Welcome to the Cadillac XLR Forums!

Help! XLR trunk lid

09XLR

Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
6
Location
48170
My XLR/V(s)
09 RED XLR
My 2009 XLR trunk lid will not stay open. It appears to open all the way, but immediately re-closes. Found various recommendations on this site for other similar issues, but not this one. Is this another Tech II fix or something I could possibly do myself? Being 70 not sure I'm up to crawling around in the trunk.
 
Trunk!

Maybe the gas struts, that’s what I had to replace last year!
 
So. are you thinking one or more of the struts have failed?
 
So. are you thinking one or more of the struts have failed?


Yes,,, they don't last forever... The XLR trunk lid is quite heavy, and the seals within the lift struts begin to fail releasing the gas within. Goes up and then drops down. Quite often happens when temperatures drop
 
Yes,,, they don't last forever... The XLR trunk lid is quite heavy, and the seals within the lift struts begin to fail releasing the gas within. Goes up and then drops down. Quite often happens when temperatures drop

OK TX, will check them out. Thinking if I block the trunk open & remove one end of each strut, should be able to manually operate to test strength.
 
OK TX, will check them out. Thinking if I block the trunk open & remove one end of each strut, should be able to manually operate to test strength.

The gas struts (when working correctly) require an enormous force to compress them. You won't do it by hand.
 
The gas struts (when working correctly) require an enormous force to compress them. You won't do it by hand.
I propped open the trunk lid & took a look, but does not look like something I want to tackle. I will talk to the dealership & see if they have some experience. Again, tx for your help.
 
gas struts

they pop on in about 2 minutes. That is about the easiset thing you can do on the XLR. Aftermarket made by same company who made oem are like 20$ each . A dealer will charge you 150$ I bet to replace them
 
IT CAN BE DONE, BUT...

Mickeytee, I think you are thinking of the hood struts; which are really easy to replace. The trunks struts are a little more involved; I'm doubting you can do it in 2 minutes. Maybe more like 1/2 hour from start to finish. :lol::lol:



they pop on in about 2 minutes. That is about the easiset thing you can do on the XLR. Aftermarket made by same company who made oem are like 20$ each . A dealer will charge you 150$ I bet to replace them
 
KEY FOB HELP Please

PUT A NEW BATTERY IN KEY FOB BUT IT WOULDN'T OPEN DOORS OR START CAR . IF ANYONE CAN HELP I WOULD APPRECIATE IT .
 
Dead Remote.

I had a remote fail shortly after purchase despite a change in remote battery. Ordered replacement fob to supplement the 1 that still worked. Follow pairing instructions in owners manual but finally had to get dealer to get replacement fob operational.
 
You might want to go to >>> Lift Supports, Gas Springs & Gas Struts | Lift Supports Depot and get some support and good prices from them... The dealer service department is going to dig deep into your wallet to replace them, both on parts price and labor. JMO

Make sure you get the trunk deck lid gas struts. Some after market catalogs are listing the hood strut codes for the trunk struts. The trunk struts are compact (MUCH shorter than the hood struts) and have very high loadings.
 
Can’t say enough of the benefits of replacing the trunk struts. Mine gave no signs of failure but we decided to replace them since they’re a dozen years old. I got the car when it was 4 years old and the trunk has always slammed down whenever it closes, & left scrub marks on top of the bumper. I tried to get the dealer to do something with it to stop the marks, but they said they weren’t about to mess with the adjustments since the top cycles perfectly. Well, now that the struts have been replaced, it shuts gently and sits up higher off the bumper. :thumbsup Never would have thought that would solve the problem since the car wasn’t that old when I got it & has always done that.

Not a super easy job to replace since the struts needed compressing to install. My husband used a come along to compress them & then high strength wire to hold them that way until installed. Once they were all hooked up, he clipped the wire & they were good to go. Others may have better/easier/whatever methods, but that worked for us.
 
new struts help the whole system. Makes it easier for the pump to do its job plus hold it open when the trunk is open all the way. Highly recommend this easy and cheap repair. Also with new balanced struts the trunk will move in a nice even movement with both sides equal.
 
I should have included part info in my post - we used Stabilus SG330112 Fits Cadillac XLR 2004 To 2009 Rear Trunk Lift Supports, found a set on Amazon. :wave:
 
Trunk Strut

My 2009 XLR trunk lid will not stay open. It appears to open all the way, but immediately re-closes. Found various recommendations on this site for other similar issues, but not this one. Is this another Tech II fix or something I could possibly do myself? Being 70 not sure I'm up to crawling around in the. Replaced the struts in the trunk of my xlr need to push up on trunk with 4 people to get them to drop into place. Tolk about 4 minutes to do
 
2005 XLR trunk lid won't stay up. Other than replacing the struts, any thoughts about how to fix the problem??
 
the struts are what holds it up once all the way. make sure the valve in the pump motor is all the ways closed. crack it open and then close it again. unless the cylinders are worn out allowing the fluid to leak down the struts should do the job. the pump opens it the struts assist to hold it open.
 

Cadillac XLR Forums

Not a member?  Join now!  It's Free!

Learn more about Supporting Membership

Win 2 Supercharged Cadillacs!

Win both supercharged Cadillac Vs!

Supporting Vendors

Taput Tunning LLC

Top Hydraulics

Cadillac XLR Registry

Click here to enter the official Cadillac XLR and XLR-V Registry
Back
Top Bottom