Short Shift: I'd really like to open the engine cover, please!

So after owning my KS3 for a year now (and driving it all over the island,) I decided I should be a responsible car owner and…you know, at least check the oil. (Facepalm)

My (then soon to be mine) KS3 in late 2022 while it was still in Japan.

This is a shot from the CarFromJapan website where I got the car. (Good experience with them, can recommend and would use again.) If you look just to the left of the license plate frame, you’ll see the little lock to open the engine cover. I put my key in it, tried to turn it, and got nothing. I put a little more effort into it, and still got nothing. Not wanting to break my key, I turned to the SAMBAR SQUAD on Facebook.

To open the engine cover on your truck:

• Use a flathead screwdriver. It’s not a lock like the door, but just looks like one. No key needed.

• Insert the flathead screwdriver into the slot.

• Push against the engine cover near the lock - push it in, towards the front of the vehicle, with a good amount of force.

• Once you take the pressure off the latch, it should turn relatively smoothly. (I shot a little PB Blaster in the mechanism and let it sit for a bit before I tried to turn it. You can find the PB Blaster at your local auto parts store, or Walmart.)

Once you open the engine cover, it looks like this!

Engine cover latch detail

Oh, the result of the engine oil inspection? Plenty of oil, but man, it’s definitely time to change it.

Now that you’ve seen the engine cover and latch, I hope you can get yours open with a little less frustration than I had.