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My hood latch won't open! I tried to pull the cable with a pair of pliers, but that won't work either. I'm not sure if the cable is broken, or what the problem is. Does anyone know an easy way to get the hood open? I certainly don't want to have to cut the latch off.

Have someone pull on the release handle while you listen at the front of the car, do you hear the click? If you can somehow manage to get your hand and a tool in there, looking at the FSM says that it uses a 2 10mm nuts & bolts on the latch.

Thank you very much for the reply! I regret to say, however, that since no one replied for so long, I used a dremel tool and a reciprocating saw and cut a hole in my hood, just large enough to fit my hand through to unhook the latch. I plan to post photos of exactly how to get into a hood if the latch is broken! Thanks again though!

92BonnieSE wrote:Thank you very much for the reply! I regret to say, however, that since no one replied for so long, I used a dremel tool and a reciprocating saw and cut a hole in my hood, just large enough to fit my hand through to unhook the latch. I plan to post photos of exactly how to get into a hood if the latch is broken! Thanks again though!

Uhm.. you cut through your hood =/?
Why didnt you just cut the latch.

perhaps it was a hasty decision...

92BonnieSE wrote:perhaps it was a hasty decision...

So what, you were thinking
'Stupid ******** hood why the ***** wont you open. WHERES THE RECIPROCATING SAW ILL JUST CUT THIS ********* THING OPEN'

That may have gone through my head...

So many other ways that could have been done :(

I might have a new hood latch for ya if you want.

Climbing under the car, reaching your hand up to the release mechanism armed with a screwdriver would have done it to. At least you got it open!

Adam

Same year, same model...

I am having the same issue now, it's like the latch release (inside the car) was somehow pulled too far and the cable is now sticking out (again, the end inside the car), so I don't know if the cable dislodged from the lock under the hood somehow or if it's just been stretched too much (although that's pretty rough for a cable like that to 'stretch')

Either way I'm gonna attempt the whole "climb under the car and release the lock" bit tomorrow and see how it fares. I've got a cam sensor issue (code 41) and I've got to get under the hood.

Wish me luck! (If anybody here has any better/EASIER suggestions, PLEASE RESPOND! LOL)

mstrwolfgang wrote:Same year, same model...

I am having the same issue now, it's like the latch release (inside the car) was somehow pulled too far and the cable is now sticking out (again, the end inside the car), so I don't know if the cable dislodged from the lock under the hood somehow or if it's just been stretched too much (although that's pretty rough for a cable like that to 'stretch')

Either way I'm gonna attempt the whole "climb under the car and release the lock" bit tomorrow and see how it fares. I've got a cam sensor issue (code 41) and I've got to get under the hood.

Wish me luck! (If anybody here has any better/EASIER suggestions, PLEASE RESPOND! LOL)

Cut the latch

actually what is likely happening is that the plastic clip NEAR the hood latch is broken. It has broken on 2 of my cars I've owned in the 92-99 vintage.

If you pull the wire with plyers it should open but you need another person shaking the hood to release it.

I guess cutting a hole in the hood works...

Wow.






I hope the car wasn't in decent condition. That's probably the most RIDICULOUS thing I've ever heard.

You know I was thinking about the pliers idea first, but I don't have a second. I may just wait a little while. Thanks for the help! ^_^

Okay, so pliers trick wont work, and cable completely snapped off the plastic lever now. I'm wondering if something didn't happen with the cable on the latch itself. I can see the latch through the front of the car, but even getting under the car, I cant see to get to the latch as far as I can tell. This is really a pain, I'm about ready to take it to the shop, if only to fix the hood latch problem...

Hi there!

I'm the guy with the original problem. No, I don't recommend the hole cutting. However, here are the pics and explanations I promised, regarding opening the latch from underneath.

This is a view of the stock hood latch on your car.


In order to open it, you'll need to crawl under the car with a screwdriver, and reach up between the engine and the radiator. The screwdriver should be at least 8-10 inches long, as it will be difficult to reach the latch with a shorter one.
You'll need to insert the screwdriver into the latch inside the yellow circle, and then pull to the left. It will be difficult, because this portion of the latch is spring loaded. While pulling to the left, the springs between the hood and the chassis should lift the hood, and voila, problem solved. The purple arrow represents the hood lifting out of the latch. The red line represents the top of the radiator shroud. You won't be able to access the latch any lower than the red line.



Here is a picture of the hood latch, from underneath the car, with the hood closed. This should tell you how much room you have to work with. Again, the yellow circle represents where the screwdriver should be inserted.



This is a picture set of me performing the above operation, with a short screwdriver, and the hood open. It will obviously be more challenging with the hood closed, but you should get the idea.






I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions!

Holy hell! thanks for the pics and instructions man... I have a '92 SE and I closed the hood on a roll of duct tape and the cable broke under the hood. Jacked it up about 6" off the ground, stuck my arm directly up the center and popped it right up. Took 5 Minutes! Thank you very much... Saved me hours of headaches!

92BonnieSE wrote:perhaps it was a hasty decision...

"Perhaps?"

Ragsdale wrote:

mstrwolfgang wrote:Same year, same model...


Cut the latch

Nah, use an acetylene torch. Nothing like a heat wrench. Then just weld it shut and keep it handy for when you want to check the oil or coolant.

Another 2 year old thread.