Anyone ever have their hood latch stop working while closed?

[Jorgen]

My B7's hood won't open. I assume the cable detached from the latch or the latch is broken. Has anyone ever had this issue? Ideas? couple photos of the latch with the hood open and where things connect?

[Joey]

Yeah, happened to me once. Sounds like you just didn't secure the cable to the latch properly. Thankfully i had a B6 so it was easy to get the hood popped.

[Jorgen]

how did you get in there? Grill pops of on a b6 easiler?

[DaveD]

Had the same thing happen on my B6, not sure how to help you on the B7 though as I just popped off the grill and was able to work on it.

[Jorgen]

I tried to mess with it a little and haven't really gotten anywhere yet. My wife is out of town all week so I will likely just toss the Audi in the garage or something and drive her Volvo all week.

[Jorgen]

Does anyone know if the two bolts/torx that on either side of the latch in this picture will remove the latch? I can see and reach these I think..
This not not the item circled obviously.

[DTMOOOO]

Happened to me, tommy opened the hood for me
What he said he did was remove the front wheels and disconnect the bolts to the bumpers, then disconnect all the screws on the bottom, push the bottom of the bumper forward away from the car and use a pry bar or long extension to open the hatch

[Jorgen]

So basically the long screw driver option people mention that is easier on 4 cylinder and v6 Cars. Hmm, pushing the bumper isn't a problem. I had a little vandalism last week where my bumper is all FUBAR right now anyway. Maybe I will try that option, if the bumper gets more damaged I guess it isn't a big deal as it will be replaced soon by insurance I hope.

[DTMOOOO]

It should be fine as its pretty flexible, sorry I couldn't be more detailed as this snow in my has left me with no power and I am typing on my phone, plus I am just going by how I was told its done... Also if it helps so you don't get to frustrated with youself I was also told its a complete bitch to get it open, so stay patient haha
Best of luck

[Jorgen]

Well the bodyshop has had my car since monday before they opened. The hood is still not opened and i was expecting to get the car back today or tomorrow. Not Fucking happy.

[LJH]

with all this chat about broken hood latches and mine being quite stiff I soaked it down with some Bosheild, world of difference.


Thanks and Cheers,
Jim

[Jorgen]

Good idea.

[Type_Audi]

I put axle grease on mine with a q-tip, it tends to stay around longer than sprays (and collect a lot of dirt)

[Jorgen]

After just over 1 week the hood is opened and they are finally working. Hoping to have the car back by the weekend.

[stegura]

how did you get in there? Grill pops of on a b6 easiler?

Just had to work this out on my B6 S4. I think the screwdriver from bottom with car on ramps and bottom pan removed method could work with a long enough screwdriver and if you really knew the mechanism well. Just hard to tell what is what from the bottom. I ended up saying a prayer and then working the grill out with some finesse and a screwdriver. I removed the chrome colored ring that surrounds the grill first and I think that helped when I started working on the grill itself. There are tabs on the grill that you should be familiar with before you start working on it and I've seen details in manuals and other threads. Once the grill is out you can remove the three 10mm nuts that holds the latch mechanism to the hood. A long handled 10mm open ended wrench is about your best bet.

[mr lee]

I just went through this on mine as well, however I was VERY lucky because my headlights were removed at the time. A long screwdriver from the driver side - push on the latch and POP.

I tried going from the bottom and it looked like a nightmare. Also the 3 torq on the hood are a PITA lol....

[bhwrice]

Just had to work this out on my B6 S4. I think the screwdriver from bottom with car on ramps and bottom pan removed method could work with a long enough screwdriver and if you really knew the mechanism well. Just hard to tell what is what from the bottom. I ended up saying a prayer and then working the grill out with some finesse and a screwdriver. I removed the chrome colored ring that surrounds the grill first and I think that helped when I started working on the grill itself. There are tabs on the grill that you should be familiar with before you start working on it and I've seen details in manuals and other threads. Once the grill is out you can remove the three 10mm nuts that holds the latch mechanism to the hood. A long handled 10mm open ended wrench is about your best bet.

Can someone confirm this is the way to go on a B6? I'm out offsite for the day and my low oil light came on, latch just doesn't seem to want to let go (seems stuck, not a broken cable). Can I get off the grill and pry at the latch? What are these grill clips I need to know about?

[Joey]

There is an easier way with the B6. Remove the belly pan and pop the lower grill off. With the lower grill off, stick your hand up through the bumper and pop off the upper grill.

With the upper grill off you will have access to the three 10mm bolts that secure the latch to the hood itself. Remove those and the hood will release. It is a little tight, but easily done with patience.

[stegura]

There is an easier way with the B6. Remove the belly pan and pop the lower grill off. With the lower grill off, stick your hand up through the bumper and pop off the upper grill.

With the upper grill off you will have access to the three 10mm bolts that secure the latch to the hood itself. Remove those and the hood will release. It is a little tight, but easily done with patience.

My forearms were too big to get up to the main grill through the lower grill which is why I had to pop the main grill off from the outside. I took my time and only cracked one of the connectors - not a problem at all and grill holds on like new still. You wouldn't see the cracked connector from the outside.

[sdriver]

B6 guys should be laughing. It is damn near impossible on a B7. You can't reach the acorn nuts to remove the latch, and the grill can't be removed. Major design flaw or really good security feature!

I ended up taking it to the dealer. They cursed for 5 hours, guys arms were all cut up from trying to reach up from underneath. The post above about removing wheels, loosening bumper and prying it fwd is probably what he ended up doing.

Thank god for Audi CPO warranty. Since the cable end was worn it was covered, and a new latch just to be safe.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[Z0rn]

I just had a similar issue, I noticed my hood latch had been sticking until I heard a pop. At first I thought it was the cable or the latch under the hood. It turns out the release handle inside the car had literally snapped in half. Thankfully it was only a $30 part and not something more serious like what you guys were going through.

[bhwrice]

Well I was lucky, and after some rocking back and forth my hood popped when I was away from home (post above). I went to pop it while at home the other day and felt the mechanism let go - Damn! A word to the wise, if your latch is hard to pull, don't wait, get in there and lubricate it so you don't have to go through this process!!!!!! At least I have a B6, right?

Here is what I learned:
1) I don't think it is possible to go through the bottom and pop the mechanism, its just too tight and the actual latch is positioned above the radiator, so you can't even see it or get a straight shot.
2) You don't have to take off the belly pan to get off the lower grill. The tabs which hold it on are easily accessible from the front, just put your finger through the grill and pull down and out.

3) I don't understand how people go through the bottom grill to the top, there just isn't room I don't care how skinny you are. The best way I found was to go in through the top by popping off the chrome and then working each tab out in order. If you are careful you don't have to worry about damaging anything.
4)The tabs on top grill are located above the vertical bars 1st, 3rd, and 5th from each end. Simply slip in a flat head screw driver and press down and pull out to release them. There is an additional tab on each sides as well, about mid way up.

5) I hope you saved all your patients, because that was the easy part. The hard part is getting the (3) 10mm bolts off. You will NEED a thin, roughly 8" long, open ended 10mm wrench. The process I used was 3/16th of a turn, flip wrench for angle, 1/8th of a turn, flip wrench and repeat. Took about 30 minutes.