noises or response to either opening system. Seemed electric in nature! And turned out to be so.
Needed to remove the trunk lid liner in part to access the switch mechanism. Then checked the white/green 12V power wire to the lock activation motor. It was DEAD to both the fob or the switch.
There are NO separate fuzes to the trunk lock - it operates from the central locking power source.
Save yourself a lot of exploration by seperating the cable connector on the left-side (for RHD cars) of the trunk (behind the liner) and check there is 12V on the "upstream" side of that connector. It may be around 2V steady state, rising momentarily to battery voltage when the fob is activated.
In my case - after a LOT of diagnostics and dismantling and showing great care NOT to poke around too much with wires that might eminate from one of the many control-computers in this car (they are NOT happy about short circuits and such!!) - I finally nailed the problem!!
It WAS one noted in other posts I'd seen!! Did a continuity check on the green/white power wire between the aforementioned connector and the trunk switch - it was open-circuit!!!!
Tugged the green/white wire going into the flex-rubber line from the trunk-lid to the trunk - and it came out!! BROKEN!!. Its a stress fatigue issue, the black wire was also showing signs of going the same way. Bridged-in a new section of wire and, after many hours of needless chasing around the car - lock got the power it needed and worked fine.
Its a bad design and maybe that short wiring loom that carries the No plate light and trunk lock between the aforementioned connector and the trunk lid needs to be replaced BEFORE it fails.
Mine is a 2006 model so its seen quite a few opening-closings.
Hope this helps someone with this annoying - but relatively simply fixed problem.

I had problems with my trunk not opening, my dash would say trunk open and no trunk buttons would open the trunk (buttons on key, by driver door, and above the license plate). I had to crawl into the truck and pull the emergency handle to open the trunk. After inspecting the wires from the latch I found one of the wires got cut by the trunk hinge. After repairing the wires everything seemed to work fine again.