hi.. new member here. my two kids each have a sonata (07v6 and 09 4cyl). perhaps i just cant find it, but the 09 no longer has a key access for trunk. the other day after returning from a trip the battery was dead. jumper cables in the trunk might as well have been at home in the garage because with zero current, only keys unlock the driver door and passenger door. I couldnt get into the trunk! Anyone know anything I am missing here?

I also have a VW touareg, and when the battery dies in that SUV, not only can you not get access to open the tail gate to get battery cables, extra battery or tools, but the ignition grabs the key and wont release it until current is applied... picture this, battery dies on freeway and you have to leave car, with the keys inside, to get help.

I dont understand what drugs these auto engineers are on when they design stuff like this...it is truly brain dead.

any advice, other than leaving the pass through open, would be gladly accepted

Others have mentioned this as well but can't you just fold down the rear seat

to enter the Trunk, or did they eliminate that option too? :whistling:

Hyundai road side... its free and useful in such situations.

no... i believe that is still there, but you then have to be sure to unlock it from the trunk side in advance, which of course then weakens the security of items in the trunk far more than putting a $2 external key lock would. great car, great price, wrong place to cut a tiny cost.

pouring rain and someone next to me but no cables. i have used the free roadside and it is great, but that is no replacement for not being able to get into your trunk if the battery is dead... it is something, but kind of like putting a full body cast on a scratch because someone uninvented band aids.

why should i have to wait an extra 45 minutes to an hour at 2am because they removed a simple key and didnt even provide a cable release....solely electronic, no backup... would you fly in a plane like that?

i agree i find it weird that they got rid of the manual trunk lock in the '09s..

knowing this not, it would probably be a better idea to put the jumper cables in a bag of some sort and put it on the floor in the back seat just to be on the safe side... that's where i keep mine even though i have a trunk key hole...

I don't have an 09 but others here have said the seatback locks were also eliminated.

Man, those 06s keep lookin better and better...
Miami, you Could unlock the seats first, but as the OP said, then your trunk is MUCH less secure.
I don't think I've ever parked my car outside over night with the seats not locked and the disabler lock not on the trunk.



This is akin to going to the doctor because you have an itch on your ear.
Sure ol Doc Brown can probably take care of it, but wouldn't it be easier to reach up and use your own finger???



What happens if you have four or five people in the car, then your cables are in the way and getting kicked around.
This is what we have a trunk for... for storing useless junk and emergency supplies :P

Wow...no points to Hyundai for this design flaw! I know I was talking with my mechanic and he told me about how the latest Cadillacs used actuators for all the doors. So...if you're battery ever dies, you can't get in your car. What's worse, if your in an accident, you may not be able to get out either...

Oh yea!!!! :grin:

I think any auto manufacturer that relies solely on electronic trunk or door opening will regret it. I bet Hyundai is regretting it already.

I wonder if one of those little battery backup gizmos would work? You plug it into the lighter or accessory socket, and it should give you enough current to pop the trunk.

Oh, you mean the one that you stored in the trunk? :grin:

It's funny that they put the emergency fuel release cable in the trunk - but if your battery is dead you can't open the trunk to get to your emergency gas release cable. I didn't honestly know the trunk was electric only..I never noticed. I am a newb. That being said still -that's pretty stupid! I'll have to see if the seats go back or not without access.

New 09 GLS owner here...am I mistaken or isn't there a yellow handle inside the trunk that will allow you to open it from the inside? You could put the back seats down and then use that handle to open the trunk if you couldn't get your cables otherwise...just a suggestion.

Well that is what I had said. But as was pointed out if the Seats are

in the locked position then this would not be a viable option.

On a sad note, I have never locked them :thumbsup:

I believe this was discussed in an earlier post. On the 09 Sonatas there are no locks on the seat backs as well as no key hole in the trunk. That is why there also is no valet key.

if i am not mistaken, this car came with a valet key... what it doesnt unlock i dont know. frankly this whole thing is incredibly stupid. solutions that require a car owner to crawel in a trunk or carry a spare battery to get to emergency tools in the trunk really is just plain dumb.... beyond words.

and again, it is not just hyundai. as i said, i cant even remove my key from the ignition when i try to start the car and the battery dies on my touareg.... it all defies rational thinking.

The valet key will not open the glove box or the trunk (especially on an 09) :whistling:

I hate to laugh at your expense, but it's kind of funny that the guys at hyundai couldn't have seen this coming..

All they had to do was...."Think About It"

:grin: :grin: I've been waiting to use that one.



And I don't think that crawling through the seatback or keeping jumpers in the backseat are really OPTIONS. More like LAST RESORTS..

+ I wouldn't want my kids to drive a car they wouldn't be able to jump start if the battery died and they would have to wait ~1 hour in the middle of who knows where at what hour!!
OR
Not be able to get into the trunk in the case of an accident to get a first aid kit... :whistling:

Not saying you made a bad choice in picking Hyundai...just that a worst case scenario COULD turn worse.

This post has been edited by dcjwlee: Oct 6 2008, 07:29 PM