5 Reasons Your Hood Won’t Open
You expect your car to move, and when you pull the release handle to open the hood, you expect the hood to pop out. But when that doesn’t happen, it can lead to a moment of panic and frustration. But what causes this and what needs to be done? Take a deep breath and keep reading. We’ll help you open your hood in no time.
Key Insights
Possible causes: Broken/Stuck Release Cable, Incorrect Cable Tension, Sticky/Broken Latch, Sticky/Broken Release Handle, or Damaged Hood.
How to: Try to open the latch manually using a screwdriver.
Repair Cost: Can range from $20 to $175 depending on the issue and repair service.
How does the hood latch mechanism work?
Before we can dig in and truly understand why your hood won’t open, we first need to understand how locking and unlocking the hood actually works.
When you pull the release handle on your vehicle it connects to a cable. The other end of the cable is under the hood and is connected to the hood lock.
Pulling the handle moves the cable, opening the lock. As this happens, the hood pops up and is held in place by the secondary release. If your vehicle is equipped with a hood lock sensor, opening the lock will activate the sensor and illuminate a light on the dashboard.
Now that the hood is slightly open, you can climb up and reach your hand into the opening and release the secondary latch to open the hood fully. When you close the hood, you push it into place and the spring pushes the latch closed so it won’t open while you’re driving.
Why won’t the hood open?
When you try to open your hood, the first thing you want to ask yourself is why it won’t open. To help you understand why your hood is stuck in the closed position, we’ve covered the 5 most common reasons why your hood gets stuck in the closed position.
1) Broken/Stuck Release Cable
The release cable pulls the latch open to open the hood. So it’s no surprise that you won’t be able to open your hood if your release cable isn’t working properly. The problem could be that it’s stuck or rusted, or it could be completely cracked. In either case, you’ll need to identify the problem and fix it to get it working properly again.
2) Incorrect cable tension
Did you know you can adjust your hood release cable? If your hood is too tight it won’t close, but if the release cable isn’t tight enough it won’t open.
To fix this problem you need to adjust the tension on the release cable. This can usually be done with a screwdriver or wrench on the cable adjuster.
3) Stuck or broken latch
The latch is the component that actually moves to unlock the hood so you can open it. If it’s working properly, you should be able to easily pull the release cable to where you need it. Over time, however, the latch will begin to rust, and when that happens, it won’t move as easily as it should.
Furthermore, if the damage continues over time, the latch itself may rust or break completely. But whether it’s broken or stuck, you won’t be able to open the hood until it’s repaired.
4) Stuck or Broken Release Handle
The other half of the unlock cable connects to the vehicle’s unlock latch. The release handle itself may not function properly, or the cable to the release latch may be damaged. Either way, you won’t be able to open the hood.
5) Damaged Hood
If your car has been in an accident recently or the hood is damaged, that may be the reason why the hood won’t open. All of the various components may work as intended, but if the hood is stuck after an accident, you may still not be able to open it.
You probably won’t be able to get your hood to work properly again until you repair the damage to your hood, so repair the damage first.
