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Hi All, my the hood on my 2004 e55 is stuck. The driver side latch won't release. The cable has been on its way out and I was going to replace it this weekend, but it's now the cable has completely failed. I've seen some people get to the latch from under the car on the passenger side, but can't find any tips for driver's side. It looks like the latch release is inside the mechanism, so I can't just release it by sticking a long screwdriver in the gap of the hood. I've tried this for an hour last night. Does anyone have tips for this? I might willing to rip out my aftermarket grill as the next step...I've already scratched it all up now.... Thanks all!
Possible but gonna be interesting. I just took a look at mine and took some (bad) photos for reference. Appears possible to release the latch from underneath by going around the fanfare horn. You will need to remove the undertray from the bumper (which means detaching the middle undertray). The fanfare horn is mounted forward and outboard of the hood latch and is mounted in a rectangular cutout in the bodywork. The latch releases by being pulled/pushed outboard and to the rear of the car at a ~45* angle.
Apologies in advance for the poor quality photos...
Hood latch in lock position. Cable ferrule seen next to the latch.
Latch pulled into the unlocked position using my finger tip. Doesn't take much.
Fanfare horn mounted below the headlight and latch. I'm standing in front of the car and leaning way over into the engine compartment. This looks like the best access point to me.
Looking down through the latch towards the fanfare horn (it's the over-exposed blob in the photo).
Photos to give you an idea of the angle from the fanfare horn opening to the latch.
Thank you so much as usual. You are so kind with all these pictures too. I didn't realize that fanfare horn could be removed. I will try it and let you know.
Some folks said all they did was hit the hood with the palm of their hand. I wish that worked for me; I must've tried for 20 minutes. And if it happened to be on the passenger side, it's not too hard to get to from underneath.
Definitely should! I've been in a salty mood all day haha...
I just reread this and I need to get around the horn, not remove it. Will report back. Thanks again. Pictures are a big help. Couldn't remember how the latch mechanism worked too.
I can see the cable but I can’t get a tool on it to release it. Tried my grabber tool but doesn’t have enough force.
I started using a prybar too. Used these airbags to make enough room to get it in. Basically destroyed the latch mechanism but I’ll gladly replace that instead of the whole hood at this point. Can’t get it to release. Did you see where other folks leveraged a pry bar against? Wish I could fit a bolt cutter in there.
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Thanks all!
