How to open the trunk of a Lada Kalina hatchback

Advanced trunk lock for Kalina car

More than 20 years ago, development of a car began, which later received the name Lada Kalina.
Although prototypes of cars with various body styles were presented to the public back in 1999-2001, the first Kalinas for mass use rolled off the assembly line only 5 years later. Interestingly, Kalina was initially produced only as a sedan. Now this series is classified as the first generation of cars. The second generation has 2 body styles: hatchback and station wagon. AvtoVAZ positions the Lada Kalina as a compact, maneuverable city car with a European level of showroom comfort. At the same time, it is emphasized that the car’s suspension height is almost comparable to SUVs. And, of course, Lada Kalina is famous for the fact that the current president of the country once drove along the federal highway.

Like any car, the Lada Kalina has its pros and cons in design, operation, and repair. However, now we are interested in a small but very important detail - the trunk lock of the Lada Kalina with station wagon and hatchback body types. We will talk about it in detail.

Now let's change the lock

The Lada Kalina will allow you to completely replace the trunk lock without any problems. A friendly car, what can I say.

First follow the previous instructions. To replace the lock, you need to remove the cylinder. You already know how this is done.

Now a couple more steps:

use a large Phillips screwdriver to unscrew the locking mechanism;
You need to unscrew 2 mounting bolts;
pull the knot towards you;
it should give in and be easily removed;
do not forget to disconnect the plug with power wires from the system.

Is it worth picking the trunk lock of a Lada Kalina station wagon or another body type? No. This is an extra hassle. A worn or broken lock is difficult to repair. Usually impossible.

It’s easier, faster, and also cheaper to buy a new unit. And replace it on the car.

Features of opening the trunk of the Lada Kalina

Owners of the Lada Kalina car are almost unanimously surprised: with all the bias towards Europe, the trunk lock of the Kalina hatchback in the basic configuration for some reason can only be opened with a key. For many, the situation immediately became quite common: the driver gets into the car, starts the engine, and then remembers that he needs to put something from the passenger compartment into the trunk. Further actions are similar to a joke.

You need to turn off the engine, remove the key from the ignition, get out of the car, and so on. If you imagine all this in an environment of time shortage, one can only feel sorry for the owner. In addition, if someone happened to approach the trunk of a car with something heavy in their hands, the procedure for opening it with a key turned into something difficult. Another problem could have arisen: in regions where real frosts occur in winter, the lock cylinder would at times freeze tightly.

What’s interesting is that any car owner sees a separate button on the Kalina key, which for this brand of car replaces the standard key fob. She's supposed to open the trunk. If you press and hold such a button for a couple of seconds, you can hear a click - this is a signal that everything is in order with the electrical package control unit.

Then another interesting detail became clear: the craftsmen who climbed under the trunk trim to understand the internal structure realized that there was still a place for the lock activator and even a standard electrical connector for wires. And then the same craftsmen began to solve the problem of how to modify Kalina to increase the comfort of use. The complete trunk lock drive is not available for sale as a single set, so the parts will have to be obtained separately.

Trunk lock on VAZ 2109 from Kalina - can it be installed?

Having entered a similar request into the search, I found scant information that people really put Kalina locks on their nines, after which they forget about all the problems. It seemed to me that I could forget about them too, so I made a list like this in my head:

The lock is from Kalina (as it turned out during the search, you need it from a sedan, not from a hatchback, they are different in design).
The mating part, which is attached to the body. By the way, it fits perfectly on the nine; you don’t have to drill any extra holes. But there are minor nuances that will be discussed further.
Installing a Kalina lock means that the trunk will open only by electric drive (or by a lever from the inside). Therefore, you need to take a kit for the central locking - one gear motor, all the accessories come with it (screws, bar).
For electrical wiring you need a button; it is not necessary to install a relay, since this will only load the entire circuit. But a fuse of 16 A maximum is worth installing. But 8 A is enough.

Then it turned out that you still needed two plastic or rubber plugs - you can pick them up by visiting any auto parts store.

I put it all together, skimped, and only one important detail remained – the mounting bracket. Judging by people's reviews, you need to use a 30X30 mm corner. I can’t find anything suitable, so I make a corner out of the plank and open the door to try everything.

Installation of the activator: preparatory work

Since there is space for a trunk lock activator in Kalina, it makes sense to use it. Absolutely any activator will do. Of course, for those who are interested in the quality and long service life of the entire device, it is better not to stop at extremely cheap options. Experienced car owners still advise choosing domestic Kalina electric lock drives, regardless of body type. They are somewhat more expensive than similar products made in China or Taiwan, but still more reliable. Main parameters of the activator:

12 volts;
two-pin;
lock-unlock functions.

In order for the system to open doors by pressing a button to work fully, one activator will not be enough. You will also need such a thing as a rotary washer. According to many car owners, the easiest way is to grind it yourself. You will need a steel plate and a machine. There are quite enough drawings with dimensions that will show what kind of rotary washer for the Kalina activator should be on various auto forums.

It is possible that after the washer is manufactured, it will have to be modified when installing the activator. The activator installation technique itself will require some tricks. For example, the first step is to remove the trunk trim. It is secured with pistons, which immediately became unusable for most car owners. Conclusion: pre-purchase of “hedgehogs” for subsequent installation of the trunk trim in place is mandatory.

Another nuance lies in the types of locks on the Lada Kalina. Firstly, locks on cars produced before 2010 and after differ in their design. Accordingly, the types of activators will differ slightly. This issue is resolved upon purchase. Secondly, most of those who independently installed the lock activator for Kalina station wagon either modified the lock itself or replaced it with another one. It remains to figure out why this is needed and how it is done.

The bottom line is that the trunk lock is equipped with two “tongues”. After modifying the lock to open it with a button on the key, the existing problems were partially solved, but a new one arose. If, when opening the trunk with the key button, someone did not support the trunk lid in time, it would lower, as a result the trunk would close again. And only on one “tongue”. And this meant that the key fob certainly became useless. Now it was possible to open the trunk again only with the key. This is where two options for solving the problem appeared.

How to remove the trunk trim of a Kalina hatchback

The door trim in any car, including Kalina-2, is a monolithic plastic part called the “card”. To remove the card from the door, you need to lower the side window as far as possible. The design of the upholstery in “Kalina-2 Lux”, as well as “Standard” and “Norma” is different: where there are speakers, there are acoustic pads on the cards. But the upholstery fastening nevertheless does not differ in its design in all trim levels. Let's take a closer look at how to properly dismantle the door card and then install it. Happy reading.

Theory and preparatory actions
Changing the front door trim
Changing the rear door trim

Methods for installing the trunk lock activator

The first option is to saw off one “tongue” from Kalina’s lock. Particularly gifted craftsmen do this without any removal of the lock, right on the spot, using an angle grinder. You have to work very carefully. If you don’t have a grinder, the same steps can be done with a hacksaw. It just takes much longer, and one can only guess about the physical effort required for such a process. If you are not confident in the intricacies of your own work, it is better to remove the lock for modification. In this case, it will be easier to work with both a grinder and a hacksaw.

The second option is to replace the lock. Many car owners installed a trunk lock for their Lada Priora instead of the original one. This option is perfect for those Kalina owners who do not have the desire and/or ability to cut anything. All other steps for installing the Kalina station wagon trunk lock activator are extremely simple.

A rotary washer is installed on the plastic activator pusher, then the entire system is secured with a locking ring.
The complete activator is placed in a standard place.
The activator wires are connected to the corresponding connectors. Naturally, all electrical work is carried out only with the battery disconnected. The point is not what can “knock” an electric current: 12 volts of direct current for a person is just nonsense. But capricious electronics, if something suddenly “shorts”, may suffer. In the best case, problems with functionality will begin, in the worst case, something will completely fail.
The next stage is installing and adjusting the rods.
A check is in progress. First, the lock itself, regardless of whether the original one was modified or another one was installed (from Priora). All detected problems are corrected. The activator is being tested.

If everything worked perfectly, then it is quite possible to install the trunk trim in place, if only there were “hedgehogs”. Car owners are advised, since they had to remove the trunk trim, to also check which parts are making noise, knocking or vibrating. If such small problems are discovered, they can be solved by installing plugs from pieces of foam rubber of the required size. This will not only solve the problem with the lock, but also increase comfort when driving the car.

Luggage compartment lock

You can, if desired, modify the trunk lock of the Kalina hatchback in exactly the same way as was considered in the case of the Kalina station wagon. One of the main nuances, oddly enough, is not in the electrics or body design features, but in the fastening of the trunk trim. The point is that the Kalina hatchback is supported not only by pistons, but also by plastic corners.

That is why, when removing the trunk trim of a Kalina hatchback, you must pull the trim from the top: while the “hedgehogs” are easy to replace, the stationary plastic holders are only easy to break. And more about plastic. The bottom line is that the Kalina hatchback has a plastic trim on the trunk lid. According to the observations of many car owners, these are two problems at once. The first is that plastic is not entirely suitable for this part.

How to dismantle the lock to replace the cylinder?

You can gain access to the lock mechanism by removing the plastic upholstery inside the luggage compartment. This protective component is fixed by means of two bolts, which are located in the places where the special handle is installed. They are also called latch caps. They are pryed off with an ordinary screwdriver.

Structurally, the trunk lock in the Lada Kalina is made of two parts, regardless of the body type, hatchback, station wagon or sedan. They are presented in the form of a cylinder and the unlocking mechanism itself. If it is necessary to replace the trunk lock, then the dismantling of these components is carried out in a separate order.

When you only need to replace the larva, this can be done in a few simple steps. Here you will need a screwdriver and a socket.

By unscrewing the bolts, we release the necessary part of the body.
Next, remove the retainer using a screwdriver. It is attached directly to the body of the larva itself.
It is recommended to remove it very carefully, while holding the spring.
Installation of a new element is carried out strictly according to the reverse manipulation algorithm.

If there is a need to replace the lock itself, the operation becomes a little more complicated due to the need for additional actions.

First, the door lock is unscrewed using a screwdriver. This is not difficult since the element is held in place with only two screws.
Now we pull the trunk lock outward, and it freely comes out of the landing niche.

As you can see, removing the trunk lock is not difficult.

Installation of the locking device drive

Removing the fifth door opening button is the easiest thing. It is more difficult to seal the remaining hole. This can be done using a special putty. One of the tricks is to process the hole cavity so that the surface becomes as rough as possible. This will create optimal adhesion to the putty. Next comes sanding, priming and painting. The work can be done independently without special training and practical skills. After that, you don't have to worry about aesthetics.

Of course, all dismantling work can be carried out only after the installation of the electric drive is completed, as well as the installation of the trunk opening button in the cabin. The trunk lock drive and how to install it are all relatively clear. Both the location and the connector of the wires in Kalina are determined in advance for this.

But where to install the button will have to be decided by the owner himself. The two most popular places are the dashboard in front of the gear shift and the driver's door. The first method is convenient because the button can be reached from almost anywhere in the cabin. The button on the driver's door is primarily a convenience for him.

Once the location for installing the button has been selected, it is time to install the electrical wiring. About 4 m of wire will be required. The connection point is located under the rear seat. The connection is made to connector 13, it is signed, so searching will not cause any difficulties. The work can easily be done independently. Thus, it became clear how to make a trunk lock drive.

Advantages and options for upgrading car locks

Any option for modifying your own car has its pros and cons. It was already discussed at the beginning why exactly it is worth modifying the trunk lock of the Kalina hatchback and station wagon. Now about the possible options. Installing the trunk lock activator alone solves one problem - the issue of using the key. The downside is that when the ignition is on, pressing the trunk open button will not help Kalina hatchback and station wagon: the engine will definitely have to be turned off.

True, you no longer have to remove the key from the ignition. That is why the issue of installing a trunk release button for Kalina hatchback and station wagon remains relevant. This modification option has its drawback: you will have to run the electrical wire through almost the entire car. Most car owners are willing to put up with such inconveniences, since they are one-time use.

The Kalina hatchback trunk lock drive and the issue of modification are a matter exclusively for the car owner. It is possible that it is impossible to independently modify the trunk lock of the Kalina hatchback, and there is nowhere to turn. In some regions, purchasing a lock for a Lada Priora car can be difficult. According to many motorists, this disadvantage can somehow be put up with.

For particularly skillful car owners, options for controlling door opening/closing mechanisms, including the fifth door, are available. For example, the simplest option is one in which all the doors of the car are unlocked simultaneously. And the most complex option, which is not achievable for everyone, since it requires a somewhat non-standard approach, is that the driver, passenger and fifth doors are controlled separately.

Naturally, the options for modifying the Kalina hatchback and station wagon lock differ in cost, execution technique, and time required for a full range of work. The decision which option to choose is always up to the owner.

Installing the trunk lock activator Lada Kalina

For a long time I wanted to open the trunk with a button, everyone knows that on a Lada Kalina it’s very difficult to do this, for example, you got into the car, started the engine and you need to throw something into the trunk, to do this you need to turn off the engine and get out, insert the key, open the trunk, in general it’s very not convenient.

The question, as always, began with studying the topic, there are 2 types of lock buttons, the old and the new (since 2010) model.

I can say I was lucky, the old-style lock button and the trunk operation algorithm I need looks like this (if yours is different, then the new-style button).

What is most interesting in any Kalina is almost everything to unlock the trunk with a button, everyone saw a third button on the key fob just for opening the trunk (the button needs to be pressed and held for 3 seconds), wires are laid in the trunk for the activator and the standard place for its installation is in trunk, you need to add a little!

General view under the trunk trim:

Connector for connecting the activator:

In general, you will need to buy an activator, absolutely any one, I took this one:

I modified the ends of the wires a little so that they fit into the standard connector:

You will need to make the following part, it is called a rotary washer:

Then you can remove the trunk trim (attached to the pistons), take out the retaining ring and the plastic pusher and try on the parts, they should look like this:

In these 2 photos below the principle of operation, the activator pushes the rotary washer:

You will also need a regular washer with an internal diameter = the internal diameter of the plastic pusher. The thickness of the washer must be very small so that the entire system can be assembled, here is a photo:

After that, we put everything back together, first insert the plastic pusher, then the rotary washer, then the nut. We fix everything with a locking ring (if it doesn’t fit, then you need to make the washer even thinner).

We insert the activator into a place specially prepared for this:

We connect the wires (I wrapped them with electrical tape just in case so that they would hold better).

Installing and adjusting rods:

Video. How the mechanism works

Firstly, the door does not open on its own, you still need to press the open button, but the key is no longer needed! (if desired, you can also use the key if the battery is suddenly disconnected).

Here are some examples of work:

— On the remote control, press the door open button once, only the driver’s door will unlock. Press the button again - the passenger doors and trunk will unlock! When we close the car, all the doors and trunk are blocked (it’s no longer possible to leave the trunk open, but this has happened)

— If you press and hold the trunk open button on the remote control for 3 seconds. then only the trunk door will unlock!

— You can also use the door open/close button from the interior. You can open/close the trunk together with the doors!

In general, now everything has become the way I would like it to work initially! Let me remind you that in the previous article we looked at installing the footlights on Kalina with our own hands. After such a transformation, the car will become more comfortable and enjoyable to use.

Test drive LADA Granta liftback

01 Let's move on to the main thing - the luggage compartment. Its volume is an impressive 440 liters. For example, in the Lada Kalina station wagon this value is 361 liters! Yes, there is a loss in front of the Granta sedan, but it is quite small - 40 liters, but the classic body does not have a rear door that swings open like this:

03 The luggage compartment itself is almost ideally rectangular in shape, the wheel arches do not protrude much. Everything is done carefully, no need to buy additional rubber carpets. And look at the shelf, like in foreign cars!

04 The rear row of seats folds in a ratio of 60:40 into a flat floor; the seats can be completely removed with a slight movement of the hand. Coupled with the huge opening, the car's cargo capabilities seem limitless.

05 This is what the open door looks like from the outside

06 There is only one thing that confuses me - the large gap between the fifth door and the rest of the body. Notice the huge difference in the gaps between the bumper and fender, and the gap between the tailgate and the body. This trunk is now closed, who doesn't understand?

07 Another problem - the trunk door opens with a button from the passenger compartment, but there is no button on the door itself - it’s damn inconvenient. Moreover, the door “snaps” with one click at the slightest vibration of the body. Example, they opened the driver's door, pressed the trunk release button, closed the driver's door, that's it - the trunk door closed

Recommendations

Comments 20

I also want to do this for myself, maybe one of these days I’ll do it

great post. A question from a teapot, so to speak. I don't know much about electrics. But still not enough to pull out the right one from the pile of wires. The question is exactly this. I have a viburnum with an alarm. Moreover, when the electrician installed it, he said that the trunk would be opened with the alarm key fob and with the standard key fob, and said to buy an additional regular four-pin relay. I installed the activator - but it’s not convenient to open it from the key fob - I want to embed a button into the interior. Maybe someone can tell me where and where to get what.

Here you can do everything elementary. The button is placed in the gap of the positive wire. It takes a long time to draw a picture, I’ll try to explain it with my fingers. Take a two-contact button that works to close. Connect one contact to 12V, the other to the plus of the activator. It is advisable to place a diode in the gap in the power wire that goes from the signaling to the activator. Everything will work.

Well, thank you. Almost understandable. I can most likely figure this out.

Hello! Please tell me if it's not difficult. I installed the activator, now the trunk can be opened with the factory key fob. When the car is started, the key fob won't open it. But it opens if you press the unlock button on all doors. Everything would be fine, but I close the doors with a button in the cabin when I drive or stand in remote places. Then I open it in the city, and naturally, the trunk opens with them, I have to get out and slam it. How to prevent the trunk from opening with this button. And also, I want to make a separate button to open the trunk from inside, where should I connect it?

Hello. Read the article carefully, it describes exactly your problem with the door opener button. You'll have to solder the circuit.

Thank you, I have already done the standard wiring. I set the activator to unlock, not to open. Now you only need to press the button on the trunk. In the blog there is

Here’s a question: I did it approximately according to the same scheme), but even after cutting down the second tooth I can’t open the door, I have to press the button on the doors, and maybe I need to change the stops or what?

I don’t quite understand, the button in the doors opens the tailgate, but not the remote control?

thank you, I figured it out) just not a big electrical glitch))

it turned out great) I also spent a long time doing everything, all I have to do is put the button on, but it doesn’t open with my key and for some reason the doors open along with the trunk, I don’t know why

Thank you! I don't quite understand about the doors. When you press the 3rd trunk release button, do the doors open?

Yes, such garbage, because of this I won’t use the remote control, I’ll have to make a button in the door, that’s enough

Hmmm...interesting garbage...I haven’t come across anything like this yet. It’s a pity that you don’t live in Donetsk, it would be possible to figure out what and how