How To Open A Hood With A Broken Hood Latch - Vokswagen MK7 DIY

► We were working on our MK7 GTI one day and encountered a pretty serious problem–the hood wouldn't open. Pulling the hood release by the pedals yielded nothing, and we needed to get under the hood. So, what do you do?

We did what any other MK7 GTI owner would do: check the internet. What we found were a couple of suggestions that mentioned absolutely annihilating the VW logo to get to the hood latch at the front of the car. They worked, sure, but you have to replace the grille afterward. So, we thought of another way.

In this very quick-and-dirty DIY (notice the head-mounted GoPro from Mr. Coal Miner Cory), we prop the hood up slightly with a microfiber-wrapped prybar in order to gain access to the two bolts located at the front of the hood. Then, by using a ratcheting wrench we ever-so-slightly jostled the bolts loose enough for the hood to open completely without having to use the latch.

Upon further inspection, we noticed the actual receiver for the hood latch cable–the part that connects under the hood by the battery–had shattered.

Stay tuned for an upcoming DIY where we'll actually install the hood release. For now, we just wanted to share how we actually got the hood open.

Shop the parts used in this video here:

Symptoms & Failures:
-VW Mk7 Hood Latch Broken
-VW MK7 Hood Release Broken
-Golf GTI Bonnet Release
-Golf GTI Bonnet Release Broken
-Golf GTI Hood Latch Broken
-VW MK7 Hood Latch Won't Open


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[awe]

Absolutely perfect! Mine broke on me a week after buying it. Took a similar approach to using a long 10mm flexi-head ratchet spanner, but instead of using a pry bar on the grille, i used a couple of hand pump driven inflatable mats, placed roughly 10-12 inches either side of the VW emblem, and then loosened the rear bolt first given that would be the most difficult of the two, 30 mins or so later and the bonnet popped open. Sure enough the piece of plastic holding the ball from the rear release cable had snapped. New one fitted and cabled tied.

[bennevis]

I just used your method to get my bonnet (hood) open. I used a long 10 mm open spanner. I fixed the broken connection using three cable ties to link both metal cables. Plenty of grease and oil on the latch. All good and ready for my MOT. Thanks lads😄David from Scotland

[rizkhokhar]

Awesome, just bought two spanners and managed to get it done in 45 minutes on my MK 7. Many thanks for this video.

[MrJSmithify]

Hey Cory, thank you so much for putting this video together, I phoned around a few garages and they refused to take the work on so I had to do it myself. There are very few resources on the internet for those of us unlucky enough to have their bonnet cable snap, really appreciate you guys taking the time to document this solution!

[blueridgerennsport]

Today marked the second trip to the dealer for my mk7.5 GTI and the second time they were unsuccessful at getting the hood open, and it's the second time they've told me they need to order parts and to send it back next week. They've promised an oil change and a hand wash for the delays 😄 Something tells me they are going to hack up the grille next time, so I am going to take a close look at it when it comes back. I could've had this fixed weeks ago, but the car is still under warranty - not going to tie up a bay and pay one of my guys to do something VW is responsible for 😉 Good video, hope it helps someone 👍

[pauldavid]

Thanks a lot man, saved my life. Got the hood locked after I replaced the headlight, I first used the "ABN Metric 8mm x 10mm Extra Long Flex Head 12 Point Double Box End Ratcheting Wrench" but went to far and got it stucked with the bolt. So I used a XL 10mm wrench to unbolt the second bolt, was a bit tricky but this one might actually be a bit easier with a regular wrench.
I used a pry bar too.

[gmans]

Thank You for the insight. So this weekend as we all work on our cars, and while it's NOT broken, let's plan out the attack should this happen. And remember, Always Keep a Spare!!

[horacio_powder]

Thanks for this! I was able to get it open using this method, a pry bar, and just a small flat 10mm wrench (would have been nice to have a longer one, but I thumb wrestled it and won). That piece of plastic is the same thing that broke on mine, if I had known that it was so weak I would have used caution every time I opened the hood. I imagine that for most people that find there way here it is too late. It would be nice to have some instructions on how to install the new part. For now Im just going to clamp it together before attempting a full replacement.

[thatboylyle]

Just found out today that my hood won't open. Glad I found this video. Going to try and get it open will its the weekend.

[Carlos.]

Hello Cory, thank you for the instructions. It was a great battle to open the hood and finally i was able to open it. Thank you so much. Greetings from Germany.

[marie-clairedulac]

Where is the DIY video to install the new part 😩 I need your help !!

[alanmckeown]

Thank you so much for this video - without it I just wouldn’t have persevered …eventually got the two bolts out after a lot of fiddling and swearing!! Thanks again such a great help 👍

[SpytheGSD]

Thanks. I threw a wire through the latch after fixing it so that I have a secondary means of opening the hood if this happens again

[pipishere]

Just done this with my Seat Ibiza (6J) and cannot thank you enough!

[MaxamillianStudio]

So this video is amazingly helpful. The fact that this part is so crappy that this video is necessary is pure VW and pure Evil. The plastic parts are garbage, and I had to replace this part 3 times.

[danklinnert]

You saved me a lot of time, It worked on my 2015 Golf TDI. THANK YOU.

[TheFlyingPLiner]

You guys should offer a refresh kit/diy so we can swap this out before it breaks. My guess is the 5 year mark would be a good time to replace.

[Turbozee]

Great video iv already hacked one grill away and replaced the cable and just had this cable snap on me! Definitely be trying this

[tonhoraimurgorgo]

Hi. Thanks, it gives a place to start. I got the same problem with a Touran. I hope I will come right.

[Eyeheartbrain]

Where is the video of the repair? 11 months and no video?