Hood won't open

[LGTmakes3]

Tried to open the hood this morning to check the oil and add washer fluid. When I pulled the lever nothing happened. Does anyone know how to open the hood with out the use ofd the inside lever? Any help would be great...can't get it to a dealer for several weeks due to work and I have a road trip planned in 2 weeks.

[sachilles]

Did you feel it release at all on the handle? Usually the latch gets frozen a little, just press on the hood above the latch a little bit and it may jar it loose.

If you didn't feel is release on the handle, you may be able to use some needle nose pliers to pull on the cable itself near the release lever.

[LosAngelesLGT]

:rolleyes:Do not "just press" on your hollow core aluminum hood.

[sachilles]

:rolleyes:Do not "just press" on your hollow core aluminum hood.

Why not? I'm not suggesting he stand on it.

[HAMMER DOWN]

Not with out breaking anything. Some things to try & check out. 1) Is the cable still attach to the inside handle? (If yes), when pulled does it feel like it's still attach to the hood latch.(If yes), have someone pull the inside latch & hold it open & you hit the hood with the palm of you hand. It mite pop open. This means your hood latch needs to be freed up, cleaned & lubed.

 

If you answer No to question 1). Can you see enough cable to got vise grips on to pull cable an open hood. (If yes) but hood don't open. Repeat above. (If no) Peel back the cable housing to expose enough cable to grab a hold of.

 

Last if all else fails, you mite have to remove part of you grill (with hole saw, dermal or drill) to get too the driver side top hood latch bolt (12mm). Which also holds the anti thief shield. Once shield is removed, use long pliers or screwdriver to trip open the hood latch. Hope this helps.

 

Mike

[LGTmakes3]

Cable is still attached to inside handle. Handle move freely...doesn't feel like it's pulling on anything. Tried grabbing the cable and pulling it. It doesn't pull out but doesn't trip the latch eather. Looking at trying to go for dissassembling the latch.

[Legacy51]

Did you feel it release at all on the handle? Usually the latch gets frozen a little, just press on the hood above the latch a little bit and it may jar it loose.

 

Right just press above the release on the hood. I've done this before and it worked fine. Just a love tap.

[A_Tang]

1) Is the cable still attach to the inside handle? (If yes), when pulled does it feel like it's still attach to the hood latch.(If yes), have someone pull the inside latch & hold it open & you hit the hood with the palm of you hand.

 

This didn't work. It still firmly latched.

 

Can you see enough cable to got vise grips on to pull cable an open hood. (If yes) but hood don't open. Repeat above. (If no) Peel back the cable housing to expose enough cable to grab a hold of.

 

I don't see how to peel back the housing. Do you have to cut it with a utility knife?

 

Last if all else fails, you mite have to remove part of you grill (with hole saw, dermal or drill) to get too the driver side top hood latch bolt (12mm). Which also holds the anti thief shield. Once shield is removed, use long pliers or screwdriver to trip open the hood latch.

 

Is there no way to get to this 12mm bolt with maybe an extension and u-joint?

 

Thanks.

Edited September 7, 2016 by A_Tang
typo

[serx7]

Something similar happens to my car on an annual/semi-annual basis. I pull the release lever inside the cabin and barely feel any resistance until the lever is nearly at the fully open position. As luck almost always has it, this happens when I'm the only one at the house and none of the neighbors are around.

 

If it's 'almost working' like this, I can usually get the hood release latch/cable to 'break free' by repeatedly pulling the in cabin lever all the way open and letting it snap back to the closed position. I usually have to do this several times and then it finally starts working again.

 

If it ever gets really stuck and no one's around to assist while I push down on the hood a bit, I'll put a few bricks on leading edge of the hood and see if that lets the latch release. Kidding

[Max Capacity]

Note to all of us, spray the latch assembly with a lube once a year.

 

It's part of my Fall maintenance before Winter comes thing...Part of making sure the car is ready for Winter.

 

serx7 can you spray some lube through the grill using the red tube that comes with can of spray ?

[serx7]

Note to all of us, spray the latch assembly with a lube once a year.

 

It's part of my Fall maintenance before Winter comes thing...Part of making sure the car is ready for Winter.

 

serx7 can you spray some lube through the grill using the red tube that comes with can of spray ?

 

I do that twice a year, and at least twice a year it starts to get stuck The tell-tale sign of impending trouble is when I go to close the hood and it doesn't latch shut on the 1st try. Within a day or 2, the latch/cable gets slightly stuck.

 

I'll keep the spray through the grill trick in mind next time it starts acting up, although I think your suggestion is probably intended for A_Tang.

[Max Capacity]

In that case. you may want to remove the cable from the latch and see if it slides freely.

 

If it dose, replace the latch.

 

I think you can figure it out, if you just decide the spend the money.

[serx7]

In my case it could be either/both, as I treat the latch and the cable at the same time. If/when the hood doesn't close, I'll treat the latch separately, then the hood closes no problem, and the issue doesn't recur for several months. So I know it's at least sometimes the latch.

 

It sounds like A_Tang's symptoms are more severe/urgent than mine. Even when mine sticks, it always pops free after a few pulls/snap-backs of the release lever from inside the car, even during the winter.

[gkinslow]

I think Fjuan would have some advice in this matter.

 

May be too late though.

[HAMMER DOWN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HAMMER DOWN http://legacygt.com/forums/skynetim/buttons/viewpost.gif

1) Is the cable still attach to the inside handle? (If yes), when pulled does it feel like it's still attach to the hood latch.(If yes), have someone pull the inside latch & hold it open & you hit the hood with the palm of you hand.

 

This didn't work. It still firmly unlatched.

 

You mean latched.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by HAMMER DOWN http://legacygt.com/forums/skynetim/buttons/viewpost.gif

Can you see enough cable to got vise grips on to pull cable an open hood. (If yes) but hood don't open. Repeat above. (If no) Peel back the cable housing to expose enough cable to grab a hold of.

 

I don't see how to peel back the housing. Do you have to cut it with a utility knife?

 

At the plastic release handle, remove the cable & clamp vise grips and pull hard. If cable is broken, cut back cable housing( whatever tool that necessary to get the job done, Knife, dermal) to expose cable to use vise grips.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by HAMMER DOWN http://legacygt.com/forums/skynetim/buttons/viewpost.gif

Last if all else fails, you mite have to remove part of you grill (with hole saw, dermal or drill) to get too the driver side top hood latch bolt (12mm). Which also holds the anti thief shield. Once shield is removed, use long pliers or screwdriver to trip open the hood latch.

 

Is there no way to get to this 12mm bolt with maybe an extension and u-joint?

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, after you sacrifice the center of your grill.

 

1st I'll start by spraying some PB Blaster on the latch mechanism. You wont be able it hit directly, should be able to spray it, using the straw attachment. Spray up behind the center of the grill and soaking the general area. If cable is still attach to the hood release mechanism, repeat set one.

 

good luck, Mike

[R15]

Penetrating oil isn't going to free it if there's ZERO resistance on the release wire but it certainly isn't going to hurt. You're gonna have to remove the 12mm mounting bolts for the latch and yes you'll need to cut something for access. Consider that if they left those bolts easily accessible people could literally steal anything they like from your engine bay.

 

But before I did any of that I'd put vice grips on the wire and have someone push on the hood.

 

We're doing hood latch recalls at my dealer (Nissan) and every few weeks or so a spring comes off a secondary assembly and we get to play this game but for us it's on Altimas which have more options but even still we've had to cut the grill and replace at least once or twice.

[seanyb505]

I think Fjuan would have some advice in this matter.

 

May be too late though.

 

Surprised how long this took

[Polo08816]

https://youtu.be/xnS0opa7ILU

 

I'm having a similar issue. There's no resistance on the cable. Would the technique in the Youtube video work?

[All_talk]

I think you can get to the cable under the finder liner, but without sacrificing the cable I don't know there is much you can do from there.

 

I would start with the suggested latch lubing and have someone push on the hood as you pull the lever.

[Polo08816]

I think you can get to the cable under the finder liner, but without sacrificing the cable I don't know there is much you can do from there.

 

I would start with the suggested latch lubing and have someone push on the hood as you pull the lever.

 

Worst case, I would imagine that you can get to it by destroying the front grille.