How To Fix A Cars Hood Release Cable & Latch
Tools Required For This Job:
aerosol grease
silicone spray
socket wrench with 8mm, & 10mm sockets
phillips screw driver(s)
safely googles
rag for cleaning up
Does this scenario sound familiar? You go to check your engine, but cant pop open the hood. So, you try the remote release, and its harder than normal to pull. So, you pull as hard as you can...hoping to hear the familiar click of your cars hood popping up. But, it doesn't happen. Your cars hood release is stuck and you have no idea how to fix it. Don't let this happen to you. If your latch is getting hard to pull, don't ignore it until it finally breaks.
In reality, the problem may not even be your hood. For security reasons, many vehicles have remote releases for the trunk, tailgate and fuel-filler door. The mechanical mechanism that latches the tailgate is electrically activated. Some electrical troubleshooting is needed to repair this system. The problem might be a dead battery in the remote key or a failure in the theft-deterrent system.
Most often, the problem is that, when you pull the hood release, the hood doesn't budge. But when you pull the inside release (while someone else presses down the hood), the hood latch trips. Hood releases get stuck a LOT, and require 2 people to open the car hood: 1 to hold the release handle and 1 to fiddle with the hood. The risk is that the release cable may eventually break. Heres how to fix the problem with simple lubrication & a rag.
Eventually, any release cable can stretch to much and break. This is a common problem, almost always caused by a dirty, dry and/or rusty hood-latch mechanism. Start by opening the hood, however you can manage this. One trick to opening a stuck hood is to pull the hood-release handle with your right hand while standing outside the open car door and slapping the hood, hard, with your open-palmed left hand. NOTE: THIS HURTS...but will often get the hood to pop open. You can also open the latch by inserting a large slot screwdriver through the slots of the grill, into the the latch opening, to the right of the lower latch mounting bolt. Turn the screwdriver clockwise, moving the latch arm to the right, to release the hood. If your hood release cable is NOT broken, go on to the next paragraph.
If your cable IS broken, skip the next two paragraphs, and then follow the instructions.
Next, put on your eye goggles and spray the mechanism clean with a can of carb cleaner. NOTE: You must wear eye protection to keep the hydrocarbon cleaner from splashing back at them. Keep a shop towel handy to wipe up the surrounding spray. After the drips run clear, wait a few minutes for the cleaner to soak. Then, do it all again. Lastly, check that the mechanism isn't out of alignment. The latch assembly should be bolted to the radiator core support, and may be adjustable. WARNING: DONT adjust the latch assembly unless you have good reason to believe it's been disturbed AKA in an accident.
Watch the latch from underneath the hood, while someone else pulls the hood-release handle . If it's not moving the pawl in the latch enough to disengage it, then adjust the cable. Don't pull it up so far that the latch runs out of travel before the handle does. Have someone hold the hood release handle all the way open, while you clamp down the cable. WARNING: You'll break the cable if you clamp it too tight. Next, lubricate the latch mechanism with an aerosol grease that leaves a film behind (IE. Redline CV-2 grease). Finally, lubricate the handle under the dash with silicone spray. WARNING: Don't use silicone or penetrating oil under the hood, as its too thin for outdoor weather and could contaminate the oxygen sensor. Congratulations, youre finished...unless your cable was broken.
This cable broke near the little ball end that is attached to fit into the handle.
This is the hood latch, near the front of the car. The cable passes through the opening to the back of the headlights. The plastic headlight rear cover (by the battery) must be removed before the latch can be removed.
This is the grill after removing the 6 phillips head screws
holding it over the headlights, on the drivers side.
These are two 10mm bolts holding the hood latch (left of drivers side high beam).
After removing the 10mm bolts, youll see the tracks that the bolts slide in.
This may only work if the latch is pushed to the top of the tracks.
This is from the perspective of under the hood. After the 10mm bolts are removed, reach behind the headlight assembly and pull out the latch still attached to the cable. This picture shows the latch in the open position.
This is the latch in the closed position. Note the small, center hole where the hood bracket would fit in when the latch is closed. Unbolt the 8mm bolt holding the cable into the bracket to remove the cable.
Find the small, brass link on the end of the cable,
which fits inside the crook of the handle.
The cable feeds into a plastic sheath running through the firewall to the latch, which is behind where the handle mounts to the wall.
Before you install a new hood release cable, detach the old one from the 8mm bolt holding it to the latch. Pull the cable (from the latch side) from the sheath with a pair of pliers. Then, feed the new cable through the sheath inside the car, behind the handle. Do this slowly, with the same pliers gripping the cable, so as not to bend it, until it comes through the sheath by the latch. Attach the brass link into the handle inside the car, and then tighten the 8mm bolt over the end of the cable. To reassemble things, simply reverse the above steps. NOTE: Adjust the amount of cable left slack as necessary, through both the 8mm bolt and near the latch's 10mm bolts in the their tracks.
aerosol grease
silicone spray
socket wrench with 8mm, & 10mm sockets
phillips screw driver(s)
safely googles
rag for cleaning up
Does this scenario sound familiar? You go to check your engine, but cant pop open the hood. So, you try the remote release, and its harder than normal to pull. So, you pull as hard as you can...hoping to hear the familiar click of your cars hood popping up. But, it doesn't happen. Your cars hood release is stuck and you have no idea how to fix it. Don't let this happen to you. If your latch is getting hard to pull, don't ignore it until it finally breaks.
In reality, the problem may not even be your hood. For security reasons, many vehicles have remote releases for the trunk, tailgate and fuel-filler door. The mechanical mechanism that latches the tailgate is electrically activated. Some electrical troubleshooting is needed to repair this system. The problem might be a dead battery in the remote key or a failure in the theft-deterrent system.
Most often, the problem is that, when you pull the hood release, the hood doesn't budge. But when you pull the inside release (while someone else presses down the hood), the hood latch trips. Hood releases get stuck a LOT, and require 2 people to open the car hood: 1 to hold the release handle and 1 to fiddle with the hood. The risk is that the release cable may eventually break. Heres how to fix the problem with simple lubrication & a rag.
Eventually, any release cable can stretch to much and break. This is a common problem, almost always caused by a dirty, dry and/or rusty hood-latch mechanism. Start by opening the hood, however you can manage this. One trick to opening a stuck hood is to pull the hood-release handle with your right hand while standing outside the open car door and slapping the hood, hard, with your open-palmed left hand. NOTE: THIS HURTS...but will often get the hood to pop open. You can also open the latch by inserting a large slot screwdriver through the slots of the grill, into the the latch opening, to the right of the lower latch mounting bolt. Turn the screwdriver clockwise, moving the latch arm to the right, to release the hood. If your hood release cable is NOT broken, go on to the next paragraph.
If your cable IS broken, skip the next two paragraphs, and then follow the instructions.
Next, put on your eye goggles and spray the mechanism clean with a can of carb cleaner. NOTE: You must wear eye protection to keep the hydrocarbon cleaner from splashing back at them. Keep a shop towel handy to wipe up the surrounding spray. After the drips run clear, wait a few minutes for the cleaner to soak. Then, do it all again. Lastly, check that the mechanism isn't out of alignment. The latch assembly should be bolted to the radiator core support, and may be adjustable. WARNING: DONT adjust the latch assembly unless you have good reason to believe it's been disturbed AKA in an accident.
Watch the latch from underneath the hood, while someone else pulls the hood-release handle . If it's not moving the pawl in the latch enough to disengage it, then adjust the cable. Don't pull it up so far that the latch runs out of travel before the handle does. Have someone hold the hood release handle all the way open, while you clamp down the cable. WARNING: You'll break the cable if you clamp it too tight. Next, lubricate the latch mechanism with an aerosol grease that leaves a film behind (IE. Redline CV-2 grease). Finally, lubricate the handle under the dash with silicone spray. WARNING: Don't use silicone or penetrating oil under the hood, as its too thin for outdoor weather and could contaminate the oxygen sensor. Congratulations, youre finished...unless your cable was broken.
This cable broke near the little ball end that is attached to fit into the handle.
This is the hood latch, near the front of the car. The cable passes through the opening to the back of the headlights. The plastic headlight rear cover (by the battery) must be removed before the latch can be removed.
This is the grill after removing the 6 phillips head screws
holding it over the headlights, on the drivers side.
These are two 10mm bolts holding the hood latch (left of drivers side high beam).
After removing the 10mm bolts, youll see the tracks that the bolts slide in.
This may only work if the latch is pushed to the top of the tracks.
This is from the perspective of under the hood. After the 10mm bolts are removed, reach behind the headlight assembly and pull out the latch still attached to the cable. This picture shows the latch in the open position.
This is the latch in the closed position. Note the small, center hole where the hood bracket would fit in when the latch is closed. Unbolt the 8mm bolt holding the cable into the bracket to remove the cable.
Find the small, brass link on the end of the cable,
which fits inside the crook of the handle.
The cable feeds into a plastic sheath running through the firewall to the latch, which is behind where the handle mounts to the wall.
Before you install a new hood release cable, detach the old one from the 8mm bolt holding it to the latch. Pull the cable (from the latch side) from the sheath with a pair of pliers. Then, feed the new cable through the sheath inside the car, behind the handle. Do this slowly, with the same pliers gripping the cable, so as not to bend it, until it comes through the sheath by the latch. Attach the brass link into the handle inside the car, and then tighten the 8mm bolt over the end of the cable. To reassemble things, simply reverse the above steps. NOTE: Adjust the amount of cable left slack as necessary, through both the 8mm bolt and near the latch's 10mm bolts in the their tracks.
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