Trunk won't close without slamming. Trunk light never turns off.

Looks to me like the plastic that's getting beat to death on the mechanism is not a good situation I would think that would be enough to throw the latch off a good little bit You don't think you can just get another mechanical side doesn't it just unbolt or take the plastic off of all of it and then you can slide the piece that was covered in the plastic I think you can loosen the bolts and move it up and down a little bit right? So put it all the way up to make up for missing the plastic so it'll close down tighter would be my gas but half the plastic gone and the wear spots like that and having the rest sitting there doesn't seem like that would work very well.

 

Could it be one of the blankets you wrapped the body in? Maybe covering the latch. And rigor mortis could be kicking the light switch. I had one mess with my tailights before.

 

I thought somebody on this list figured out that a Corolla with the inside handle release would fit this generation one Prius trunk but I could be wrong.

 

Hey, IDK, a tarp? The carpet you cut out of the floor?

 

It was a dumb joke, insinuating that you were carrying a dead body in your trunk and whatever you had it wrapped up in was blocking the latch. And a second joke, when I insinuated that a dead body I was carrying broke my tailights.

Yes, I need new material, but this is a tough crowd too.

 

That looks almost exactly like my 02 Corolla latch assembly this is a car I've had since '03 and have done everything to this car it is never been in for service anywhere and still like a brand new car today other than the white paint is fading everything on the vehicle works and the trunk latch mechanism from inside the vehicle like laying in the trunk looks exactly like this Prius I don't have a Prius sedan to go out and play with I wanted one for years then I guess I got smart You never want the first of anything. But anyway I would be shocked if it wasn't a Corolla piece because Toyota's pretty good about that stuff they don't re-engineer a new piece just because very similar to the way Volkswagen works they try and use what they have already if at all possible. I would think a Corolla inside trunk latch assembly would be about as free as you can get from wherever you get.

 

I'm late to this parade, but I couldn't help noticing that there is a definite alignment issue with the light switch button.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2023/09/242268_PXL_20230901_215306204.jpg
The button and its bracket should line up right next to the striker bracket, not cocked out at an angle as in the photo.

 

OK, let's try this again; perhaps I didn't make it clear. Take another look at the photo in the link https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2023/09/242268_PXL_20230901_215306204.jpg . Do you see how the light switch (the black button) bracket does not line up parallel to the striker plate, but is cocked out an about a 30º angle to it? If that bracket/switch were in line with the striker, the latch plate (specifically, the left side of the forked assembly) would then make direct contact with it, As it now stands, it's only going to have a glancing contact it with it, and I'm surmising that said glancing contact isn't going to depress the switch far enough to shut off the light. Can you somehow bend the switch bracket over to the right so that it lines up with the striker?

 

Good, you solved it. Yes, the parallel arrangement is original. Hard to see how it got bent out like yours, because the switch bracket is staked to the striker plate in two places. Almost looks like somebody or something intentionally altered it. But all's well that ends well.