Hackman

Hi All,

A few months back, my wife pulled on the trunk release on my '98 LS400 and the latch stuck "open". It would not budge so I left it alone since I can use the key to open it.

Today, I had new brakes put on and I asked the shop (non-Lexus) to see if they could fix it easily enough. They called back and said it would take a new switch at around $97 plus about $63 in labor.

I figured that for that little labor, it shouldn't be too tough and I could probably fix it myself. They tend to be pricey on their parts prices so I figured I could fix/replace the latch myself and probably save a $100 bucks.

But, I'm having trouble getting the lower assembly that houses the switch completely loose. I think I'm missing a "hidden" bolt somewhere near the top-right (by the ignition switch). I've found two bolts on the left but only one on the right side. I'm afraid I suspect I'll need to remove the cover over the ignition switch to get to the last(?) bolt but not quite sure how to do it.

Has anybody had to replace one of these switches and was it easy enough to do? If so, have you ever had one stick open and if you did, could you fix it? If not, where's the best (cheapest) place to get a new latch?

Any tips greatly appreciated!