08 corolla trunk does not latch

It is common if you have loaded anything heavy into or out of the trunk, it is easy to catch on the latch and it bends quite easily. Try covering the catch or latch with a grease like white lithium or vaseline and shutting the trunk lid down lightly and see if you can see the imprint of where it is striking, then bend accordingly. Or you can climb into the trunk with a flashlight and shut it down and see if you can see which way it needs to be bent to line back up.

I just had the same problem this morning. The light indicator for 'door open' is on and now my corolla won't start. Were you able to start your car?

Valet Key ? 0nly does the drivers door & ignition

I think your talking about the "loop" that bolts to the trunk lid. If thats the case then you will find that that part is a "dealer only" item. You might have some luck finding one in a salvage yard.

must have a broken spring in the latch tha'ts how it works a spring keeps the locking teeth together.replace the latch.

I had the same problem on my 08 convertible. Every time I opened the trunk I was having to "bend" the upper catch to match the lower latch. I didn't want to take it to the dealer because they would charge me an arm and a leg.
Here is the quick fix:
Remove the latch plate (attched to the body with a spring) this requires a rachet and 1/2" socket or 1/2" wrench. Place 2 to 3 washers behind the latch plate over the bolts, not between the bolts and the plate. You have to be careful or you will drop the washers. Tighten the bolts and whala! the trunk lid closes and locks.
Better fix.
Get a piece of 1/8" or 3/16" metal the same size as the latch plate and drill two holes to match. Place it between the latch plate and the body to act as a shim. Replace the latch plate and bolts as described above. This method will provide better stability.
Hope this helps.

is the latch broken that it locks to on the bottomj of the trunk

My 05 Corolla trunk would not open. I used a broom handle shoved between the rear seats to activate the emergency release handle on the back of the trunk lid. It took about 2 minutes. When I tapped it just right the lid popped open. This was better the damaging the rear seat by bending it to reach the seat releass mechanism. It turned out that the cable came off in the asembly probably from slamming the lid shut. Once the cable was returned to its location I used needle nose pliers to sqeeze the metal tighter around the cable.

make sure the latch is not already latched shut causing it not to let you close it.

You will have to get in the trunk through the back seats, and try and unbolt the latch catch off of the body. Then you will probably have to change both parts if you cannot get the catch out of the latch.