How to open hood if the cable for hood latch broken

Question edited for clarity.
Question moved to Audi A8.

Get in through the back seats and pull the emergency latch.

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My Audi a8 1999 - JustAnswer

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Mar 23, 2013 - My Audi a8 1999. Battery dead.so auto trunk latch inoperable. Key won't go in. Jammed? Twisted? Any other way to open - Answered by a ...

Heidi, No electric release. The latch is probably stuck. While you pull the interior hood release have an assistant push down and pull up repeatably/vigorously until hood releases from stuck position. Lube latch and cable before closing hood. Check the attached links,instruction and guides, Good luck
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If you mean the hood will not lock down in a closed position the following applies.
It can be due to a stuck hood release cable or latch pivot that is out of sequence. With the cable problem, the cable remains pulled back in an OPEN position and the latch pivot will remain in an unlock position under the hood. For the latch pivot, the pivot has a V notch and is suppose to lay in an open position in order for the hood striker to trip it into a locked position. You may not be lined up, basically the pivot is flipped into a closed position and the striker hits its' top instead of its' V slot.

Rust or a broken pivot return spring can be the causes for this defect.

If you mean the hood will not move down from an open position, then that is a different problem. The small lift cylinders on each side of the hood may be jammed. Or the hood hinge could be defective. Be careful, some hoods are made of aluminum and bend easily if forced.

Under the car:
You will be able to open the hood if you pull off your splash guard and use a long long flat head screwdriver or something like that. You'll see the hood latch in front of the radiator with the cable attached to it at the top near the hood, put it on the drivers side edge of the bottom of the latch and pry to the passenger side, the lever moves from the drivers side to the passengers side, the cable basically pulls the top of it to achieve this. so your doing the same thing on the bottom with the screwdriver.


Release the latch from underneath by the lever that you have to pry towards the passenger side. Then open the hood, and replace the safety release mechanism broken cable.

Under the car:
You will be able to open the hood if you pull off your splash guard and use a long long flat head screwdriver or something like that. You'll see the hood latch in front of the radiator with the cable attached to it at the top near the hood, put it on the drivers side edge of the bottom of the latch and pry to the passenger side, the lever moves from the drivers side to the passengers side, the cable basically pulls the top of it to achieve this. so your doing the same thing on the bottom with the screwdriver.


Release the latch from underneath by the lever that you have to pry towards the passenger side. Then open the hood, and replace the safety release mechanism broken cable.

Under the car:
You will be able to open the hood if you pull off your splash guard and use a long long flat head screwdriver or something like that. You'll see the hood latch in front of the radiator with the cable attached to it at the top near the hood, put it on the drivers side edge of the bottom of the latch and pry to the passenger side, the lever moves from the drivers side to the passengers side, the cable basically pulls the top of it to achieve this. so your doing the same thing on the bottom with the screwdriver.



Release the latch from underneath by the lever that you have to pry towards the passenger side. Then open the hood, and replace the safety release mechanism broken cable.

Please do rate my response. Thanks!

Under the car:
You will be able to open the hood if you pull off your splash guard and use a long long flat head screwdriver or something like that. You'll see the hood latch in front of the radiator with the cable attached to it at the top near the hood, put it on the drivers side edge of the bottom of the latch and pry to the passenger side, the lever moves from the drivers side to the passengers side, the cable basically pulls the top of it to achieve this. so your doing the same thing on the bottom with the screwdriver.



Release the latch from underneath by the lever that you have to pry towards the passenger side. Then open the hood, and replace the safety release mechanism broken cable.

Please do rate my response. Thanks!

Under the car:
You will be able to open the hood if you pull off your splash guard and use a long long flat head screwdriver or something like that. You'll see the hood latch in front of the radiator with the cable attached to it at the top near the hood, put it on the drivers side edge of the bottom of the latch and pry to the passenger side, the lever moves from the drivers side to the passengers side, the cable basically pulls the top of it to achieve this. so your doing the same thing on the bottom with the screwdriver.


Release the latch from underneath by the lever that you have to pry towards the passenger side. Then open the hood, and replace the safety release mechanism broken cable.

Please do rate my response. Thanks!

You will be able to open the hood if you pull off your splash guard and use a long long flat head screwdriver or something like that. You'll see the hood latch in front of the radiator with the cable attached to it at the top near the hood, put it on the drivers side edge of the bottom of the latch and pry to the passenger side, the lever moves from the drivers side to the passengers side, the cable basically pulls the top of it to achieve this. so your doing the same thing on the bottom with the screwdriver.


Release the latch from underneath by the lever that you have to pry towards the passenger side. Then open the hood, and replace the safety release mechanism broken cable.

Please do rate my response. Thanks!

Try spraying the latch mechanism with WD-40 or similar light oil and operating the release cable a number of times. Check the condition of the release cable if nothing happens. The latch itself may have a broken spring due to the low temps.