I have been unlocking the tailgate of my 1.6 Dynamic Estate by keeping the keyfob depressed ever since I bought it in 2008 because the microswitch in handle wasn't working. A couple of weeks ago it wouldn't open and the keyfob instead of throwing the boot latch made the back indicator on the drivers side flash once. I opened the lock by removing the door card and lifting a little lever. I wiggled the lock to and fro a bit then closed the tailgate and tried the fob again and it worked, I tried it again but the second time it didn't work and hasn't since. Has anybody got a clue what is going on? Please don't refer me to the manual because nothing seems to be where it should be according to the one that came with the vehicle. It's due for an MOT in June and the garage tells me that this would fail it so using it as a car with no boot isn't an option.
I would be grateful if anyone who has a dynamic estate and has had this problem could give me a walkthrough as to how they solved it.
The car is in brilliant nick for it's age and I love it, but being sensible I can't throw money at it given that it is worth coppers and the garages seem to want a fortune just to look at it.
edit: The indicator light still flashes every time I depress the keyfob to try and open the boot.
edit: The car was 2nd hand when I bought it and was first registered in 2005.

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/302708-boot-switch-fix.html

i done that in 2012 and the switch is still working today.

Word of advice don't put too much vaseline inside the mechanism, just a thin layer will do otherwise the switch will stick closed.

As for your button on the key fob not working have you tried removing the battery leads from your car for 30 mins - this solves so many gremlins on the stilo central locking being one.
roy

Thanks for the heads up, initially I just want to get the fob opening the tailgate as I think after 6+ years of not working the switch is probably totally knackered. It sounds stupid now, but I never questioned the fact that I could only use the fob when I bought the car and just thought of it as being yet another Fiat idiosyncrasy and the guy in the garage never hinted at the fact that there was a micro-switch that wasn't working. I will try your suggestion of disconnecting the battery and keep my fingers crossed; if it ever stops raining. Do you know off hand if the solenoid for the actuator is available as a separate part or does it only come as a complete tailgate lock and do you know how I could test the solenoid without screwing up any computer settings if they exist.

easy way to test the solenoid would be shorting the cable at the plug - you can see in the pictures where im testing the switch, the female end just short, if the solenoid fires then you know its just a problem with the switch.
make sure you reset your ecu first though (remove the battery) to make sure its now that - that is causing the problem.