How does your trunk open for those with spoilers?

tds73 · Oct 19, 2012

I have a 2012 e assist with the spoiler on the rear deck lid. When using the remote to open the trunk, it just releases and stays in the closed position. On the Lacrosses that we test drove without rear spoiler, when I used the remote button to release trunk, it would release and open itself all the way up. This is very nice when carrying something out to put in the trunk.
How does everyone else's with a spoiler work?

HMTJ6821 · Oct 19, 2012

This has been discussed before. Even without the spoiler there is an inconsistent response when the trunk release is pressed. On some vehicles, the trunk pops wide open--which can be a problem if the intermittent, unintended trunk release gremlin strikes. On others, the trunk only releases from the latch and does not rise significantly.

We found in our research and shared discussions that there are two coil springs--one on the right and one on the left--that are attached to one of three hooks on the sides of the trunk near the floor of the trunk. In other words, it can be adjusted to either open wide or not. The springs and the hooks are hidden behind the "carpeted" walls of the trunk.

scandalous · Oct 19, 2012

tds73 said:
I have a 2012 e assist with the spoiler on the rear deck lid. When using the remote to open the trunk, it just releases and stays in the closed position. On the Lacrosses that we test drove without rear spoiler, when I used the remote button to release trunk, it would release and open itself all the way up. This is very nice when carrying something out to put in the trunk.
How does everyone else's with a spoiler work?

Mine has a mind of it's own for the most part when I open it via the remote it stays in the closed position, in rare occasions it will open wide.

But HMTJ6821 summed it all up.

tds73 · Oct 19, 2012

Thanks for the response. I will discuss this with the dealer and see if they can adjust the tension, or get new springs to allow trunk to open wide.
Before I do though, what about the "Gremlin". I have seen that discussion. I guess I will read more about that. It has not happened to ours yet, but we have only had it for a month and a half. I would hate to come out and find trunk wide open and find the sub missing.

tds73 · Oct 19, 2012

I cannot tell for sure, but is the "gremlin" only showing up for those with the passive entry?

scandalous · Oct 19, 2012

tds73 said:
I cannot tell for sure, but is the "gremlin" only showing up for those with the passive entry?

As you can tell from the topic http://www.buickforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23151

It just happens might be a switch or might be something else that's what makes it mysterious. It would be cool to put fake bloody body parts in the trunk so if it does open it would freak people out.

On another note with a sub in the truck I guess you really don't care about trunk space lol

tds73 · Oct 19, 2012

As far as trunk space, it kind of sucks. But if needed, the sub can come out by just disconnecting 2 wires. The performance of it is incredible and really improved the stock sound. So the pros really outweigh the cons.
The sub is similar to the pioneer TS-SWX251, only it has a 12" stuffed in it. It is only 6" tall and is down firing so you can stack stuff on top of it. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little/lot more from their stock sound.

As for now, I think I will at least put a blanket over it just in case the gremlin pops up, at least to try and hide it a little. The amp is out of site behind the carpeted trunk enclosure.

mmadden2 · Oct 19, 2012

I have a spoiler on mine and it clicks unlocked but stays shut. I did use a pair of pliers to pull the springs to the 2 furthest tension settings and it still just clicked and stayed down. I put the springs back were they started and haven't thought about it since. I will warn that if you try this make sure to have a very firm grip on the spring when moving it. If you accidently let it slip you you've got a good chance of dropping it in an area that doesn't look fun to fish around in.

InfiniteImp · Oct 19, 2012

When I bought mine, it did not open automatically. Same as the others, it clicked open but stayed in the down position. I've addressed this myself thanks to a post from another user. It was pretty easy. If you take off or move the grey covering material aside to expose the area around the trunk lift spring you'll notice that it has several holes which allows you to adjust the tension of each spring. In my case, however, even moving the springs to the farther hole did not give me the automatic trunk rise. I had to take both springs and move them to the edge of the bracket, past the holes, and hook it on to the side of the bracket (once you see it for yourself you'll understand what I mean).

I also secured the springs with some ties to keep them from flying off the bracket (not that they showed any indication that this would happen but just in case).

Now the trunk always opens fully when I remote open it. Love it!

mmadden2 · Oct 20, 2012

InfiniteImp said:
I also secured the springs with some ties to keep them from flying off the bracket (not that they showed any indication that this would happen but just in case).

Now the trunk always opens fully when I remote open it. Love it!

You know, I think I remember you mentioning that before but I can't really picture where the tie would go. If it's ever convenient to upload a pic of your set up I'd like to see it.

InfiniteImp · Oct 21, 2012

mmadden2 said:
You know, I think I remember you mentioning that before but I can't really picture where the tie would go. If it's ever convenient to upload a pic of your set up I'd like to see it.

Here's a pic. Not the greatest but it's hard to get a camera in there. As you can see, it's far from professional but it does the job as far as keeping the spring from slipping up and over the bracket.

View attachment 3095

GolfingDuo · Oct 21, 2012

InfiniteImp said:
Here's a pic. Not the greatest but it's hard to get a camera in there. As you can see, it's far from professional but it does the job as far as keeping the spring from slipping up and over the bracket.

View attachment 3095

Actually that's a very good picture. Excellent job. I love this forum. There is this that everyone is here to help even the BCS!

mmadden2 · Oct 21, 2012

InfiniteImp said:
Here's a pic.

Thanks for doing that. I gave it another go with the hooks out past the brackets like in your picture and mine does open but it's painfully slow to get started after the button press. It only worked about half the time but after getting over the equilibrium hump it does raise of course. I think if it were a little faster to get going I'd give it a few weeks to see how I like it but as it stands it's a little funky on mine.

I did try sticking a zip-tie thru the round hole in the bracket and cinching it down tightly on the hook which seemed like it would keep it from popping off the back but really no different than your wire-tie method.

Maybe some of the springs are tighter than others. I'm thinking this would work well for some folks and if I can figure out how to pull the springs back another half-inch to an inch I think it would work great for me. I'll give it some thought. Thanks again for the picture.

InfiniteImp · Oct 21, 2012

mmadden2 said:
Maybe some of the springs are tighter than others. I'm thinking this would work well for some folks and if I can figure out how to pull the springs back another half-inch to an inch I think it would work great for me. I'll give it some thought. Thanks again for the picture.

If you do come up with a solution to moving the spring farther back, I'd love to hear it. In my case, I also get the very slow open and I noticed today that for the first time in many months it did not open; I just got the click. I'd love to move the springs another 1/2-1" back.. maybe by attaching some sort of a clamp on it to give it a mount position farther back. It would have to be something very strong as the tension of the spring is considerable. I looked on the other end of the spring and there's nothing there I can work with. If I could be assured a tighter spring I'd just order a new one. Maybe I'll try that. I'll call the dealership tomorrow and see what a pair of new springs would set me back... see if it's worth taking the chance.

InfiniteImp · Oct 21, 2012

Just came up with a thought. In order to increase the spring tension, what if I was to bind together, say, 5 or 10 coils of each spring together with a wire? That would effectively increase the tension wouldn't it?

GolfingDuo · Oct 21, 2012

InfiniteImp said:
Just came up with a thought. In order to increase the spring tension, what if I was to bind together, say, 5 or 10 coils of each spring together with a wire? That would effectively increase the tension wouldn't it?

Only if the spring is pulling not pushing to open

InfiniteImp · Oct 21, 2012

GolfingDuo said:
Only if the spring is pulling not pushing to open

As far as I can tell with the design, the spring is under the highest tension when the trunk is closed and it uses that tension to open the trunk. Tension decreases as the trunk opens, so it should work. Can't wait to try it.

InfiniteImp · Oct 21, 2012

Success! Couldn't be simpler and works like a charm. I couldn't wait til tomorrow and I figured it would be pretty quick. I used 3 heavy duty zip ties per trunk spring and pinned together 5 coils on each side. I originally had 8 pinned but after testing I found that 8 coils already gave me all the lifting power I needed and I hadn't even done the other side yet, so I backed it off to 5 coils. The trunk now lifts up quickly each and every time. I'm pretty sure it will do so with snow on it as well.

View attachment 3096

GolfingDuo · Oct 22, 2012

So what you are saying so that Buick Customer Service can understand in plain English is that the coil spring that GM installed here is a few coils too long! The repair for that issue is to replace the spring with one with a few less coils. All told how long is the portion of the spring that you tied with the zip ties?

That will give all of us including GM a better idea of the repair.

mmadden2 · Oct 22, 2012

InfiniteImp said:
Success! Couldn't be simpler and works like a charm. I couldn't wait til tomorrow and I figured it would be pretty quick. I used 3 heavy duty zip ties per trunk spring and pinned together 5 coils on each side. I originally had 8 pinned but after testing I found that 8 coils already gave me all the lifting power I needed and I hadn't even done the other side yet, so I backed it off to 5 coils. The trunk now lifts up quickly each and every time. I'm pretty sure it will do so with snow on it as well.

View attachment 3096

Nice going, that's a eureka moment! (I'd rep you (people should push the little scale in the upper right of your post and tell you 'great job!' for figuring this out) but apparently I've already praised you too many times)

I wasn't real comfortable with the hooks hanging outside the bracket so I think this would be a great way to keep the hook ends inside the bracket were they belong.

Now on to the how-to of it:

1) How many coils do you think it would take leaving the hooks in their normal location (using the furthest notch for max pulling power)?

2) Are you taking the springs off the car to do this procedure or zipping them in place? Are you just sticking all 3 on loosely at once and then sliding it around to where you want it and cinching it there? That rear zip seems tricky to reach if you wanted to cut it off for any reason. I've yet to remove the springs from the car, I've been doing this with them under tension. I don't suppose taking them off would be so bad, but I'd prefer not to 🙂

3) Seems like a smart idea doing both sides to keep them pulling equally but since you said that one side could be tightened enough to do the job on it own... that would be easier. Probably not smart to take that short cut, right? I certainly wouldn't want to end up with a cock-eyed trunk lid or anything weird like that.

*** EDIT

3a) Here's a discussion on an Acura site where they discuss differing spring tensions per side. I have no idea how their trunks work, but found it interesting nonetheless.

How does your trunk open for those with spoilers?

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