Trunk Lid Support

[busboy4]

Hi All

I have a '99 with no spoiler. I'm probably going to change out the supports anyway, but, I was wondering: should the trunk lid pop up when released by the keyless entry i.e. move to the fully open position? Mine currently opens but just barely when released.

Thanks

[aghopkins]

Mine has always been the same way. It just barely pops up. I always assumed that it was normal.

[LittleHoov]

Mine just barely pops up as well.

Ive seen other cars where the trunk pops open completely, but I dont think they were GM vehicles.

[busboy4]

Thanks for the replies folks.

[LittleHoov]

You might swing by the dealership and see if you can find somebody who knows something, and ask them if its supposed to fully open or not.

Id be pissed to invest the time and money in replacing the support only to still have it crack open a half an inch.

[busboy4]

Originally Posted by LittleHoov

You might swing by the dealership and see if you can find somebody who knows something, and ask them if its supposed to fully open or not.

Id be pissed to invest the time and money in replacing the support only to still have it crack open a half an inch.

Yeah they are not particularly cheap, the supports. The reason I am wondering is because it makes it difficult to realize the lid is open. I installed a remote starter that included door locks and trunk release. It works great, but the buttons are sensitive and I have once in a while released the trunk and not realized it. No big deal as I have noticed it soon enough, but I thought that thing popping up would increase awareness.

Thanks

[LittleHoov]

Well at the same time you wouldnt want the trunk popping open completely when you werent around either would you?

I dont know the range of your system, but some of them work at quite a distance.

The average thief walking by might not notice that your trunk is cracked open a half an inch. But I can guarantee theyd notice if it was popped open and no one was around.

Think about this, its possible to access the inside of the car through the trunk, pull the little safety cables, and push the backseats down and youre in. Im by no means small 6' 1" and about 185 and I can crawl through there pretty easily. Granted it might be a little time consuming for someone to access the car that way, but its just a thought.

[harmankardon35]

mine doesnt pop up at all...just makes a click and i gotta pull it up from the spoiler...this often leads to me driving with the trunk open without knowing it until i hear a whooshing sound on the highway

[remark123]

Having worked for GM Engineering, I can speak with some authority to this subject. Years ago, deck lids popped up due to the hinge design, which included either a spring or torsion bar to counterbalance the weight of the deck lid assembly. With the advent of the "aero" designs, and the elimination of the "tulip panel" (the panel that covered the springs and/or torsion bars), the gas strut came along to hold the deck lid open. The gas strut is not a spring, and is merely there to support the lid once it is opened. Take a look at the hinge design on the Intrigue, it is what we always refered to as a "monkey motion" hinge, that is, it basically collapses into a very small amount of space, thus saving weight and space, two of the biggest "must-haves" in car design today. In the older designs, the springs or torsion bars could be adjusted to "spring" the lid open, this is not possible with the current design. In short, the lid is operating properly if it only pops off the latch, not springs to attention like the older vehicles did.

[dtownfb]

Mine trunk lid does not pop up either. I always assumed it was because of the additional weight from the spoiler. I have driven with it "open" many times. Never had it "fly open". Again I figured the weight of the spoiler kept the lid down.

[LittleHoov]

Well if you were driving forward I don't see how it could fly open, you would have to hit an absolutely massive dip of some kind for it to pop up, and even so, the force of air pushing down on it would keep it closed.

Or even if it did pop up, it would definitely contact some air moving in the opposite direction at some point and be slammed back down. I guess if you drove really fast in reverse it would be possible to damage something.

It seems to me that remark hit the nail on the head, and that nothing is really wrong with the OP's trunk.

[busboy4]

Originally Posted by remark123

Having worked for GM Engineering, I can speak with some authority to this subject. Years ago, deck lids popped up due to the hinge design, which included either a spring or torsion bar to counterbalance the weight of the deck lid assembly. With the advent of the "aero" designs, and the elimination of the "tulip panel" (the panel that covered the springs and/or torsion bars), the gas strut came along to hold the deck lid open. The gas strut is not a spring, and is merely there to support the lid once it is opened. Take a look at the hinge design on the Intrigue, it is what we always refered to as a "monkey motion" hinge, that is, it basically collapses into a very small amount of space, thus saving weight and space, two of the biggest "must-haves" in car design today. In the older designs, the springs or torsion bars could be adjusted to "spring" the lid open, this is not possible with the current design. In short, the lid is operating properly if it only pops off the latch, not springs to attention like the older vehicles did.

Hi
never guessed this thread would generate as much interest. Thanks for the details on design and philosophy. Interesting. And to all others thanks for your participation too.

[Hoppy2]

Littlehoov. Driving really fast in reverse! LOL. I am picturing me back around 15 years ago when me and my buddies were just gettng our licenses, and some of my buddies, (at the time we thought were really lame) buying fwd cars. Me and most of my buddies had rwd cars, such as Mustangs, Mercury Capris, Camaros and the such. I remember going to a large parking lot in town during the winter and we would do spin-outs in our cars on the snow. The guys with the fwd cars were hillarious to watch. they would do their spinouts in reverse and couldn't see where they were going, hence us having to tow them out of the snowbank or ditch!

Aside from that and getting back to the topic, I find the trunk on my Intrigue not popping all the way open to be a real PITA. Reason being, I live in Canada, and our beer cases have handle slots in them big enough to put your fingers in with gloves or mittens. Getting your hands out of them while trying to rest the case on one knee when trying to lift the trunk open is the worst. Especially considering I don't want to rest the case on my bumper and scratch the paint with the bumper being coated in sand and salt. Not only that, while juggling the case on your knee while trying to lift the trunk, then slipping and the trunk latching closed again. Arggg. I never had a car that would self close on itself like that neither.

My good ol Mercury Capri at least had struts in it that would start lifting once you pulled the tailgate up about 4 inches. Even without a remote that was an excellent operating trunk/tailgate.

The Intrigue, however, being the first GM vehicle that I bought unpurpose has been a great vehicle so far. I was never a GM fan, but I didn't like the Taurus' shape, even being a Ford guy. GM has built a pretty good vehicle here and I am one of 3 in my family with the W-body. Mine only has a little over 40k kiliometres on it and hasn't given me any trouble yet, although the battery is starting to make the starter a bit sluggish, but that is to be expected with temperatures around the 0F mark.

[busboy4]

Yeah, we picked up a Pacifica this year. My Wife has always wanted one. Has a lot of nice features, but you cannot beat the power liftgate. Too cool. Punch the button and as you walk up to it, it opens. Best feature on the car, except for the heated seats, or maybe the nav system.....She's spoiled.

[harmankardon35]

Originally Posted by Hoppy2

I find the trunk on my Intrigue not popping all the way open to be a real PITA. Reason being, I live in Canada, and our beer cases have handle slots in them big enough to put your fingers in with gloves or mittens. Getting your hands out of them while trying to rest the case on one knee when trying to lift the trunk open is the worst. Especially considering I don't want to rest the case on my bumper and scratch the paint with the bumper being coated in sand and salt. Not only that, while juggling the case on your knee while trying to lift the trunk, then slipping and the trunk latching closed again.

especially with these new 28 packs that almost certainly will smash on the ground if you were only holding onto one handle trying to open it.