ok, so i have the black key, however it will not unlock the trunk. its stuck in vallet mode, and despite my efforts i cannot get it out. iv tried unlocking it from outside, nothing. trunk, nothing. i do not have the remote either. any ideas.....

 

Okay, I'm a little new to this, however, I may remember how to do this so bear with me. Did this to myself once and figured out on the fly how to open it. First: Start the car with your "Green Valet Key". Second: Take your black "Master" key and open your trunk. (The manual trunk lock is underneath the label "XJ8" It's small but you should be able to spot it) After you have opened your trunk, keep it open (Leave the Master Key in that trunk lock for the moment)and run over to the "Trunk Button" located on the left side of the dash, just underneath the steering wheel and push it.Hopefully that does it, because that is the way I remember doing it. If not, I'll need a little more backup from the forum club. lol

 

I had this same trouble when I bought my car a few months ago. I couldn't get in the trunk at all. I ended up going through a hole next to the license plate lower right screw to at least get it open manually (I posted about that at jag-lovers.org in the x308 section), but it's been done before.After taking off my license plate, I can get in my trunk with a 6" screw driver about as fastas if Iuse the key. My problem was that I originally had a weak battery, and it wouldn't come out of valet. After I got the battery back to full charge, a simple unlock of the driver's door with the black key allowed me to take it out of valet mode. Is your battery dead or weak? I also read if your trunk light(s) is/are out that it won't come out of valet. Here's my instructions for getting in the trunk:

OK, so I read about the procedure, but didn't find a
detailed description, so I thought I'd add what I learned
today. My trunk was closed, the car is in valet mode, and
the trunk lock cylinder wasn't working either. Talk about
bad luck!

Anyway, I wanted to add some tips that I could not find in
the archives. First, take off the license plate. Next,
push a hole through to the right side of the plastic tab that
receives the license plate screws. I pushed a hole (using a
screwdriver) next to the upper and lower right side screws.
I removed the tabs (small white plastic squares where the screws attach)altogether to have a larger hole to look
through. Next, I put a flashlight to the upper hole while
looking through the lower. About eye level or a little
higher, look to your left about 4 inches. You can see the
trunk hinge latch, with a wound spring that looks similar to
a spring on the throttle body of an engine. If you want to
pull the rod from the TOP of the latch, be my guest, but I
found that with a 6' screwdriver, I simply pushed on the
BOTTOM of the latch, accomplishing the same thing. There's
a small tab that sticks out that is a perfect press point.
I hope this helps the next person. I could now get into the
trunk in about 30 seconds, probably without the flashlight.

 

Any luck getting into your 'boot' soldier?

 

yea i got nothin...i have no luck ever, lol...or rather i have luck, its just all bad, lol...anywho, im going out to try the screwdriver one now...i dont have the green key so i can attept that one

 

so iv got my trunk open now, thanks earl...popped it with a screwdriver, disconnected the battery, vallet mode off and trunk opens everytime..thanks man, your a life safer

 

I posted this in other threads to this subject also:

I had the valet button pushed accidentally as well...folks wondering what does what.... and thought the black key would not open the trunk. However, I tried a second time, and pushed beyond the 'stop' which is about 1/8 of a turn of the key toward the left....and pushed on...it feels like turning through heavy grease or as if the thing were glued...but it did turn, and then released the trunk as it should. It also turned off valet mode.
Honestly, I thought maybe I was going to break the key in the lock, but once the thing began to turn, it turned quite easily.
Glad I did not have to go to Jag for this fix.
I tried the 'look through the oblong holes with a flashlight' but never found any tab to push. Maybe this will work for you as well.

 

If the key does not turn in the trunk lock, it may need lubrication. I have had the ignition lock and the trunk lock not turn. WD 40 will at least get you home if the
proper lock lubricant is not available.