When I travel in the Boxster I put the laptop in the front trunk. I carry my cell phone with me...

Because I don't have access to my Boxster while it's in winter storage, I'll ask the question here.

Once the car has been locked using the remote, if someone were to gain access to the interior (through the roof, or with one of those tools AAA guys use), would they then be able to open the trunks using the electric release lever, or would the button not function until the car is unlocked using the remote?

I'm hoping the answer is the electric release only functions once the remote is used to unlock the car. But I suspect that's not the case, and that once the would-be perp is inside, the trunk's contents are a lever-flick away.

(Thinking about an extended roadtrip and wondering how much valuable stuff (cameras, laptop etc.) I shouldn't leave in the car.)

along with a camera (in my jacket pocket).

In short, I try to have as few valuable items showing in the car as possible. It doesn't take long to smash a window or slash a top and reach in and grab a laptop or something valuable looking.

Most of what I put in the rear trunk is odds and ends and bags of dirty clothes. I'm always a bit concerned about leaving the laptop in the rear trunk and exposed to the heat but that's just me.

Oh, I flip down the driver's side visor to hide the V1 and NAV unit on the windshield. At night when I park the car up for the night I remove the V1 and the NAV unit and take them in to the motel/hotel room with me. Pretty much when I park the car up at night the cabin's pretty bare.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Roger, your suspicions are correct. I'm 99% certain there is no locking feature on the trunk releases. Personally, like Marc, I wouldn't leave any valuables in the car overnight while travelling.

For sure, I leave nothing visible in the car, just remove any temptation.

One solution, if the car is going to be left unattended for a while with all one's travelling possessions in the trunk (for instance at a trail-head or a parking lot) might be to remove the fuse for the trunk locks.

Although that would take less than a minute, it's a bit awkward, and depending on the weather, messy.

A better solution would be a hidden switch (not in the trunks!) to interrupt the circuit. The Techno Trunk Lock Deactivation Kit could include the necessary wire, a switch, a mounting bracket, and instructions. I'd pay good money for that.

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OK, I don't have a boxster anymore, but it is easy to test this out. It will sound the alarm, but under the scenario posed, the car is locked with the remote, which arms the alarm. The trunk releases (year dependent) may be cable controlled but there is a locking mechanism that is powered that locks out the switch. That's why when the battery's dead you cannot open the trunks at the switches (If you know how, you can slide it out of the way and the switches will work, but that's a different point).

Thus, with the windows rolled down (or the top down with the red clip in) lock the doors, and wait for the alarm to set. Reach in and try the trunk release. I bet it doesn't work.

As for security, I think the Boxster's trunks are far more secure than other cars. I owned a pair of Accords, where the trunk release is on the door jam by the driver's left foot. Unless you locked the trunk release out using the ignition key (which few people do), all someone has to do is break a window, reach in and open the trunk.

That said, a car trunk is not Fort Knox by any means. I would never store a car off site with anything valuable inside the trunk. I don't leave my brief case in the trunk of my car when parked outside my home overnight, either, so I sure wouldn't when storing a car.

Current Porsche: PCA Club Coupe 2 of 50

Past: 02 986 S

01 996 Turbo

00 Millenium Coupe

99 996 C2

99 Boxster

I would try that, except my Boxster is locked away in winter storage for the next 4 months ( I should have mentioned that in my original post), so I was hoping someone here whose car isn't in storage might be able to try it out.

I think if the car is locked, the switches are deactivated. At least that makes the most sense. I recall reading on another board someone accidentally locked their key in the front boot. This happened when they remotely opened the trunk, put some stuff in and closed it (key included) w/o opening a door in the alloted time. They ended up getting into the car (AAA I suppose) but couldn't get the electronic releases to work. Last suggestion was to try and cycle the lock button on the dash to see if that affected anything. IIRC, the thread was on renntech.org in the 997.1 section.

Good luck