Hood release lever broke
 

I have a 96 ex coupe, and this morning pulling on my hood release level broke off. Has this happened to anyone else?

I looked up the part at look like it part of cable assembly going up to hood, I assume the whole assembly has to be replaced?

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

can you open it with a vise-grip?

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

yeah just cut the plastic off until you see cable and pull that.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Yes, I can use pliers. Looks like the whole assembly will have to be replaced, which looks like a pain.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

I'm glad you're asking this question because this happened to me last weekend. I looked up the part number too and it looks like you have to buy the whole cable just to replace the stupid plastic part at the end.

I'm think of hitting up the junkyard and seeing if I can just take off the plastic part. If not, what a PITA this will be.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

The part is cheap, just the labor involved to replace it is the problem. You might have to remove the fender and the front bumper since that is how it might be run.

Pliers route might be the easiest lol.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

the fender prolly doesnt have to come off, the bumper and fender well plastic (splash shield) will for sure. and then taking apart the hood latch and parts of the interior. what a problem

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

i had to do this, my idiot boss ripped on the handle breaking it off, Its a pain, you have get into the wheel well, take off the shield, its not complicated, just a waste of an hour of your time.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Can't believe no one's done a write up. Yeah, don't ask me to cuz I'm too lazy. LOL!

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

I actually broke mine once when my hood was coated with an inch of ice. I pulled, nothing happened, pulled harder and broke the handle end off. Pliers works fine but the fix is simple. Just remove enough of the inner fender liner clips to access as gearbox mentioned, then loosen the top of the radiator and top of the condenser (if you have a/c) and unbolt the latch. This is done so you can move them back enough to sneak a hand into the opening and feed in the new cable (once the clips are released from the top of the radiator support). Just be mindful of where the old one routed.

Hope that made sense, I just woke up :P

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

I had this happen in my 97 EX Coupe.

I got a brand new one from RockAuto.com for $10.

It was pretty easy to replace since it comes with the whole assembly.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

briefly, can you explain what is involved?

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

I'll do the best I can from memory... There was a bolt or two where the lever was that I had to remove as well as I had to take off the inner fender liner and I had to remove the upper supports for the radiator and condenser so they could be pushed back out of the way. After that it was just a matter of unscrewing the cable from the hood release and running the new cable in it's place.

It's not hard, took me about an hour and a half. I'd consider my skill level to be around a skilled DIYer. My best piece of advise is to run the new cable as you take the old one off, that way you have it all lined up right.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

I am curious the running of the cable is it clipped as it runs down the fender to the hood or just routed around, also did you have to remove the hood release off the car?

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Mine was clipped in along the way at various points. I didn't have to remove the hood latch under the hood which made lining up issues non existent. That's why I removed the upper supports of the radiator and condenser so I could push them back.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

yeah if you can avoid it, do not touch the latch. it will be a pain to adjust it again so the hood closes properly.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

In case you do remove the latch (seemed easier to me as I couldn't see how the cable attached), be sure to mark it before removal. That's what I did and easily put it back in place.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

hah mine broke off too. I just grab whats left (nub) when I need to open the hood.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

the same has happened to my 97 DX. if anybody goes to fix it and has patience, a proper write-up on the the fix would be tight.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Hey guys, I had the same thing happen and I have a solution check out the link.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/2...ml#post4528885

Re: Hood release lever broken
 

This is kind of ghetto, but an easy fix. I bought a $1.78 lug from the Home Depot electrical section.
Cut away enough plastic to slip the lug over the metal rod in the release cable. Tighten. Then attach some kind of pull. I used a keyring ($.97 for a package by the key cutting station at Home Depot).

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Not bad!

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

LOL yes. I've just been using pliers but that is great.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Just replaced mine today. Required $17 for the part and two hours of my time. Remove the front bumper cover. No need to remove the fender. Just remove the splash guard. The process should be straight forward. Let me know if you have questions.

Re: Hood release lever broke
 

Congratulations on doing it right.
Let's just hope the plastic latch on yours doesn't break again! Inherent weakness in the design, I think I'll do the redneck method if I ever do anything.

EDIT: I fixed mine today with a Thomas & Betts splicer reducer, max: 1/0 STR, min: 14AWG wire, barcode 7 83786 37248 5. It was easy except for trimming the plastic because I kept the plastic in place as I was trimming.