hood latch broke, now how do I open my hood

[ngng]

the cable to the latch release has been disconnected, so I can't use pliers to pop the hoood Fuuuuuuuck.

[beemercer]

Same thing happened to me. If you can get a wrench in there you can take the three nuts that hold the latch to the hood off and pull it open. Kind of a pain, but thats the only way. Not sure if it'll work on a B7 though.

Once you get it open, zip tie that mother****** back on. The clip breaks out and it slips off.

[ngng]

Same thing happened to me. If you can get a wrench in there you can take the three nuts that hold the latch to the hood off and pull it open. Kind of a pain, but thats the only way. Not sure if it'll work on a B7 though.

Once you get it open, zip tie that mother****** back on. The clip breaks out and it slips off.

that's the only option i saw too :/

[AudiVWTech]

if you go under the car and get the bellypan off, you can use a real long screwdriver or soemthing similar and manually release the latch from the bottom side. There is a little lever that you have to push over. It's doable but not fun

[ngng]

if you go under the car and get the bellypan off, you can use a real long screwdriver or soemthing similar and manually release the latch from the bottom side. There is a little lever that you have to push over. It's doable but not fun

thanks man, I'll try that. car is on the lift right now w/o the belly pan already

[joeycuccaro]

if you go under the car and get the bellypan off, you can use a real long screwdriver or soemthing similar and manually release the latch from the bottom side. There is a little lever that you have to push over. It's doable but not fun

Yep, had to do this on my friends A4 when the hood latch was not properly replaced. It is a pain but it is doable.

[d.p]

if you go under the car and get the bellypan off, you can use a real long screwdriver or soemthing similar and manually release the latch from the bottom side. There is a little lever that you have to push over. It's doable but not fun

I wouldn't if I were you. The dealership replaced my AC condenser and forgot to re-attach the latch, thus sealing my hood.

I stood at the dealer for 3 hours watching them try and use that method. They successfully mangled the latch and several tools and never got the hood open. I sold the car that day and the new owner ended up having to remove the 3 10mm bolts through the front grille from the latch to get the hood open. Cost me $200 in parts to fix all the shit the dealer broke!

[AvanTTix]

May I suggest an alternative method?



...

[tylerS]

or you can take a page out of frozen-lugnut-kid's book and...

[Vinny@DTH]

or you can take a page out of frozen-lugnut-kid's book and...

Well at least this saw matches his car.

[somethingcorp]

that happened in my gti pain in the dick to do.. EASY fix tho.. the latch is very cheap

[ieatfishburitos]

Man you have a widebody S4, supercharger, headers etc... You don't have any F*ing problems... Buy a whole new hood and call it a day.. lol

[Silver B6 S4]

^^^^ I think he has the aluminum RS4 hood, and not the steel S4 hood. I could be wrong, but it isn't as cheap to replace it.



Edit: Might be a CF hood painted, I can't remember.

[beemercer]

Does the screwdriver method even work on the V8's? I looked to try and do it but I couldn't see shit from the bottom. Honestly taking the bolts out isn't bad at all, just run out and get a long wrench and a six pack... you'll have an open hood and a decent buzz.

[joeycuccaro]

Does the screwdriver method even work on the V8's? I looked to try and do it but I couldn't see shit from the bottom. Honestly taking the bolts out isn't bad at all, just run out and get a long wrench and a six pack... you'll have an open hood and a decent buzz.

It does, but it is a lot more difficult than an A4 because of the lack of room in the engine bay. With the A4 you have so much open space to see up from under the car to locate the latch. With the S4 there is little room to see and get to it, but it can be done.

[ALWAYS4UDI]

whereabouts are these cables breaking again?

[beemercer]

whereabouts are these cables breaking again?

This is actually a good PSA.

Pop your hood. Look at where the latch on the radiator support is. There should be a little black piece of plastic clipped into the latch. Sometimes the plastic piece breaks apart and it comes up clipped. So what happens is you pull on the cable and there is no tension, it's just loose.

It's a good thing to check on every once in a while.

[Captain Insano]

if you go under the car and get the bellypan off, you can use a real long screwdriver or soemthing similar and manually release the latch from the bottom side. There is a little lever that you have to push over. It's doable but not fun

This happened to me and I was stumped. I just took it to an Audi repair facility (not a dealership) and they fixed it. Cost me a couple hundred.

He fixed it using this method quoted I believe. I believe he bent his screw driver (pre-insertion) in order to get the right angle though. He showed it to me and giggled.

[AudiVWTech]

I wouldn't if I were you. The dealership replaced my AC condenser and forgot to re-attach the latch, thus sealing my hood.

I stood at the dealer for 3 hours watching them try and use that method. They successfully mangled the latch and several tools and never got the hood open. I sold the car that day and the new owner ended up having to remove the 3 10mm bolts through the front grille from the latch to get the hood open. Cost me $200 in parts to fix all the shit the dealer broke!

The guy who did it to your car didn't know what he was doing. I am a dealer tech and I have had to do this a few times. I have never damaged any cars or any of my tools doing this. And it is doable on the v8 cars. I had to get a hood open on a b6 s4 cabriolet once using this method.

[sl2.oturbo]

that happened in my gti pain in the dick to do.. EASY fix tho.. the latch is very cheap

i think i broke that hood latch on the gti lol

[Prtaick]

I have done a few of these. Removing the grill and the nuts is a good start to get the hood up a bit. Than I came up from the bottom with a few long tools, a hook, pry bar, my arm, things like that. It's all about being gentle... and having long girly arms and hands. ha

[ngng]

fuck that shitty latch mechanism! now that the hood is open...SC time!

[Overland]

fuck that shitty latch mechanism! now that the hood is open...SC time!

My god! how? i have the same problem, please post details of the process.

[ADynamics]

On B7 S4, put wedges to raise hood as much as you can, insert bent pieces of aluminum siding taped to hood and front grille, insert 14" blade between the siding, cut away two posts holding down the hood. Be very careful not to cut anything. It can take as long as 3 to 4 hours without hurting anything. Do not use power tools as you have not control for zero clearance.

[Jdubya]

As a former Corrado owner, opening a hood with broke cables is a skill, not a science.

[stegura]

It does, but it is a lot more difficult than an A4 because of the lack of room in the engine bay. With the A4 you have so much open space to see up from under the car to locate the latch. With the S4 there is little room to see and get to it, but it can be done.

Just had to work this out on my B6 S4. I think the screwdriver method could work with a long enough screwdriver and if you really knew the mechanism well. Just hard to tell what is what from the bottom. I ended up saying a prayer and then working the grill out with some finesse and a screwdriver. I removed the chrome colored ring that surrounds the grill first and I think that helped when I started working on the grill itself. There are tabs on the grill that you should be familiar with before you start working on it and I've seen details in manuals and other threads. Once the grill is out you can remove the three 10mm nuts that holds the latch mechanism to the hood. A long handled 10mm open ended wrench is about your best bet.

[Fade2Black]

I went through this today, what a PIA

[vtraudt]

Can someone confirm that the 3 bolts holding the latch can be removed on the B7 (B6 is confirmed).
2.0T
Other engines?

[icanfly]

As a former Corrado owner, opening a hood with broke cables is a skill, not a science.

^^^This is a fact!!!

long live the slc vr6 and it's bitch of a hood!