What Is A Trunk Latch?

A trunk latch is a mechanism on your car that closes and opens the hatchback. It’s usually located near or around the rear license plate in most cars.

The lifting arm, which can be metal or plastic, attaches to a rubber seal with an internal spring attached to it so that when you open it up from inside, it doesn’t slam back down.

How Does it Break?

There are a few ways that your trunk latch might break. The most common way is by the rubber seal wearing out and breaking, which causes it not to close correctly anymore. Another reason for failure could be corrosion or wear on metal parts due to oxidation from high humidity levels in some climates.

If you or your passengers slam the trunk down too hard, the rubber seal may break or snap. You could also hit a curb and cause someone close to your car to bend and wreck the latch from inside the trunk.

The other way is if you leave something heavy in there that’s not supposed to be! For example, putting an ice chest with no lid in the trunk will put a lot of pressure on the metal bumper and make it hard for the rubber seal to close fully.

When To Change Trunk Latch?

If you notice something’s wrong with how your trunk is closing or opening, it’s important to look at the latch and see if there are any signs of damage.

It may also be time to change the latch if you notice that the rubber seal is coming out when opening and closing the trunk.

It’s also a good idea to change it when you hit something with your car hard enough to bend or break the metal parts of the latch. This will make sure that everything snaps back into place properly so there won’t be any further damage done to your trunk.

Then you’ll need to either replace your trunk latch with new parts from an auto part store or have someone else fix it for you. We recommend entrusting this task to Prieto Automotive for a fast and seamless repair, which we will do right the first time.

How Much Does It Cost To Repair A Trunk Latch?

The cost to replace a trunk latch will depend on the severity of the damage and whether you need an auto repair shop or just new parts.

If there’s any visual sign caused by corrosion, then we recommend going with new metal pieces only for your repair to avoid future problems. This can take anywhere from $200 to $400.

A new rubber seal and arm, which is cheaper but usually doesn’t last as long, can cost anywhere from $80 to $120. If the corrosion isn’t visible or too bad yet, then it’s worth your time and money just to get a new one with metal parts on top of that for a total expense of $250 to $400.

Final Thoughts

If you’re unsure what needs to be done and want an expert opinion, we offer a free consultation at Prieto Automotive for our customers! We would love to hear from you about your troubles with the trunk latch to provide some insight on how to fix it.