W202 C43 AMG bonnet refuses to open

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DRBC43AMG

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
1,118
Location
Switzerland, Locarno (TI)
Car
2013 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 1999 C43 AMG saloon "Grandma" (sold), Ultima Sports Can-Am (sold)
The bonnet latch doesn't work and refuses to open. Any way of getting the bonnet opened without reverting to the use of a hammer and metal cutters?
 
Ask someone to progressively pull the bonnet release lever whilst you push down on the bonnet in the area of the latches - push, release, push, release and repeat until the lever releases the bonnet 👍🏻

PS Imagine doing the “staying alive” resuscitation method on the bonnet latches😁
 
I'll try that 😂
I had to do it once. I almost didn’t try it, and then I almost gave up too soon, but fortunately kept going. There’s a little bit of experimentation required to get just the right amount of force and frequency.

Make sure the person pulling the lever is mechanically sympathetic - pulling the lever really hard will only make the situation worse (which may be counter-intuitive to some) as it will stretch and/or break the cable!
 
This morning I called in a friendly neighbour to give me a hand. No amount of pushing hard or soft managed to unlock the bonnet. Also the cable end on the red dash lever came off. It looks a bit long but doesn't come out more, so doubt it is broken. Guess a trip to the local dealer is required this afternoon :mad: as I need to get it working again to finish some mechanical work in progress (new radiator installed, remount the fan and shroud, check ATF and complete levels after flush and change, finally get the air-box back on).
 
Forgot to say that despite looking in the WIS, I didn't find any reference or way to fix this
 
Finally gave the vehicle to the local MB dealer as I was stumped finding solutions. This had them quizzing also as these older W202 models don't seem to get much attention at the dealers, not forgetting that the younger technicians don't know much about them or rarely work on them. Fortunately one of the mechanics had a W202 as a personal vehicle, so they used that to look closely how the latch works. It still took them some time to get the thing opened, even after having made a small hole in the plastic weatherproofing cover under the lock mechanism. Turns out the cable was unclipped and not broken. Unfortunately the microswitch in the latch assembly was destroyed in the hole making process and OE parts are no longer available. I managed to tape the switch closed, insulate the switch with tape and pushed it back down into the cover. Bonnet opens and closes perfectly now.
 

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