98 trunk lock - key doesn't work

I recently bought a 98 Taurus SE. I only received one key that works in the doors and ignition, but does not work in the trunk lid. I talked with someone that owns a 99 and his key does not work in the trunk either. Is the key suppose to work? Is there another key I should have?

I recently bought a 98 Taurus SE. I only received one key that works in the doors and ignition, but does not work in the trunk lid. I talked with someone that owns a 99 and his key does not work in the trunk either. Is the key suppose to work? Is there another key I should have?
I have a 99 Taurus, and had the same problem when it was still under warrenty. The dealership fixed the problem by replacing the lock assembly. After the warrenty expired, the same problem occured again. I then sprayed the lock assembly with WD40 until my key would work. I have to spray it every couple of months to keep it working right. And yes, the ignition key also works the trunk. Good luck.

I have a 99 Taurus, and had the same problem when it was still under warrenty. The dealership fixed the problem by replacing the lock assembly. After the warrenty expired, the same problem occured again. I then sprayed the lock assembly with WD40 until my key would work. I have to spray it every couple of months to keep it working right. And yes, the ignition key also works the trunk. Good luck.

Thank you WETMEE. That did the trick. I appreciate the help.

I believe it might be a regular ford problem with the locks. i had the same prob with my 99 taurus with the key not working on the truck lid. But also on my grandpas 01 tauras and my grandmas 03 focus. but on my 99 i also had the prob of the key not working in doors but i had keyless entry so i wasnt to worried bout it. till i unhooked battery at work to reset computer and i locked doors. the key worked in door and trunk later but it was a pain. my guess would be if you dont use it you lose it. pardon the pun.

My key also wont work in the trunk since I bought the car, but I figured the lock cylider was at fault. I noticed that my key doesn't slide into the trunk lock quite as far it does into the door locks. The difference isn't huge, maybe about 1/8th of an inch but enough that I though this was the cause. I'll definitly give the wd-40 a try, but does everyone elses key slide in the same amount as the door locks?

Same problem when I bought my '99 a year ago. Thought for sure the dealer didnt give me a trunk key. Oiled the key and lock and no problem. No, the key doesnt go in as far in the trunk lock versus the ignition lock.

Oiled the lock but still a no go. Did you just spray the oil in through the key hole, or actualy spray the locking mechanism inside the trunk (I'm reluctant because I don't want to have to remove the plasic gaurd). It's also well below freezing here, so maybe I'll als ohave to wait for beter weather.

Just through the keyhole last summer in sunny Calif. The lubricant might not flow as fast for you, lots of luck.

I have the 97 Taurus GL, bought used. Had the same problem. I had problems with the door locks and the trunk lock. The problem with the doors, I found, was that they set up from not being used by the previous owner. Apparently, this is a common problem and even the Ford dealership I called said that was probably it. Of course, they wanted me to come in and take out my wallet for a new lock assembly. But I figured I'd try the path of least resistance first. So, I got some lubricant from an auto parts store, akin to WD-40 that said it would help on rusty parts too. I got a can with a small straw that hooks to the nozzle and sprayed a good dose into the keyhole then worked it in with the key, locking and unlocking it several times. Worked like a charm and immediately, too. I no longer have problems with the door locks at all. Good as new.

The trunk, however, is still a mystery. I have doused it really good with the same spray and nothing changed there. I was also miffed that the key would not go in as far--as someone already said, probably a difference of about 1/8 inch or a little more. I swore up and down there must be a different key for the trunk but it really is looking like there is one key for the whole car. I've been on-line looking to see if there is another key for the trunk but have turned up absolutely nothing there, even on official Ford sites. Not sure where to go from here with that one. I'll try spraying it again and see what happens, on the off chance that it might be set up much worse than the door locks were. After that, though, I'm not sure what to do next other than replace the lock itself. :disappoin

There is only one key. The trunk key doesn't go in as far as it does for the doors. Mine wouldn't work sometimes, then others, then finally not at all. I took out the lock assembly and soaked it in penetrating oil. Still wouldn't work. I could see that one of the tumbler pins wasn't moving correctly and nothing I did would get it to move. I took it and all the keys to the car to a locksmith and for $12 he took it apart and reloaded the pins while using two new ones to get it to work with the keys again. Having taken one apart from a different car I didn't want to mess with the possibility of little springs that are sometimes in the locks going flying every which way. I don't know if this lock has springs because he took it into a back room to work on and I didn't see what he did.

I have the problem every few years with my 98 Taurus trunk lock. If you want a sure fired fix, just search the forum here for my sign on and trunk locks. I used a combination of electrical contact cleaner to get the junk out of the lock and then used graphite to lubricate the lock. It took a bit of work with the electrical cleaner and wd40 to break the tumblers loose to turn. I first had to take the lock out of the trunk.