JGromada Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 (edited) I have a huge problem right now. Have a 2011 Impreza with about 120,000 mi. A few weeks back i was having problem with hood latching (primary latch). I sprayed hood latch assembly and after a few tries the hood solidly latched. The other day I wanted to check the oil and found hood would NOT unlatch. I pull the cable which seem like it is still intact (much tension) but it will not release. With a flashlight in hand I can see secondary latch can move freely when i pull it with a long screwdriver, but primary latch is jammed. I have been trying a variety of things this morning to no avail. I have been trying to bang the latch with long hammer and punch, more lubricant, pry bars etc but no good. I was trying to see if i could remove 3 bolts holding on latch assembly (12 mm) but that seems next to impossible as well. Any combination of wobble extensions and universal joints cannot get socket on bolt. I was trying to see if removing bumper cover would be a help but i see in instructions you need access to top of grille and obviously with hood closed that would be difficult. Anyone have a suggestion , this has become more critical as in the past few days it seems like i have developed battery problems as well!! Thanks in advance. Edited October 14, 2018 by JGromada found better pictures of latch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 have you tried having someone push down on hood while trying to release using the cable? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGromada Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 Just now, brus brother said: have you tried having someone push down on hood while trying to release using the cable? yes i have, didn't help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 (edited) there are a couple of youtube generic videos on releasing broken/stuck latches. I don't have your model (and I have the flu) so I can't evaluate how easy it is to access the latch as in this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMrjwUfdiiE Edit: Whenever I've run into situations where I keep hammering, pressing, pulling, pushing etc. in one direction without success, I turn my efforts 180 degrees and see if that works. Edited October 13, 2018 by brus brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGromada Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 Thank you for your input. I ended up fixing the problem, but it took removing the front bumper cover to do it. Let me document the steps so that anyone in the future might benefit from my thread and make it a bit easier to proceed. Let me reiterate this was for a 2011 Impreza but i am thinking the WRX in the model series would be the same as well. 1. Start by removing all push-pin clips from the side wheel wells. I used a small phillips to slightly turn the clip and then a small flat blade to pry each of these out. 2. Remove all clips from under neath the bumper cover. There are ones at each corner and some more that were underneath the car. I had at least one that was missing. I used a special tool i had gotten from Harbor Freight which made this much easier. (i have another one from Blue Point) and this one is just as good) 3. I then removed the four push pin connectors from the top of the grille section by reaching in from the bottom. I did jack up the car and put it up on jack stands for extra clearance. The center two are pretty easy to get out and even fell below once i pressed on them. I have a picture of the grille-less front of the car to show where these push-pin clips are but you can easily see the center two from below. The side ones are much trickier. They are kind of tucked away into the bracket that also holds the headlights in place, I added a picture to show how it configured. I had to basically break away the bottom part of the push-pin clip to remove these clips. (I am planning on replacing any clips that were messed up or missing anyway) 4. At this point bumper cover is still in place being pinch by the hood. If you watch any of the myriad bumper cover removal videos out there they show the process which sounds like you are "ripping" the cover but the two sections basically clip together and you are just pulling them apart. If you successfully remove the top 4 clips you can start pulling the bumper cover directly away from the car. Before you completely remove it you will want to disconnect the fog lights connectors (if you have fog lights). 5. With the grille removed it is relatively easy to remove the 3 bolts holding the hood latch assembly. This was impossible with the grille in place and in fact the following steps would have been impossible with the grille in place. 6. Now the hood can move up a bit but is limited by the hood release cable that is still attached. Getting this off was a bit tricky since the cable is attached to the rear of the latch you cannot see. I got a mirror to help me a bit there. I removed the first part of the cable from the right hand side of the latch and this gives you a bit more slack in the cable. Removing the clip which holds the cable in place to the top of the radiator support gives you a bit more support as well. 7. Eventually after fiddling around with the end of the cable I was able to remove it entire from the latch assembly and the hood was free! I am leaning towards replacing this cable as the end looks kinked and a bit rusty although I do not relish doing this task. 8. So now the hood is open but old latch is still attached to hood the piece of hood that is retained by the latch. To remove this I took a pair of large "channellock" type pliers and squeezed between the two points where the cable was attached. It took a considerable amount of force to squeeze this together as the latch was very rusty. I included a picture of the rusty latch below. This obviously had not been visible prior to its removal. 9. So it is evening now and I am going to have to order another latch assembly, push-pin clips and a hood release cable as i mentioned. I did see a video that ChrisFix did where he suggested that the new cable be drawn in from the hood release inside the car after taping the new cable to the old cable. I shall try this. Let me know if anyone has any questions, but as they say this worked for me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 well I'm going to have add grease/maintenance of this to my list of things to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGromada Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Yes I would advise. At least on this model you need to remove the 3 bolts and pull the latch off slightly so you can get to the back for grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.