How to Fix a Jammed Toyota Camry Trunk

This problem needs a higher pagerank, so I figured I would post the solution here.

If your Toyota Camry trunk won't open, one possible reason is that it is set to valet mode. Valet mode means that you cannot open the trunk using the release lever inside the car.

To set valet mode, you put the key into the trunk lock and turn it counterclockwise. You will know that your trunk is in valet mode if the lock is horizontal rather than vertical, and if you cannot open the trunk using the lever near the driver's seat.

Of course, a problem is that sometimes the Camry can get stuck in valet mode, such that you can't use your key to get out of it. (You can see how I spent part of my Sunday morning ...)

The solution turns out to be WD-40. Spray some WD-40 on your key and on the lock. Put the key in, and jiggle it around, and happiness ensues.

From an interaction design perspective, it sort of makes sense to have a valet mode. After all, the point of having a valet key is to limit the functions that an untrusted person can use. On the other hand, in the roughly 20 years I've driven a car, I pretty much never remember to bring the valet key with me, and have only valet parked at most three times. I suspect valet mode has caused more problems than actually solved.

Comments

Thanks for the information, it seems to me that you have a good experience about the parts of your Toyota car.
Umut Topkara said…
The name valet keys is misleading. They should be called oil change keys for the rest of us with more humble parking habits.
Anonymous said…
Great information! I thought I was going to have to get my cable replaced but it was just set on valet. Thanks so much for your post.
Anonymous said…
Been spraying WD40 into lock for two days and it's still stuck. Any ideas what to try next?
Anonymous said…
thanks so much, Jason. it took awhile, and it took trying 3 different keys I had, but after about 10 min. of jiggling in the WD-40'd lock, one of the keys suddenly clicked into vertical position. Can't tell you how helpful this hint was. Saved lots of futile effort and worry over it being a much worse problem than it was.
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ajury said…
Thanks just did this, I used graphite instead of WD40. A locksmith I worked with said eithor use liquid lubricant or dry but dont mix. Makes a paste that is really hard to clean off.
buy gold said…
boy thats great another use for WD-40, love that stuff. I was thinking it would be nice if they came out with a mini spray bottle that you could put on your keychain cause you can use it for everything.
Annakate said…
Super helpful. I just unjammed my trunk! Thanks so much.
Anonymous said…
Wow! That took 2 seconds to fix after at least a year of thinking my trunk release cable snapped.
Chris said…
Thanks, man. I fixed my trunk problem using your information!
John said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said…
Thanks.. saved me a trip to the dealer. I also managed to set the trunk lock to valet mode.
Jalil said…
Hi every one ,my trunk doesn't lock.it'is open all time .Any ideas .Thank you
Jalil said…
Hi every one ,my trunk doesn't lock.it'is open all time .Any ideas .Thank you
Anonymous said…
Thank you! this was exactly what I needed to do and after jiggling the key back and forth and turning it 180 degrees in the lock, my trunk would close again. Thank you so much!
Anonymous said…
Thanks for posting this info!! I have a relatively new-to-me Toyota corolla that I thought had a broken trunk release. I had no idea that there was a "valet" setting (really? a "valet" mode?). I've searched for hours about this problem, and found no other references to a valet mode anywhere else in the internet. Much appreciated.
Anonymous said…
thank you for this information
Anonymous said…
Didn't work at first, but I let the wd40 work in for 10 minutes, and then spend a minute gently jiggling the key in the lock, and that did the trick. Thanks!
Anonymous said…
This worked for me. THANKS. I was looking at a long Sat am in the trunk. You Saved me a lot of frustration!!!!
Anonymous said…
Worked like a charm! Thanks
Brutus said…
Worked great!!! Thanks for saving me some $$$$
Greg77 said…
Thank you soooooooo much, I didn't have any WD-40 handy but I have kroil, which is a comparible penetrating oil, put some on the key and squirted some in the lock and presto!!!!
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much!! I was starting to panic in what to do.
Anonymous said…
Is there one key for ignition and a seperate one for trunk?
Jason Hong said…
I think there are only two keys, valet key (which can only be used to start the car) and regular (which can start the car and open the trunk)
Lee said…
You are brilliant!
My trunk wasn't stuck, but no one could figure out how to lock the trunk from someone like the guy who has your car all day for service and your camera equipmet is in the trunk. No glove-box switch, nothing. And then I found your "turn lock to the left" and wah-lah!! In all the years I've owned this 98, no one, not even the Toyota service guys knew this. Thanks again.
Anonymous said…
Thanks...I thought I had broken my handle in some form or fashion.
Unknown said…
Thanks! I was able to cancel my Monday appointment with a car-lock-smith, who was going to charge me $100 to recondition my lock.
Vicks said…
Great. It worked. Thanx a million. U R a GENIUS.
Anonymous said…
Thanks for your help. I'm so glad you helped me I almost spent a couple hundred bucks trying to fix it :)
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much! I couldn't figure out how my lock got in the horizontal position and why my trunk wouldn't open. I have a Toyota Corolla and I was at a loss for what to do. My key wouldn't work, my latch wouldn't work and you can only lower the back seats from inside the trunk. WD-40 and 3 minutes of jiggling did the trick!
Anonymous said…
Great clue.. works like a magic
Anonymous said…
Would never have fixed my trunk issue without this website. Had the car for 8 years without knowing it had a valet mode. I fixed it for the wife, now we can live in peace this evening
Anonymous said…
Um.... Wow. Really easy and EXACTLY what I needed to know. Thanks for taking the time to write this up.
Fishback said…
If you still can't unlock your trunk, at least you can gain access through the back seat with this trick.
http://youtu.be/VXKhksv-v5k
Anonymous said…
04-19-14 Just used your steps and it worked beautifully.
P.S. I just came back from my mechanic, he thought about the valet idea, but didn't know how it worked in the car.
Anonymous said…
Jason,

Thank you so much - you are absolutely correct that this should have a higher page rank. Like many others, I thought the problem was a broken lock or a frozen cable. You saved me much frustration!
Anonymous said…
Thanks a lot!

The key slot was horizontal, inserted key and turned it to vertical. Trunk release now works!
Steve GM said…
You saved me a trip to the Toyota dealer. It was horizontal like you said. I used WD 40 and jiggled it and bam, it flipped back and the trunk opened. Thanks.
Anonymous said…
I have a 1996 Camry LE - my key broke in the lock and it has now locked with the lock in the horizontal position. The trunk will not open from the lever under the driver seat. Any thoughts besides calling a locksmith? Is there a way to crawl inside the trunk and open it from the inside? Any help will be much appreciated.
Anonymous said…
Thanks I had no clue there was a valet mode. My key hole was indeed horizontal for some reason, plus it was stuck. I used wd-40 on the lock and the key and it unjammed after a few tries. (Corolla 2004)
Anonymous said…
Another big Thank You!
Unknown said…
What if my trunk on my 2009 Camry does not shut?
Unknown said…
Help please
Ananth said…
Thanks, Jason. From misery to relief, what a difference Knowledge can make!
Grant said…
Jalil said...
Hi every one ,my trunk doesn't lock.it'is open all time .Any ideas .Thank you

If the trunk won't latch I would suspect the tiny latch spring has broken or more likely come unhooked maybe by arguing with a bunjee cord as in my case. If the car is older the best bet is to visit a junk yard as I did and find a replacement. If the car is new enough you may be able to order the entire latch assembly for $60+ but unlikely just the spring which can't be worth more than 50 cents.
Anonymous said…
I worked !! It took 2 keys and 30 seconds of jiggling and it turned to the vertical position. Awesome! Thank you so much !
Anonymous said…
Also works on a 2006 Corolla. Don't waste your time or effort on AAA or a locksmith either, they had zero idea on how to fix it. This post saved us a ton of headache.
Anonymous said…
I opened the trunk yesterday with the key, got interrupted so closed it and came back later. It was then unopenable, with the key, the key button, and the latch inside the car. Played with it for quite a while, with no success. Oh, dear, a trip to the dealer.

Before calling the dealer, I entered "2003 Toyota Camry can't open trunk", and up came your blog.

A little lubricant in the lock and on the key, about two jiggles of the key, and as you say, happiness was upon me.

Thanks so very much for posting this information. With millions of these cars out there, I can't even image how many people you have helped.
Michal said…
Wow! Worked like a charm!
Anonymous said…
I concur...you are nothing shy of a genius as I have figured my trunk release latch cable was broken (for almost a year) and now trunk was shut permanently with Xmas presents inside. Now I have a fully functional trunk as well as knowledge for the future. Thank you so much!
Anonymous said…
Just barely tried it--after about 5 minutes of WD-40 and light jiggling, it snapped back. Thank you SO MUCH!
Anonymous said…
I'm going to get wd40 - it did not work using 3 in 1 oil on the key. I'm wondering - 1 key broke a few years ago, I had the remaining key copied but I'm wondering if the remaining key was the valet key? How do I know the difference?
Anonymous said…
It worked! WD-40 did it. Thanks!
Anonymous said…
thank you for useful info!
Anonymous said…
It didn't work at first after spraying wd 40, but I rotated the key(180 degrees) and yup it worked. Thank you for taking the time to research this and post the fix. Greatly appreciated.
Unknown said…
4 year latter after this "how to"... thanks, just save some time and money to take it to the delear
Anonymous said…
We thought the lock was broken on our 2000 Camry. I came across this site and didn't even know there was such a thing as a valet key. Went and sprayed WD40, tried several keys and wiggled, and "VOILA!" - you made my day! Thanks for posting this solution!!!
Prabagar said…
Thank you, this solution helped me to open. thanks again.
Unknown said…
Thank you Jason...you are indeed a genius! It worked in no time flat!
Unknown said…
Thank you very much for saving me not only money, but the frustration of not being successful in all of my research on the internet until I came across your blog. It only took 2 minutes to to open the trunk after spraying it with PB blaster. You are a good samaritan. I salute you Sir!!
Unknown said…
Sometimes a car trunk latch which seems to be stuck is a common problem for car owners. This can happen due to the mechanism of the latch becoming corroded by the moisture. In order to repair the latch of your car's trunk you will have to first locate it from inside the car. Although, getting help from any auto locksmith can save you a lot of time and also will solve your problem.
Unknown said…
Many times i have seen corroded locks will not go long. So when you come to know that your locks are going to corrode call the locksmith and replace your locks as soon as possible.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
Bent screws can also be sometimes the cause of a jammed car trunk. Reinstalling the lock in the trunk may however fix the problem. Before proceeding with the process by yourself, it is best if you take a little help from an auto locksmith who better understands car locks.
Unknown said…
Very nice article about Toyota Corolla car.If anybody needs to Buy Toyota Corolla Tyres Onlineplease visit Tyreonwheels.
Anonymous said…
My issue on a 2013 Corolla was the opposite - Unable to go into "valet" mode. Had this in my previous 2003 and 2008 Corollas.

Tried silicone lube on the lock internals (not the lock cylinder) and key got easy to move from vertical to horizontal.

Was fearful of using "valet" mode wondering if the lock might jam in that mode and not open.

Since I many times leave the car unlocked, I use "valet" mode a lot to protect my toolbox, etc in the trunk.
Anonymous said…
Jason, you're the best. Thank you.
Unknown said…
Thanks for the info. Used WD40 and finally got the lock to move out of valet mode but still couldn't get the lock to open. My husband suggested driving the car a short distance and trying the latch release by the drivers seat. It worked.
Anonymous said…
Hi,

Just a quick note, this blog made my panicked friend very happy and saved me tremendous effort opening the trunk that was stuck in "valet" mode. I was skeptical as I read the article that it was related the problem at hand; however, the more I read, the more I became convinced this was the solution. I shot PB Blaster in the lock, went to dinner, came back, put PB Blaster on the key, put the key in the lock, wiggled the key a little, "presto", easy peasy, open! Thank you!
Anonymous said…
This also worked for me.

My 2007 Camry CE's trunk lock got two shots of WD40 at about 4pm. Many tries and jiggles later the master key turned it clockwise again (out of "valet" mode) and then the key opened the trunk as well. This was at about 8pm. Floor remote latch also working again. There's not explaining it. I've half a mind to spend some time this weekend looking at the latch and lock mechanism to see if something is marginally broken, a piece of plastic chipped off into the mechanism, misuse allowed a little corrosion to accrue, etc. Perhaps it's just a quick and cheap design and not my fault.

Thanks for convincing me to persevere!
Unknown said…
I want to thank you I have a 2006 toyota camry I turn the key in the trunk the wrong way and it would'nt work for 3 wks after reading this. I went out and tried the wd 40 and jigging the key first couple of time did'nt work. went back out still reading wd40 again put key in jigging, and the trunk came unlocked. thank you so much. My husband is very happy He tried all the things he heard. but Mine Worked thanks to the internet and finding you.
Kathy from Newnan Ga.
Unknown said…
It totally works, we also jiggled the in vehicle trunk release while doing it. A distinctive click, and bam, open.
Anonymous said…
Appreciate ur grt help of information. wrked gud.
Anonymous said…
Two things to add are one on a colder day it took a couple of hours for the wd40 to hit the spot that loosened the key.. The youtube video posted above does not apply to the Camry.
Anonymous said…
Thanks! Worked like a charm with my 2004 Corolla. Jiggling in and out as well as left to right seemed important.
Anonymous said…
I have a 2001 Toyota Camry. My son normally does not use this car, but he took it to school out of town with him and first thing you know he went to open the trunk and turned the key left (counterclockwise) instead of right to open the trunk. The key slot got stuck in horizontal and he thought it was jammed. He had to crawl into the trunk through the back seat for a week or two until he could get the car home on a weekend for me to take a look at it. I took a look and thought "we need to take it in for a lock cylinder replacement" then I Googled the problem and found this blog thread. I sprayed some WD-40 into the key slot and then let it sit 15 minutes. Went back out and still not able to turn the key BUT this time I knew about the "valet position" from this blog so I kept jiggling it and now trusted use of a a very-modest extra force in the clockwise direction and then ... "bam" ... it turned back to the normal position and all was good.

THANKS !!!
Anonymous said…
Wow! So easy! Thank you for your post. Didn't have WD40, so olive oil worked as a great sub. :P Man, am I glad it's such an easy fix.
Unknown said…
Locksmith use some lubricant instead of the Wd40.I have once seen them using this.
Unknown said…
THANK YOU!
Saved a lot of frustration for me!
Anonymous said…
Worked great, thank you!
Anonymous said…
IT WORKED!
Anonymous said…
Nov 2016
02 Camry

Read this thread and tried it. Didn't work. I did not give up. Added more wd40. Nothing ....after a week...
I was going to give up but no. When I bought this car from a friend I think they haven't used the keys to open doors and trunk. They were stuck for years! So I know it's not broken. One Saturday I sprayed them again wiggled the key to the right and THERE! It worked!!!
I was so happy. Didn't have to go to a locksmith or dealership to replace lock or keys (a mechanic recommendation)
Good old Wd40!!!
Don't give up & keep trying.
Unknown said…
Used a multipurpose oil lubricant just now on a 04 Toyota Corolla. Worked in 5 seconds!
Anonymous said…
Thank you sooooo much! It worked in under 60 seconds once I put the WD-40 on the key! My lock has been stuck for over a week.
Anonymous said…
😃😃😃😃
Anonymous said…
Two things to note - the valet key WILL open the trunk - just not when it's set to valet mode. AND the valet key WILL put the trunk INTO valet mode (at least on a 2000 Corolla CE), but it sure a HELL won't get it out. If all you've got is a valet key - which you thought was simply your "key", given to you when you bought a used Corolla or Camry - then your only choice will be to have the dealer make you a master with your VIN and proof of ownership. The question then becomes how do you know if it's the valet key. If it won't open the glove box, it's the valet key. If it does open the glove box, and you're still stuck in valet mode in terms of the trunk - then keep giving the WD a try.

I had been using the valet key as the master and did not know it. What I thought was my spare key ended up being the true master key. I sprayed on some WD, stuck the key in the lock and it opened the trunk immediately.

I struggled with this all night long, doing web research and what not. Who the hell needs this valet mode bullsh*t? It's just a stupid feature that ends up being a huge pain in the ass. Glad I know now. Will retain this experience for future reference if it somehow becomes necessary again. Like most folks - I did not even KNOW there was such a ridiculous thing as this "valet" dogsh*t.
Unknown said…
My toyota corolla 2005 trunk just got accidentally lock into vallet mode, on horizontal and then i close the trunk,how to unlock the vallet mode, since, I can't turn the key position from horizontal to normal vertical position, or the key has jammed and I did already use wd 40, thank u.
Henry said…
My Toyota camry 2000 trunk won't open. Won't open with a key or the lever by the drivers seat. We opened the back seats to see if there was ano emergency latch on the inside but no luck. Think the WD40 trick would work as well?
Anonymous said…
Your post is still helping people 7 years later! :) I have a 2004 Corolla LE, and the trunk was stuck in "valet mode"... I spent 30 minutes trying to un-jam it, and thought I would have to take it to the dealership... I did a quick search on the internet for do-it-yourself help and stumbled on your article. I sprayed WD-40 on the lock and key, and then tried to open the trunk - it opened immediately, without resistance. Amazing! Thanks again for your post - much appreciated!
Unknown said…
Samesies. Mine was stuck in valet mode and the key wasn't unlocking it. When it happened, my dad told me to try some WD-40, and I was like, "Naw...it has to be the mechanism...I can try some when I get home," fully expecting to have to take it somewhere. You're proof that even at 36 years old, you should listen to your father. Thanks for the help:-)
Unknown said…
It work
Anonymous said…
Thanks so much!

My mother in law and husband were trying to get the trunk open on her car and had to hurry, a quick search and there was your blog.

I had some WD40 White Lithium Grease, and it worked immediately. Like others said, a little on the key and in the lock, just wiggle the key and it turned back to vertical. It worked right away for us.

You saved us a lot of worry and my mother in law lord knows how much money. Plus the kids got to their finals on time (One of their projects was in the trunk!).

So glad you kept this blog up all this time!!!
Anonymous said…
Thanks so much. Until I found this tip I thought it was just one more repair to add to the to-do list. Admittedly I was skeptical, but it really worked. A few jiggles and the lock went from "valet" mode to actually working mode. Saved lots of time, stress, and money.
Anonymous said…
On my 2005 camry, it took a solid twelve minutes of jiggling, but it worked like a charm! Thank you for saving me a trip to a mechanic!!!
tifa said…
It seems that I read this post and many of these comments many (I mean many) years after the original post. One of the commenters said to use a different key. The combination of WD40 and then trying a different key worked on the first try.....

Thanks
Unknown said…
Thank you. It worked well for me
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much. Such a simple fix.
Anonymous said…
Sonbitch opened up after 1 spray and a lil jiggle !I'll be Damn
Unknown said…
Worked for me too! In about a minute!! Thanks for the posting.
Anonymous said…
This made my day. I thought there was a mechanical problem. The WD40 solution sounded hokie. It took about one minute of jiggling, then it opened!
Anonymous said…
THANK YOU!! you are great! you would not believe my excitement as I googled this to the point solution and solved the problem in 30 seconds flat!! including the WD40 solution (silicone spray worked just as well) Thanks.
Anonymous said…
YESSS thank you, Jason, for the original post; and commenters who shared their successes. You gave me the will to keep trying for a couple minutes.

2006 Camry; trunk lock stuck in horizontal valet position. I could remove and reinsert the key just fine, but it wouldn't turn at all. I couldn't use the driver's seat trunk release, either, as valets aren't supposed to have that access, I guess.

I sprayed the WD-40 at the hardware store and drove home. The key was a bit more mobile in the lock by then: I could work it around and try different angles. After a couple minutes I felt a new little click and I could turn my key!

Sarah in Omaha
Anonymous said…
(Sept 2018) Thank you so, so much! I had resigned myself to a life of opening the trunk with the remote open (which still works in 'valet mode'). It had been maybe three years?

I had luck with WD-40, and my spare key actually worked pretty much immediately, the primary key didn't seem to be but maybe just took some time for the WD-40 to soak in (5 minutes total).
Anonymous said…
Yup, this really works. WD-40 did the trick, but I had to wait for ~ 15 minutes for it to work itself in. I almost gave up, but eventually, I was able to turn the key fully clockwise on my 2007 Camry and get it out of valet mode. Even though I knew about this "valet mode" feature, I had not been able to turn the key to get it out of it, before using the WD-40. Be persistent!
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much ! it worked within a minute with the WD-40. Thought it was the cable. Was able to cancel my appointment with the garage.
Anonymous said…
You rule! This worked perfectly for me on a 2003 Corolla, using Boeshield T9 instead of WD-40. I squirted in the key area and put some on the key to work it through. It worked in less than 5 minutes.
mrfixall said…
My daughter wanted to do me a favor and went to get groceries from the trunk, she turned the key counter clockwise into the "Valet" position. The key I have been using for the last few months happens to be the "Valet" key, unknown to me until now. Getting the other key I have as a spare turns out to be the Master key.Thanks to this post I saved a service call. PS: did not need any WD-40 just the correct key.
Unknown said…
I have owned my Corolla for 15 years. I haven't been able to open the trunk with my key for at least 5. Cable just stopped working or so I thought. You just saved me over 300 bucks. I spent 2.59 on a can of QD-40 and wiggled it around for about 1 minute and it unjammed. 🤦‍♀️
Anonymous said…
My trunk lock was NOT stuck in the horizontal position, but it would only turn part way to the right with resistance. It turned freely through the 90 degrees to the left.

Lubricated copiously but it would still not pop.

What worked was to hit with medium force with my fist on the trunk body near the key while turning the key with my other hand.

Lubed everything and it's working normally again.

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!

Lisa said…
Wow, worked like a charm! Many, many thanks for your post!
Kimberly said…
WD-40 was the first thing I tried & I've tried it multiple times since with no luck at all. Any other suggestions?
Anonymous said…
After nearly a decade of the original post it still solves the problem, thanks for this very effective solution to my stuck up trunk problem
wd 40 no go. soap on key.... PRESTO
Thanks for the tip. WD-40 worked for me!
Anonymous said…
Hi, I have a 2011 Camry XLE model. I found the trunk wouldn't open by either the lever by the driver seat or car master key. I can use the key to turn the trunk (turning counter-clockwise) and return to normal mode but I can't turn more than a quarter turn clockwise. Using the release by the driver's side or the car master key, I can hear the mechanism but the trunk still won't open.

the trunk lock could be turned in both vertical and horizontal position. its in vertical position and the trunk still locked. I couldn't use the driver's seat trunk release.

I sprayed the WD-40 at home yesterday evening but still not yet open.

Any ideas on how i can open the trunk would be much appreciated.
Adrian Blog said…
Looking for a car key replacement or a new car key fob? key locksmith services

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