Bonnet release cable

M

MRol

Member
I have had three bonnet release cables, and my car is now in the garage again for another. When the lever is pulled in the cabin, the latch under the bonnet does not release the bonnet.
It always released the bonnet very near the top movement of the lever. Does everybodies lever need to be pulled to near maximum movement before the bonnet latch is released?
 
Yep - sometimes feels like pulling back a slingshot! One thing that has helped... I have added de-gunking the under-bonnet latch to my cleaning regime. I just clean all of the gunk off (I use Muck Off) and then apply a little lube (to the latch), mountain bike chain lube, it's designed to work with grime being flung into it.
 
I thought mine was about had it as it didn't always open, and when it did, only just. I read that applying wd40 to the catch would help. I was sceptical as it was so bad but tried it and it's fine now.
 
They do seem stiff.

Best to give it a good clean at the bonnet latch, then lube the cable if possible with a good quality lubricant (ptfe?)...

Clearly the cable isn't drying out if it's been replaced, so I'd check the bits at each end of the cable for stiffness...!

Dave
 
PITA. Mine felt like it was about to break, but since I open it regularly and lubed it well it's been perfect.
I'd avoid WD40 as it dries out and goes horrible. Go as Whippy suggests for something better, even grease.

Not needed on mine but you could also try juggling the catch and mechanism around within the limits of bolt movement to get more lever movement and a smoother close.
 
Cheers guys

I've had the car 4.5 years since new. I will start t lub the cable and latch. Car with BMW but covered under BMW Warrenty. Just peed off it keeps happening.
 
MRol said:
Cheers guys

I've had the car 4.5 years since new. I will start t lub the cable and latch. Car with BMW but covered under BMW Warrenty. Just peed off it keeps happening.
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Just be careful when lubricating the cable end under the bonnet - most Bowden cable is nylon lined and therefore supposedly self lubricating. If you start putting too much WD40 or similar at the point where the steel inner is exposed from the outer cable sheath then the lubricant gets into the cable itself and inevitably pulls dust and muck with it and things can get worse – best to start with the actual mechanism first and see if this improves smooth operation and then as CJ suggests some adjustments to give more feel at the lever.
 
i had a problem, where even when pulling hard on the bonnet release, it wouldnt open and felt stiff/stuck. I called bmw and they said it was probably requiring a new cable.

However!

A mate of mine works as a bmw mechanic, and said it can happen quite commonly on the z4's, all it is is the catch gets stuck a little. The trick he showed me, is to have someone hold the bonnet release fully open, then have somoene push down quickly but firmly on the bonnet lid at the same time (it should bounce open on the return force from the push).

I couldnt actulaly get this to work by myself when it happened, but he took a look at it and within 5 seconds had it open. Then he just greased up the catch and it worked beautifully from then on. I think i was too delicate with the bonnet when i was doing it :P

Cheers,
 
Pom said:
i had a problem, where even when pulling hard on the bonnet release, it wouldnt open and felt stiff/stuck. I called bmw and they said it was probably requiring a new cable.

However!

A mate of mine works as a bmw mechanic, and said it can happen quite commonly on the z4's, all it is is the catch gets stuck a little. The trick he showed me, is to have someone hold the bonnet release fully open, then have somoene push down quickly but firmly on the bonnet lid at the same time (it should bounce open on the return force from the push).

I couldnt actulaly get this to work by myself when it happened, but he took a look at it and within 5 seconds had it open. Then he just greased up the catch and it worked beautifully from then on. I think i was too delicate with the bonnet when i was doing it :P

Cheers,
Click to expand...

yup, it worked for me when mine was stuck. I just had to push down on the bonnet around the bagde area a few times and the mechanism then became unstuck when i went to release the bonnet release again. :)
 
I tried pushing the bonnet down at the same time, and it didn't work :x On all the occasions the problem has got a little worse every week. BMW did tell me they replaced the cable in the past. Hopefully I'll pick me car up today and it will work fine.
It went in to the garage because I intermitantly loose my power stering, and the 'Power Steering' light comes on on my dash. Then I park up for an hour and it is OK for half an hour then fails again. BMW are srtuggling to find the fault. Ones like this are hard to find sometimes!
 
MRol said:
I tried pushing the bonnet down at the same time, and it didn't work :x On all the occasions the problem has got a little worse every week. BMW did tell me they replaced the cable in the past. Hopefully I'll pick me car up today and it will work fine.
It went in to the garage because I intermitantly loose my power stering, and the 'Power Steering' light comes on on my dash. Then I park up for an hour and it is OK for half an hour then fails again. BMW are srtuggling to find the fault. Ones like this are hard to find sometimes!
Click to expand...


As in previous posts on other threads - BMW tactics are repair by replacement rather than a proper examination to find the exact cause of the fault. :thumbsdown:
 
As an aside you should never press down on a bonnet, especially when it's made of aluminium. The correct method is to drop it closed from a few inches.

Nothing looks worse than a pair of hand indentations from some over enthusiastic closing
 
In the interest of keeping this thread alive..... I'm having the same issue at the moment with our 2.2. Quite annoying as it needs water for the windscreen washer now and the roads over here are filthy.

I'll try the tips above at lunchtime. Thanks to everyone who took the time to post help.
 
Just to re-use an old thread on the same subject that I have an issue with...

I finally managed to open my "stuck" bonnet by a combination of me carefully pressing down on the bonnet (around the badge area) while Mrs a11y worked the release lever from the cabin. I'm planning to clean up the clamp area and relube/grease...

Any tips on how to access the clamp area with minimal removal of panels under the bonnet would be much appreciated!
 
I had the exact same problem as this as the catch seems to get very dry, applying a spray oil like WD40 over a period of a week or so fixed it and i havent had a problem since. Very easy problem to fix.
 
I'd already pulled the grilles out and liberally sprayed it with WD40 a week ago in an attempt to free it off, but it had no effect. It was only a combination of me pushing down with the Mrs working the lever that allowed me to open the bonnet. Not keen in having to resort to that everytime I want to check the oil!

Think a complete clean and relube would be a start but just unsure how best to access the latch mechanism...
 
Bonnet release catch had been getting stiffer and needing a harder pull to open. Then, surprise surprise, I couldn’t get the bonnet open. With help of girlfriend in the cabin pulling the lever and me pressing the bonnet at the catch it popped open after a few attempts.

After reading other posts on here I sprayed the catch mechanism with some motorcycle chain lube. After working the catch a few times (used some pliers to push the mechanism) it is working loads better. The lever in the cabin moves much easier and requires less force.
 
6 cylinder growl said:
Bonnet release catch had been getting stiffer and needing a harder pull to open. Then, surprise surprise, I couldn’t get the bonnet open. With help of girlfriend in the cabin pulling the lever and me pressing the bonnet at the catch it popped open after a few attempts.

After reading other posts on here I sprayed the catch mechanism with some motorcycle chain lube. After working the catch a few times (used some pliers to push the mechanism) it is working loads better. The lever in the cabin moves much easier and requires less force.
Click to expand...

must be the weather mine has just stopped opening....will need to try the same trick at the weekend, currently its stuck and although the lever reluctantly pulls back all the way, it doesn't pop the bonnet
 
Ok so I've soaked it WD40 and and bounced it till I'm blue but I still cant get the damn thing open, I removed the front kidney grill (mines 2003 so in understand the catch is in the middle) to access the mechanism but I cant work out what I need to do .... any advice?
 
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