understand the problem
Yesterday was extremely cold, all day below -5 C. Then my car battery failed. When I tried to open the hood to give it a jump, the hood latch release failed.
This seems a simple mechanical problem. The latch was cleverly designed. After one evening’s study, I had a clear understanding of the problem. And it is very interesting and deserves a blog post.
There are actually 2 latches:
Each latch has its own spring. You can see how the Primary latch works by the following 2 short videos:
What to do if you have a Stuck Hood Latch or hood won’t open: https://youtu.be/mCQCatoG9Rc?t=30s
How to fix a hood latch that wont close || 1997 Chevy Lumina:https://youtu.be/z6CSHeuH-oE?t=8m7s
Or
All you need is a long stick to push the metal along the direction of latch release cable:
Hooray!
Everything is well explained in this awesome video
What if your car’s Hood won’t Open?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMrjwUfdiiE
Buy parts
Hood release cable, $ 25: https://www.1aauto.com/hood-release-cable-with-handle/i/1ahrc00032?f=648785&y=2004&utm_campaign=gb_csv_br&utm_content=HRC&gclid=CjwKCAiA-KzSBRAnEiwAkmQ159WrY8NMWnAjRi6VvlxifsQjni23zhZ4gZIHz24nJa60nyKs89lipxoCrDAQAvD_BwE
back up plan, AAA
$52 per year, 5 miles of towing: https://ok.aaa.com/non-member
promo code: 52WBOS
aaa.com/stop
