Another case of "Can't open the hood" (and 12V batt replacement)

Is it possible frozen shut , I don't see what part of the country ur from

 

If the problem is that hood release leaver gets all the way out before opening the hood. If you pull hood release leaver all the way out and look from underside of it can you see the cable? Can you hook into it with pliers? Just pull it a bit more. Or even pushing it with finger might be enough. If you can’t you will need to disassembly it a bit. Then when you get this done you should adjust he cable.

Other thing that you can do is that you can try pushing the hood down a bit while somebody tries to pull the leaver. But you have to be very careful not to dent the hood. When you get this open you should clean and lubricate. And if the release lever was completely out adjust the cable.

 

find someone to thump on the hood while you pull the release handle. that works on many cars and trucks; never had to do it to a prius.

 

How much does the leaver move?

If it moves out all the way you should pull the cable harder. Cable can withstand a lot of force. Hood release lever has leaver action than more than doubles the force. Pushing (or pulling) the cable sideways in between the pulled out release lever and where cable attaches also gives you some leaver action.

If release lever is not moving out all the way. Keep trying with pressing the hood. Push the hood down while somebody is yanking the release lever. Fast yanking action can work better than constant force. Try pushing down one (front) corner and lifting the other while pulling or yanking release leaver. Don’t use excess force.

Is it now on heated garage or outside? Can you get wd40 in correct place? I haven’t checked mine but it’s probably better to go in from front grill with long nozzle. You can also check to see if there is anything obvious there. If you want to poke in there watch out for air con condenser radiator etc.

Those tactics have worked for me on many (non Prius) cars. On many cars I have been sure that I have to do something else but eventually it worked.

 

it is difficult at best to get to the latch with a screw driver on most cars. all your pushing on is the safety latch. it isn't the actual hood lock. at this point, unless your very strong, pull that cable as hard as you can with vice grips, and get some one to push on the hood and thump it who won't hit it so hard they dent it. if that won't get it, I think you got to take it to a shop.

 

I have the same problem most of the time with my Gen3. I can hear the latch release but the hood doesn't pop. I can get enough of my fingers under the edge of the hood to pop it. Spraying lithium grease on all the moving parts I can see gets it to pop open the next time but not the second. It seems to be worse in the winter but it happens all the time. Very annoying.

 

I had the opposite problem, my hood wouldn't latch. The latch parts appear to be unpainted and unplatted steel. The only rust prevention is grease. I got it freed up with wd40 then greased it good.

You might be able to hit the latch with some kind of spray from underneath, but you'll need the car up. Also getting the car in a warm environment might lossen things up.

If you cant get it that way you might have to gain access by pulling the bottom of the bumper out. Pop the sides, unbolt the bottom, and bend it up. Again a warm environment will help.

Good luck this will be a pain. When you get it open don't shut until you have everything working smooth.

 

if you pay for an oil change, and afterward you can't open the hood, it will be an interesting conversation.

 

Getting the hood to latch happens more often than people realize. The application of grease is mandated especially winter / salty months.

DBCassidy

 

I don't think the TPMS sensors get lost if you disconnect the 12 volt, unless second gen is different? For my 2010, some data does get dropped, but not the TPMS. At least, it appears to continue to function normally, no lights. I've purposely disconnected the 12 volt when working on the brakes, no memory saver device connected.

 

This is what I've noticed as well while also doing brakes on my 2007. No TPMS loss, just radio stations, seatbelt and reverse buzzer settings were lost when I've disconnected my battery for wheel hubs and brakes.

 

When you bring it in don't let on about the stuck latch, act like they're the only guys that go under there.