2003 Hood Release Issue

I popped the hood the other day, and now the release lever will no go back, and the hood will not latch. The second, or safety latch, holds it down but not flush.

Anyone have any dealings with the hood release cable or mechanism? I have not had time to investigate, but it looks like something broke on the latch under the hood.

 

Try adjusting the rubber cylindrical things to lower the hood a bit. They are on the front corners of the fender area.

 

I had the same issue, after a body shop tagged my hood release cable with the welder. For awhile every time I opened the hood had to use needle nose pliers to move the cable at the hood latch on the radiator support. Finally replaced the cable.

 

How hard was that to do? I was able to latch the hood all the way closed, but the release lever in the cab did not close all the way. Then while driving, the hood did not stay all the way down. It's not a matter of the hood alining with the fenders; that seems fine.

I won't have time to look at this for a while. Unless it gets worse.

 

make sure the cable is not stuck or slipped out of the mechanism box. make sure the spring isn't broken or weak

some pics of the latch (ignore the annotation on the one)





also:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hood-wont-lock-completely.278332/

 

Thanks Frizzman. I thought I saw a piece of something below the spring, but it's gone now. I could have been a broken part, or it could have been anything. Ill try releasing the latch and see what happens.

 

The solution to my hood release issues :


Found on eBay.

 

Yeah, that's the best way to do it. Put in new parts. Once it starts to fail it will do so faster and faster each time you try to rig it back together.

 

usually the old cable gets bound up to where you need to re lube it,

 

My hood latch has been working lately, so I have not yet replaced the cable. It's still broke, and the release lever is stuck in the open position, but I'm waiting for better weather and spare time before I get into this. I haven't tried opening the hood lately, but hope it will still release.

 

either you lost the return spring on the hood latch or the cable is stuck)bound up) in the sheath and wont glide properly in and out.if you take a pair of needle nose pliers try pulling the cable in and out there is a little area at the latch where u can grab, and try to shoot some wd40 or lube into the sheath and pull in and out till it gets down into the sheath,this is how I got mine unstuck

 

I will try this when we have some decent weather. Unfortunately, cold and rainy today.

 

Used a spay can of silicone lube on the end of the cable at the latch, and after a few open/close attempts, the cable did function better and the hood release lever in the cab went back into position. It's still sticky, but at least the latch and release lever work.

Since I have the new replacement cable, I will put it in when the working conditions are better. If I did not have it, I probably would not buy a new one until this one failed completely.

 

The end of my latch cable slipped out at the dash end. Just unbolt the lever (three screws) I Thought the cable had broken.

 

Mine doesn't do it either.

Found out if I push down on the spring in the latch, it'll move the arm so the hood actually catches. Either the spring is shot or something is binding and not letting the latch reset under tension.

 

I did install the new cable recently. What a difference. While lubing the cable at the latch did work, and allowed the hood to fully lock, the new cable functions significantly better. The release lever in the cab snaps back closed once you pop the hood.

The install is not too bad. I unbolted the latch from the body. The lower bolt on the bumper support sheared off though. That a tough fix unless you take off the bumper (some other time). Starting at the latch, I removed the old cable as I worked toward the cab, and fed the new one in its place. The cable is held in by several plastic clamps which are easy to work. I disconnected the release lever in the cab . Unhooked the cable from the release and pulled back into the engine compartment. Lube the firewall grommet so the old cable sides out easier, and the new one slides in. You have to fit the metal flange on the cable into the grove in the grommet. Run the cable back to the release lever, attach, and screw the lever back in. Better than new.

Sometimes fixing these small annoying issues is more satisfying than the big fixes.