Mini Cooper Hood Latch Stuck Again
This car is a never-ending headache and every time that I think that I’ve found a solution for things something else breaks lol. So this is no longer a surprise that’s something is going to go wrong when you just want to do something super simple. Whether you just want to fill up washer fluid, engine oil, or just want to look at your engine, the Mini Cooper Hood has such a high probability of getting stuck.
I’ve gone through this so many different times I thought I’d try to share my solutions on trying to get the Mini Cooper’s hood open. This is what I’ve found to help open the hood from the least invasive to the most.
1. Push Down On Your Mini Cooper’s Hood
I honestly didn’t think this would work but it is actually the easiest solution. If your release lever clicks but you can’t get your fingers to open the latch. All you need to do is push down where the two metal hooks are (it’s like in line with the stripes).
Try Release Lever Again
I think this helps reengage the latch springs in the hood. Like you’re basically forcing the hood back down into the springs so that when you release the hood lever it hopefully pops open higher. (I’m literally guessing on the explanation, but it works! And my hypothesis keeps me sane until someone can actually help explain it to me).
1a. Possible Problem: Mini Cooper Hood Stuck Cause of Rust
My hood seems to be getting stuck cause my Mini Cooper’s latch hook things are extremely rusted (it’s an old used car). I thought of spraying it with WD-40 but just learned about PB Blaster to remove the rust and it worked for the most part (Hood was opening from 2021 July – 2022 May). But just recently with my hood getting stuck again I just learned that some people have had success by applying some brake grease on the springs and latch. So if I manage to fix the lever replacement I’m probably going to give that a shot before trying to replace the latches.
1b. If The Grease Doesn’t Work. Replace the Rusted Latches
If you manage to get your hood open and you just don’t want to have this headache anymore the best thing to do is probably just to replace the latches. I’ve been trying to avoid spending money on this car so that’s why I didn’t do it. But honestly, I think it’s worth it cause it’s not really that expensive.
Another reason I haven’t replaced them is cause I don’t really know how so I may have to do research on that on a later date lol.
2. Secure The Release Lever’s Cable inside Notch
So this is the second easiest solution but only occurs if the release lever is loose. This just happened to me and was relieved to find out that this was a relatively easy fix. No tools are really required but you just need to open up the things around the lever. I found that this VTEC Nerd’s YouTube video had the best explanation.
Remove Weather Strip and Pop Off Siding
I was very worried that this stuff was going to break but it seems pretty sturdy. First, remove the weatherstrip by just pulling it straight up on it. Then you’ll see the plastic siding and you can fit your fingers in there to pull it out horizontally. The plastic fasteners seem a little fragile so just be careful but it comes out with a little bit of force.
Secure Release Cable in Latch
When you get the siding out of the way, look behind the lever and follow the cable’s path and you’ll eventually see a little notch. Take the plastic part of the cable and it just snaps in there. And test it out and it should work!
2a. Cable Keeps Popping Out of Notch
But nothing with this car is ever that easy. It worked for a bit but the cable kept popping out, so I’m thinking of trying to zip tie it together. I’m hoping that I could loop it through the notch’s corner and I’ll let you know if that works.
3. Poke The Latches with a Screwdriver
Need a longer screwdrive
3a. Replace the Latches
How I Found Out My Mini Cooper Hood Won’t Open
All I wanted to do was add washer fluid to my car. I tried to pull the latch on the driver side but something was off. The latch would kind of pull but there was no satisfying click or anything. I kept running back and forth from the food to the driver side latch and kept repeating the process over and over again. Still nothing…
Took a five-minute breather and went back at it.
I kept pulling the latch on the driver side and literally nothing was happening. I pulled to a point where it literally feels like the plastic latch was about to break so I took that as a sign to stop. Since I’ve learned the European cars are super easy to work on or extremely difficult. Mostly difficult. But if things aren’t working added force is usually not a good thing.
So time to do some research, and it just ends up that it’s a common problem… FML!!! This is what I found:
Issue 1 A: Driver Side Latch Stuck
So I think this is how the issue begins and after this, you probably want to find an immediate solution. I think what happens is that the latch is supposed to release the metal hooks but if it’s rusted it gets caught and never really gets released. The solution I found on the internet was to like push really heavy on the hood where those metal brackets are and after doing it like 50 times it will let you pull the latch eventually.
Issue 1 B: Latch Stuck Elevated
After this issue I revisited the car again and the driver latch was able to pull but this time
July 31st 2021 Update. I think I fixed it
I think I managed to fix the hood. Not perfectly, but it seems my hood managed to open by shoving the hood down really forcefully, and then when you pulled the latch it somehow worked. Taking a look at the latches it seems like the passenger side isn’t re-engaging so I don’t know what the long-term effects of that are. However, I know I’ll have to do the engine oil change pretty soon. However, I don’t know if I should do it again on the BMW so that they’re on the same schedule. Something I’m just thinking about.
Also, I’m worried about having to do an oil change in the wintertime without a garage so the timing seems to be pretty important for this one.
Notes on Mini Cooper Broken Hood Pull
- Push down on hood while someone pulls the lever 9
- Remove driver wheel, release catch, and zip tie it to basically tighten the wire 9
Resources
- [Forum] Broken Hood Pull: https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues/130660-broken-hood-pull.html
- [Forum] Hood Release Not Working: https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/2nd-gen-faqs/267088-hood-release-not-working-open-hood-help-2.html
- [WikiHow] How to Open Hood of Mini Cooper https://www.wikihow.com/Open-the-Hood-on-a-Mini-Cooper
- [YouTube] 2009 Mini Cooper Release Problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxbKZmZA450
- [YouTube] How to fix a hood that won’t open (ChrisFix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMrjwUfdiiE
- [YouTube] How to open stuck jammed hood from broken cable BMW e53 X5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0M3m3_CXsY
- [YouTube] How to fix the bonnet or hood release for Mini Cooper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMyF3lya-48
- [YouTube] How to open a stuck hood latch on a Mini Cooper (2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_4JLCY5dS4
- [Little Paragraph] Mini Car Parts https://www.minicarparts.net/Techtips/MC-MCS_HoodDoesntOpen.cfm
- [YouTube] VTEC Nerd – R56 Mini Cooper S Bonnet/Hood Cable Broken? WATCH THIS FIRST! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKfyJ6AyYjM
- [YouTube] How to fix the bonnet or hood release for Mini Cooper https://youtu.be/qMyF3lya-48