[ne14t]

I just finished fixing mine - one flap was stuck open, and the cable end had broken off on the other side. Thank you, gtsdrs, for the idea of using a crimp connector - this seems to be working although the metal is a bit soft and I'm worried about how long it will last. My theory is that the root cause is the cable sticking in its housing, causing more force on the cable end and/or preventing the flap from sliding back. So I took the top cover / trim off both sides and dripped a little oil down each side, plus I lubricated the tracks that the flap slides on with a little silicone grease. We'll see how it goes but I'm hoping it will stop the other side from breaking.

Disassembly took me a while to figure out, but once I got one side the other went quickly. I started with the top down, and then used the "top up" button just to raise the rear lid to vertical. To remove the top cover on each side, there's a horizontal torx screw at the back, and then you need to remove the front seatbelt anchor. To do this, there are two covers which you can pry straight out, and then there's an almighty torx screw underneath. I didn't have the right size bit **and I'm not going to advocate for this** but I did use a hex wrench to carefully loosen the bolt (don't judge). Of course if I had rounded off the inside of the bolt then I would have been in for a whole world of other problems, but with a little gentle persuasion it shifted. The cover then came straight out (vertically) and I was able to lube the tracks and cable inners underneath.

At the other end, the cable end is held on with a push-on retaining washer which I was able to pry off with a screwdriver. I found a replacement at Ace Hardware (3mm, I think). I carefully chewed away the remaining plastic from the end of the cable with a variety of tools before I crimped on the connector.

Thanks again, all of you, for the pointers!