How do I open hood when cable or latch is broken

Have you tried banging on the hood near the cowl or windshield, while pulling the hood latch, to see if it pops open?

If the cable is stretched or broken, you may have to get to the latch from underneath, and pry the latch with a small screwdriver-the cable will attach to a lever that pulls towards the driver's side to open the latch. Sometimes you may need to take off the grill (if able to with the hood closed), and then you can get to the latch with your hand.

try taking the wheel liner out on the side of the stuck latch and access the latch directly you can open it by hand if u follow the cable to lever. if you cannot access from wheel ull have to go from under the bumper as a last resort ull have to unbolt the latch while connected which can be tricky

Raise hood,have some one go pull hood latch and you look at latch and see if it releases,if it doesn't then cable may need replacing,I would'nt completely shut hood cause you may not get back open,also check hood latches bolts and latch for something bent or broken.

theres a wire inside the cable--try to get at it somehow and pull with vise grips

You may need a professional to get this hood open, and it will likely need to be on a car lift. Try this if you are handy, try removing the driver side fender well liner for access to the latch.

close hood and lift up on hood to see if it stays closed.
if not, check inside car to see if latch(that you pull) is in the correct position. you can tell when hood is closed that there will be some tension on latch.
check under hood, where hood closes on latch of hood, is tight and secure(no loose bolts)
also check cable if broken.
only those things can cause hood to pop open.
if all visual inspections check out and still continues to open while driving then the latch (the mechanism that hold the hood down) is bad. vibrating while driving will cause it to open.

Hi,

Grab a flashlight and a long screwdriver and peer straight down into the hood latch. You should see the end of the hood cable, it's looped in to a metal bracket. Have a helper pull and let go the hood release cable from inside the car, this cable should move to the when pulled, and return when released.

If it doesn't return, the cable is stretched, or a spring is broken from the cable assembly. Here's a quick fix:

Facing the car and using the screwdriver, push the bracket to your left as far as you can. This resets the latch. Drop the hood from about 2-3 feet above the latch. You need to close it with a bit of speed or the release mechanism will just move. It might take a few times of moving the cable and dropping the hood to get it to latch.

Permanent fix is to replace the cable.

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.

Will start simple:
If the handle is broken inside car, find cable end pull with pliers, the handle is replaceable by itself from dealer or junkyard.

If you are pulling handle and hood will not pop up, have a helper pull up on front of hood and lightly bump down on hood near the latch with their hand or fist(careful not to dent) while you pull on handle and it should popup, now lube it before you close it, the hood may then need to be opened and closed several times to work lube into latch(this sticking is common when latch system is not lubricated regularly).

If the before mentioned does not work...the cable could be detached at latch which is usually caused by: lack of lubrication and/or trying to open hood in winter after going through carwash.
Now things get trickier and you're best finding a shop that can raise the car up so that they can jimmy it from below.

Hi there,

Yes, there is a way. I've had to do it three times. Once I got it the first time, 2 and 3 were easy. You're going to need a flashlight and a long screwdriver or needlenose pliers.

Get to the grill and look through with the flashlight. You're looking for the hood release cable. Follow it as far as you can to just beneath the hood latch.

Now look for the clamp on the outer part of the cable. To the left of that you should see the inner cable (the part that moves and pulls the latch). Try to either grab it with the pliers or get the screwdriver above it and pull down. You'll here it click open when you get it.

If the cable is broken or off, you're still in the right area. Look for the latch assembly, there are two or three small arms beneath. Try to move each one to the right. Be patient, you'll get it open.

Comment me back to let me know how it goes.

Good Luck
Mike