Cannot open bonnet on W210 - HELP!

[jeremy156]

Slight panic, I can't open the bonnet on my E-class. The release catch has been very stiff since I got the car and I've been worried the lever would break every time I opened it, but the lever itself remains fine.... the cable with the lug just suddenly won't move at all and I can't release the bonnet even pulling hard with pliars - something is well and truely jammed.

So my question: is there another way of getting to the release mechanism? Front bumper off, perhaps? Unhook the bonnet from the back?

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated - in this weather it won't be long before I need to top up the washer fluid and being a Saturday afternoon I can't get it to a garage until Monday.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[Dieselman]

I doubt you'd get to the bonnet catches with the bumper off but might with the sound deadening pad removed from underneath.

Note. You can't get the bumper off with the bonnet closed anyway.

The catches are on the underside of the bonnet landing panel by the radiator so will be really awkward to get to.

Try pushing down on the bonnet to relieve some of the load on the catches when pulling the release lever.

 

[Brian WH]

Ring Mobilo perhaps???

 

[LastMinute]

It would be interesting to hear Mobilo's response, given [POST=317619]Peter S's experience[/POST].

 

[Vlad]

Its a common problem and you will need to get a new lever (your local dealer will have sold lots of these items!!!), as its highly likely that the plastic lug on the catch will have broken or worn, causing the cable to become detached.

The lever itself if cheap and easy to repair albeit getting the cable back into the lug in the lever can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Once reconnected, screw the lever back into place and you should be able to get that cable moving again.....if you try the pliers route again before replacing the lever, you have to get the angle just right and you really do have to pull hard.

You may also want to have a look at the two catches that the bonnet pins lock into...they get full of road crud and end up seizing and causing the cables to seize...again its an easy job to replace them, although they will need a bit of time getting the adjustment just right and you need to pack them full of grease.

Good luck

 

[BenzComander]

Its a common problem and you will need to get a new lever (your local dealer will have sold lots of these items!!!), as its highly likely that the plastic lug on the catch will have broken or worn, causing the cable to become detached.

The lever itself if cheap and easy to repair albeit getting the cable back into the lug in the lever can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Once reconnected, screw the lever back into place and you should be able to get that cable moving again.....if you try the pliers route again before replacing the lever, you have to get the angle just right and you really do have to pull hard.

You may also want to have a look at the two catches that the bonnet pins lock into...they get full of road crud and end up seizing and causing the cables to seize...again its an easy job to replace them, although they will need a bit of time getting the adjustment just right and you need to pack them full of grease.

Good luck

Yup, been there with this repair!! Bonnet pull was cheap as chips, and only held on by one screw!

Worth spraying everything with releasing spray once the new bonnet pull is installed!

 

[jeremy156]

Surprisingly, the lever isn't completely dead and I can get the lug back into position (with a fight) ready for me to pull again, but the cable is so stiff it manages to pop back out of its fitting in the lever before the force is enough to shift the cable. By the way, I'm pulling very hard, so much so that when it did eventually snap out of the clip I cut my hand and I'm also currently enjoying an "interesting" blood blister - i.e. the force that would be required to actually move the cable will be immense and I don't want to be standing behind it when it finally does move!! So far only one metal strand has snapped under the force, I hope the remaining ones survive. This thing is well and truely jammed! I'll try the suggestion of getting my wife to lean on the bonnet in case that eases the pressure off the catch - nice suggestion.

Certainly if/when it ever does open again I'll be cleaning everything I can see and packing with grease. I'll get a new catch lever and see if that takes the load better than the old worn one - at least with that you get the leverage better than trying to use pliers.

I'll call my trusted indy in the morning - I'm just glad that the washer fluid bottle didn't empty itself completely through this weekend's driving!

 

[Vlad]

Jeremy, if the cable is slipping out of the catch its broken, even if it looks OK....a new catch will not allow this to happen.

I went through the same procedure thinking that the lever was OK, only for the cable to pop out after pulling like mad....once I fitted a new lever everything was fine.

They only cost £3.50 or so if I remember correctly

 

[jeremy156]

I went and got a replacement lever and pulled for all I was worth and indeed the cable lug didn't pop out as it did with the old lever. No movement until I got my mate to push down where the two catches are at the front of the bonnet and finally they released - imagine my relief, I thought for a while I'd never see that engine again haha

So, thanks Dieselman and Vlad, spot on with the advice - I'll hold a pint in credit for you!!

Now I'm off to smother everything with grease before I risk closing it again!