Found same in wife's trunk. Brown wire broken and chafed in two places. Easy fix. Indications were first warning on dash that license plate lights were out, then trunk would not open w/ electric release. Appears as though the wire insulation gets extremely brittle. I added length to wires, shrink wrapped soldered joints, then wrapped complete loom in several layers of friction tape-in addition to the already existing plastic wrap (factory on ours). Dealer said not covered under extended warranty and best guess would be "around" $300. Took me total of 1/2 hour, only because neighbor stopped by to help.
