How To Know The Location Of Car Boot Release Button

Every car is equipped with a boot. A boot, often referred to as the ‘dicky’ or the trunk, is the luggage space in any car behind the passenger compartment. Being able to access the boot space of your car is important as it allows you to conveniently stow luggage, without taking up valuable space inside the passenger cabin. In most cases, the boot is also shielded from the prying eyes of bystanders. This is great for avoiding unwanted attention when you want to keep something valuable inside the car. However, many people face issues in accessing the boot space of their car as it can be tricky to find the release mechanism for the lock. While a few decades ago, things were simpler on this front, the advent of modern technology has made the boot release button a bit of an enigma. To make things simpler, we have compiled a list of places where you can find the boot release mechanism in your car.

What is the conventional way to open your car’s boot?

Over the years, the conventional way to open the car boot has changed quite a bit. Back when cars themselves were a new invention on their own and had just started entering the mass market, the boot was locked using an individual lock and key. Opening it was akin to opening a locked door. The procedure was quite simple, and easy to understand for anyone. In fact, while the technology of the locks used has upgraded over time, using a key to open the boot still remains the default fail safe for most car makers today. However, it is no longer the most convenient way to do so, and thus, car makers employ various boot release mechanisms to make our lives a little bit easier.

Lever operated

The lever was the first mass market boot opening mechanism employed by car makers. It is a simple, mechanical process that makes it utterly convenient to open the boot of a car, compared to the whole lock and key method. It consists of a lever in the bottom right corner of the driver’s footwell, often next to the fuel-lid release lever. Both of them had similar functions. The lever had a mechanical connection with the lock on the boot, and a simple tug on the lever would release the lock. However, this was only possible once you had unlocked the car and had access to its interior. For anyone wanting to gain direct access to the boot without wanting to unlock the car, the lock and key continued to be the only option. This lever operated mechanism has stood the test of time, and while newer and more convenient technologies have emerged and taken its place, the lever still plays a great role in most entry-level cars like the Maruti Suzuki Alto.

Electric actuation

While the lever was always a great solution, it was an individual system that was hard to intertwine with the other locking mechanisms present on the car. As the boot became more and more useful over time, car makers started looking for solutions that would not only further simplify the boot opening process, but also integrate it with the other locking mechanisms present on a car. This brought about the rise of electric actuation. Electric actuation was not different from a lever. However, instead of a mechanical connection between the lever inside the cabin and the lock on the boot, there is a button inside the cabin that sends an electronic signal, which then unlocks the boot. On its own, this wasn’t a big step, but the electric actuation of the lock allowed for carmakers to do something that hadn’t been done before. They could now open the boot from the inside or the outside of the car using the same electric actuation setup. This was the key breakthrough that revolutionised the process of opening a car boot. This type of a boot release mechanism is employed in most mass market cars sold in India today.

Common places to find the boot release button in your car

With electric actuation in play, car makers were free to find new places to place the boot release button. In fact, they weren’t limited to placing just one button that could release the boot, and instead, could now position two or three such buttons inside and outside the car, to make things convenient. Some of the most common places that you will find the boot release button in modern day cars are:

Dashboard

The most common place you can find the boot release button is on the dashboard of the car. It is often tucked away between the steering wheel and the driver door, with rest of the controls such as the bonnet release lever and the headlight adjustment switch. In some cases, it continues to be a lever-operated function, however, its positioning has been moved up from the footwell and onto the lower right half of the dashboard. 

Driver side door panel

The next most common place you will find the boot release button is on the driver side door. This area is generally littered with controls for the power windows and ORVM adjustment, along with the power lock button. Often hidden amongst those is the boot release button. Some car makers actually go the extra mile and position it separately, still keeping it on the door panel, so it is easy to locate without looking at it.

Boot lid

While the above two locations were about releasing the boot lock from inside the car, the boot lid also features a button to release the lock. However, for this button to be functional, the vehicle must be unlocked. With the advent of electric actuation, car makers were able to fuse the locking mechanism of a car with its boot lid, meaning that unlocking the car using the key fob also unlocked the boot lock. From there on, it is simply a matter of pressing the button on the boot lid to release the locking mechanism and open the boot lid. This button, though present on most cars, is often hidden from plain sight. It is positioned in a recess above the rear number plate of a vehicle. It takes a few attempts to master its location, and is usually aligned with the centre of the number plate.

Key fob

Placing the boot release button on the key fob has been one of the greatest breakthroughs when it comes to opening the car boot. Previously, you could either use mechanical or electric actuation but you would have to be in some form of physical contact with the car (either inside or outside) to be able to release the boot lock. The key fob brought radio waves into play which could be used to send a message to the car to release the boot lock. This invention substantially increased the convenience associated with using the boot of a car, as you no longer needed to be physically present in or around the car to operate it. However, to stop unwanted boot openings due to an accidental pressing of the button, one must either double press or hold the boot release button on the key fob for a few seconds before the boot lock is released. The workings of a key fob style boot release varies by manufacturers.

How to identify boot release symbols?

It is quite easy to identify the boot release symbol as it is universal in nature. It’s a picture of a car with its boot open. It’s important to note that the boot shown on the car should be towards its shorter overhang. This symbol can be confused with the bonnet release symbol, which looks similar. In its case, the bonnet is featured over the longer overhang of the car. Most carmakers avoid putting the bonnet release button and the boot release button together to avoid confusion.

Manufacturer Variations

Even where car makers are concerned, the symbol remains uniform across different brands in the mass market segments. In the more luxurious segments, some cars feature a silhouette of the car in question, but the basic symbol stays the same.

What should you do if you can’t find the boot release button?

If you can’t find the boot release button, you should check your car’s owner manual. It will have a detailed guide which will help you find the button and open the boot of your car.

High-tech boot release mechanisms

Recent years have seen car technology spiral upwards and more advanced boot release mechanisms have come into the picture. 

The most common new boot release system involves waving your leg underneath the car near its boot lid. A sensor detects this movement and electronically unlocks the boot and opens it too. In case the car is locked, you will need the key fob on you for this feature to work.

There are other ways to open the boot lid as well. Voice commands can now be used to unlock the boot and open it, but it remains the mainstay of expensive cars. However, the growing car-smartphone ecosystem means that smartphones and smartwatches can now also be used to unlock the boot of a car.

Conclusion

Boot release systems were once a functional feature, but as times have progressed, advancements in technology have added frequent doses of convenience into their operation. Entry-level cars continue to enjoy the same mechanical lever which was the first great progression, whereas modern luxury EVs have reached a stage where just speaking to the car is enough to unlock the boot and open it. However, even in the case of the most advanced boot release mechanisms, car makers still choose to offer a fail safe method to mechanically release the boot lock. 

FAQs

Q. How to manually open the boot if the boot release button is malfunctioning?

Modern cars have more than one boot release button. If the main button fails, check the buttons on the boot lid or on the key fob. If nothing works, check the owners manual for the boot lock key slot. You can use that to mechanically unlock the boot.

Q. What should you do if the boot release button isn’t working?

You should use the car key to open the boot lock if the boot release button isn’t working.

Q. How to open the boot of a car from the outside?

You can open the boot of a car from the outside by using the boot release button on the boot lid of a car, or by pressing the boot release button on the key fob. A few modern cars also allow one to open the boot in a hands-free manner by simply waving one foot underneath the rear bumper of the car.

Q. How to open the boot of a car from the inside?

You can open the boot of a car from the inside by using the boot lock release button on the dashboard or the driver’s door. Alternatively, some cars will allow you to open the boot using voice commands.

Q. How to open the boot of a car using a key?

There are two ways to open a car boot using a key. The first one involves the key fob and requires you to press the boot release button for a few seconds. If your car doesn’t have a fob or it is not working, you can use the regular key as well to open the boot by using it to unlock the mechanical lock present on the boot lid.

Q. How do you open a car boot without a battery?

Modern car boot release systems use electric actuation to release the boot lock. In the event of a dead battery, or no battery, your only option is to use the key to mechanically unlock the boot. In older cars which use a mechanical lever, there is no need for a battery to unlock the boot.