The trunk lid on my 2002 XK8 will not close. The latching mechanism works fine if I push down on it with a screw driver and my finger and I can unlock it by using the button on the key fob. It feels as thought the trunk lid does not travel down far enough to activate the latch but nothing has changed, no deformation or accident damage.
Before I tear out the plastic cover and take it all apart has anyone else had a similar problem?

 

I had the same experience a couple of years ago. I believe we opened up the receiving end of the closure (attached to the car not the trunk lid), and as I vaguely recall, we were able to release some kind of spring loaded mechanism that catches the "fork" from the trunk, and I've never had the problem since.
Good luck.

 

I have the same problem with my XKR Convertible 2006. I can activate the lock manually when the lid id open and release it electrically with the dash button, but it's not catching on closure.

 

I solved the problem on my car by cutting a short length of drip irrigation tubing 1/4" and slitting it lengthwise and then enclosing it over the bottom of the loop attached to the trunk lid. This had the effect of thickening the loop by a fraction of an inch, the thickness of the tube, which was just enough to push the locking mechanism far down enough for it to operate and lock the lid