How To Turn Off Luggage Compartment Light on 2016 Corolla Hatch (& possible other Toyota Models

[Roustus66]

Maitland Toyota gave me this work around to turn off the luggage/cargo compartment light while the hatch door is open.

1. Open the hatch; 2. Push the hatch locking latch across with your finger forcefully until it clicks; 3. Push it across further until it clicks again; 4. The lock latch will now be in the fully closed position; 5. The luggage compartment light will now be off.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You MUST UNLOCK the latch BEFORE trying to close the hatch again.

Do this by pressing on the hatch door release bar below the Toyota emblem as you did when opening the hatch originally. This opens the lock latch and also turns the luggage compartment light back on.

This method should work on all 2016 model Corollas and I would assume earlier models with the same body shape as well, and likely for any other Toyota models that do not have an ON/OFF switch for the luggage/cargo compartment light.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Roustus66
Error in spelling

[Rattle Rattleson]

Thanks a lot for getting back to us on this. I will definitely try this next time I am cleaning out the back of the car. As you say, it is critical to re-open the latch via the hatch handle before attempting to close the hatch again. If this works on my model I will be more than happy to put the fuse back in the car so all my interior lights work again. The main problems have always been situations like yours where the hatch needs to stay open for a while - for me this happens with lots of shopping stops, cleaning, etc. Plus only a couple of weeks ago, I replenished the rubber seal around the hatch (using Swissvax Seal Feed - fantastic stuff) and you really need to keep the hatch open for quite a while to let it properly absorb into the rubber before a final wipe down. That is another instance where this trick will be very handy because I had the hatch open for a few hours to do that properly.

I am just curious - did they come up with that answer really fast or did they have to think over it? If it was really fast, sounds like a lot of people have mentioned this annoying issue before!

I might just add one little hint to this trick. Maybe buy some red or green (or some other bright colour) masking tape and just lightly put some over the catch once you've stuck it into position. That way when you go to close it again, you will see the tape, remember what you've done and release the catch before closing the hatch. I can just otherwise see people (including myself), just closing the hatch on autopilot and wrecking the catch mechanism.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Rattle Rattleson

[Roustus66]

As soon as I mentioned the issue to the guy who sold me the car he just smiled & said "Follow me & I'll show you the trick." Apparently they too found out through necessity as they are always wanting to leave the hatch door open for display purposes or other reasons & after flat battery issues they found the work around.

Yes, good idea about the coloured tape, or a big "DANGER" tag attached to the lock. I've already dropped the door down once with the latch closed (not forcefully thank goodness).

Edited September 15, 2016 by Roustus66
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