Posted on 3/28/2025
You pull the hood release lever inside your car, expecting to hear that familiar pop—but nothing happens. Or maybe the lever feels loose, or you hear the pop, but the hood stays shut. When your hood won’t open, it’s more than just frustrating—it keeps you from checking your oil, refilling fluids, or inspecting your engine. This kind of problem often catches drivers off guard. It usually seems minor until the moment you need to check something under the hood and realize you can’t. Thankfully, most of the time, it’s a mechanical issue that can be fixed without replacing major components—if you catch it early enough. Causes of a Stuck Hood When the hood release doesn’t work, it’s almost always one of three things: a broken cable, a jammed latch, or a misalignment between the latch and the hood catch. The release system works like this: a cable runs from the lever inside your car to the hood latch under the front of ... read more