The most common cause for a Mazda CX-5’s trunk (or hatch) to not open is a dead battery. Swapping out a new battery usually fixes the issue, but there are other possible causes for a CX-5’s hatch to not open.

A non-opening trunk is a big nuisance, whether it’s keeping you from dropping your groceries off at home or packing your kids’ soccer equipment for a hotly-anticipated playoff game. That’s why

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What to do if your Mazda CX-5’s hatch won’t open

If the hatch for your Mazda CX-5 won’t open, it's best to troubleshoot the issue as best you can before taking your CX-5 into the dealership in a frantic, cold sweat.

Most common cause: a dead battery

That’s right—a dead battery is the most likely cause for a Mazda CX-5 trunk that won’t open.

Lucky for you, this is easily fixable—just swap out that dust-biting battery for a fresh new one, and you should be good to go! That said, life sometimes isn’t this easy, is it? It’s been known to happen that upon replacing the dead battery with a new one, the Mazda CX-5’s rear hatch still won’t open.

Other possible causes

If it’s not the dead battery preventing you from opening your CX-5’s rear hatch, there are several other possible causes for this issue:

Broken latch: Damage can prevent the trunk latch from clasping together—or unclasping—with the connecting hatch unit. Impact damage (like from being rear-ended) can damage either latch mechanism and prevent you from opening the hatch.

Damaged trunk cable: Some vehicles rely on a lever connected to a button or trigger in the cabin to open and close. If this cable is broken, you won’t be able to open the trunk using the intended button or trigger.

Lock actuator malfunction: This small motor controls the lock on a trunk or hatch. Gears within the motor shift when the trunk is locked to make sure it doesn’t open. If this motor dies, then the trunk won’t open.

Broken locking mechanism: Your car might have a trunk button, and there might be one on your key fob as well. Both send a signal to the actuator to lock or unlock the trunk. If, for example, your key fob works to lock and unlock the doors but not the truck, the locking mechanism is likely faulty.

If you think any of these problems are causing your CX-5 hatch to remain shut, you might want to take your Mazda to a dealership, so it can be inspected and repaired by a Mazda technician. They’ll give a once-over to the fuse box, door and trunk locks, the vehicle’s electrical system, as well as any other component they suspect might be causing the problem.

MORE:

Are Mazdas expensive to maintain?

How to manually open a Mazda CX-5 rear hatch

Now, if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t open your Mazda’s hatch and that specialty ice sculpture you just picked up is melting, there’s a quick and easy way to open the CX-5’s rear hatch from inside the car. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Get inside the CX-5 and pull the rear seats down for access to the storage bay.

Crawl to the rear liftgate hatch.

Use a screwdriver to remove the cap located in the center of the hatch near the bottom of the liftgate door.

You should see a lever—turn it to the right and you’ll be able to push open the liftgate from the inside.

That said, Mazda does not recommend using this method to open your CX-5’s trunk any more than necessary—it is for emergency uses only. Once the hatch has been opened and you’ve removed what you needed, take your CX-5 to a Mazda dealership to get the issue repaired.

Cost of trunk repair for a Mazda CX-5

The amount it might cost to repair the problem affecting your Mazda CX-5’s hatch can vary, depending on the problem and its severity.

For instance, the

dead battery replacement

will cost anywhere from $220 to $240 on average, which includes both parts and labor costs.

replace a broken latch

on a Mazda CX-5, you’ll likely pay about $250, which includes parts and labor.

A damaged

trunk cable

will cost between $240 and $290 to fix, which again accounts for both parts and labor. The cost of replacing a faulty lock actuator falls in the same range.

Things will get really expensive if you need to replace the entire rear hatch on your CX-5. This can cost between $910 to $950 to replace, with the hatch itself costing nearly $800 and the rest of the bill going to labor costs.

MORE:

Mazda tune-up costs

How to save on Mazda CX-5 insurance

Insuring a Mazda CX-5 is usually less expensive than comparable vehicles, on average. But that doesn’t mean you should accept the first insurance policy tossed your way—instead, use

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