Hood Release Handle Snapped! How to get Hood Open and Replace Part?

[Smitty2A4]

I was about to pop the hood in order to show off how clean it is to another Audi owner at a party a few weeks ago. I have been encountering some resistance when popping the hood for a while now and it often felt like I was going to snap the plastic handle but it held up fine until that night when right as I was pulling on it to release I remember saying “Man this thing is going to break *SNAP as it Breaks* any day now…AHH FUCK it just did”




So now I have to figure out the best/cheapest way to get this repaired, but more urgently how to get the damn hood open without using that latch! I knew that something requiring me to have the need to open the hood would happen and I kept telling myself to get it taken care of before it did but just didn’t have the time. Well now my min oil level light came on this weekend and I am not really driving the car until I can figure out how to pop the hood in order to add more oil. If I could figure out a workaround for now that doesn’t involve me ripping the front bumper off I can live with it until I get it repaired.

I found the replacement handle part on ECS for $22 which isn't bad, but has anyone installed one of these? Is it a pain in the ass? Because if that is the case I will just bring it to my local Euro Mechanic and I am sure he wont charge me much at all.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B6_A4-...Body/ES441735/

Otherwise are their any workarounds that I could try in the meantime just so I can add some oil? I was going to try using a pair of channel locks or vice grips to pull on the cable but for some reason I don't think that is going to work. I have read in other threads of people somehow popping the latch from underneath the car and that sounds like a pain in the ass. Oh well it could have been worse, at least the cable itself didn't snap...

[NW A4]

So you can't get the hood open at all? Had this problem on my buddys b6. And i did figure it out. Raise the front a bit and crawl underneath. Right in front if the engine and right behind the radiator support, you have to reach your hand up there. Its pretty much in the center. There's a bracket that comes down a little bit and it will pop. Its just tough squeezing your hand up there. I can't point out which on exactly it is but just play with it till it pops

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If you can jack the car up or put it on a lift you can pop the hood latch from below with a long screwdriver.

[CyberPMG]

^^^Agree with this. Happened to me at H2O this year. Put it on a lift. Take the bellypan off. Get a 3 foot screwdriver and go up behind the radiator. There's a lever for the hood latch that can be moved to the passenger side to pop open the hood. Super simple.

[SleeperAvant]

But how do you replace the hood release handle that snapped by the dead pedal?

[CyberPMG]

If you look at the picture above, there's a torque bolt that holds the latch in place. You need to unbolt it in order to replace the latch. Once removed, see if you can move the cable back and forth. If you can't then chances are that the cable is binding and may need replacing.

[ilko]

Here's a much simpler method to try first. It worked for me as I had the exact same thing happen last year...

Grab the ball of the cable with a pair of pliers and give it a good tug. Meanwhile have someone press firm and hard on the tip of the hood. That should get the mechanism to work. Once you've opened the hood, spray the release mechanism and the cable liberally with WD-40 followed by tugging and releasing the cable so it can get greased on the inside.

As I said, the same thing happened to me last year. I had to buy a replacement hood release latch on Ebay. And you can do all the work on the street without having to raise the car or remove any parts. Hopefully this method will work for you as well. Best of luck!

[etnies]

I just did mine last week, if you goto the dealer the part is only 30 bucks. Pull the cable out of the housing with a needle nose. Undo the bolt and take out and just insert the new one in and put the pin back in, it literally took me 5 min to do .

[DownhillA4]

^^^Agree with this. Happened to me at H2O this year. Put it on a lift. Take the bellypan off. Get a 3 foot screwdriver and go up behind the radiator. There's a lever for the hood latch that can be moved to the passenger side to pop open the hood. Super simple.

Agreed. Did this when my hood latch busted and hood wouldn't open due to a deer strike.