DIY trunk release lever 96/97 corolla

first off, you are going to need a 14mm ratchet with a small extension, 10mm socket to go with the ratchet you are already using but i find it easier to have a 1/4" ratchet and socket, and a flat head screwdriver if youre not comfortable using man power to pull interior trim pieces.

here is the part that needs replacing



for some reason many of us have the trunk release lever broken off right at the base making it useless and a pain because we have to use our keys to get into the trunk. hopefully this will help you do the install with confidence.

start out by removing the drivers front left side lower kick panel. is held down by a little black screw type thing next to the foot rest. unscrew that and gently pull it away. guess what? you found out that it was connected to that little trim piece in your door jam thats pretty much there for looks. to get that part off pull up the very far right end and after that pops off slide the whole thing towards the rear of the car.



now with your flathead, pry off the four black bolt cover that cover the bolts that hold your seat down.



now with your 14mm ratchet and extension unbolt the seat and tilt it out of the way.



the next part can be done after the first step if you would like but its whatever. take off the trim piece that covers your seat belt. use your flat head to pry it off and be sure to start from the backseat.



now pull up the carpet. its not going to lift much, just enough to do what you need to do.



now get out your 10mm, the lever is held in by one 10mm bolt.



now that you have it unbolted, pull the cables and do a little fighting and pull the lever out. it has to come out of the back so dont waste your time trying to get it out of the front.



take a look at the cables, dont mix these up or you will pop the trunk next time you get gas. the pink is your gas ant the white is your trunk. use your problem solving skills to take these off and put them on the new lever.





now all you do is put everything you took apart back on in the reverse order and youre all set. it should look like this when its all done.



congrats! now you dont have to fiddle with your keys every time you need something from the trunk.

nice work bro......i see a wire going inside the seat any specific function or just seat belt warning light



and loving your other diys heading but sadly cant see the videos as youtube doesnt work over here

I have this as standard and i find it annoying?
If i have to put something in my trunk, i have to fiddle with my keys to open the drivers door, bend down to pull the lever, and then go back to the trunk. More hassle than just open the trunk normal imo?

My other cars have a lockable push button, is this how your was stock?

Interesting how the levers are seperate from any sort of trim...on the Australian models they were always built-in to the seat-rail bolt trim piece, like so:

^^

thats what the ukdm market had them aswell

but nice write up tyler

Great DIY Tyler, I know how much trouble you have with these, you are an expert now. Great pictures as well.

Skorp wrote:

I have this as standard and i find it annoying?
If i have to put something in my trunk, i have to fiddle with my keys to open the drivers door, bend down to pull the lever, and then go back to the trunk. More hassle than just open the trunk normal imo?

My other cars have a lockable push button, is this how your was stock?

Our cars have both the lever inside and the lock outside. But the trunk doesn't have a button, it's only openable with the key (or this lever)

Hiro wrote:

Interesting how the levers are seperate from any sort of trim...on the Australian models they were always built-in to the seat-rail bolt trim piece,

Interesting!! I learn something new each day lol.

hiro, the 95 and older cars here have that style

True, now that you mention it, mine DID have the plastic tray thing around it like Hiro's.

Hey, I'm a Noob here. Joined to weigh in on this thread. I'm wanting to fix this in my '97 Prizm. Was out at a junkyard yesterday, looking for one, and was struck by a few things:

1) I had assumed that any '93-'97 Corolla/Prizm would have this part, but apparently this is not the case. All I could find were '95s and earlier, and they had a tray-like assembly that looks like the picture somebody else posted. I guess they must have changed this at some point and the title of the thread specifying '96/97' is meant to be taken literally. The other comment about this tray-like assembly is that it looks to be the same as (or very similar to) the assembly used in Camrys and Celicas of similar vintage. So, if you're looking for THAT type of assembly, the part out of one of those cars might also work for you.

2) At least half of the trunk levers I saw among all the Toyotas of this era I poked my head into were broken off! I'd say that this is an issue for ALL Toyota trunk releases of the era. I don't know that I'd call it a SERIOUS issue, since mine took 15 years to bust off. Still, I guess it says that if your looking around a junkyard for a trunk release, they might not be as easy to find as you might think.

3) I actually could not FIND any Corollas! And this was not a tiny yard! Seriously, after an hour of looking, I found only 1 (one!!!) Corolla of the period (a '95) and 1 (one!!!) Prizm (also a '95). Nobody junks their '93-'97 Corollas? Man, I knew they were bullet-proof, but honestly!

The Prizm, BTW, was not in the same section with the Toyotas, Hondas, Mazdas etc. It had been filed under GM. If the yard you're searching works similarly and you can't find any useful Corollas, search among the Chevies etc. for a Prizm.

Aren't a lot of junk yards in my area so I begin to suspect I might not be able to find this bit. If that's the case, I hope to at least be able to use these excellent instructions to get the assembly out so I can try to repair it with epoxy and a steel pin.

Hope my experience is helpful.

rabbit

Everything you said is spot on except for the part about maybe using one from another car. That won't work. And incase you were wondering i sell used OEM parts and can get the trunk release lever to you for $40. Let me know if that would be something that youre interested in.


-Tyler