Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 13 Mar 2004 20:18
Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut - astragte
Ive been under the hood today. Closed it up and now it wont open. Cable is not broken. It just does not release.

How the hell do I get it open again.

"L" cavalier 2.0i
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Sat 13 Mar 2004 20:28
Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut - Dynamic Dave
Get someone to *gently* press down on the bonnet while you pull the handle in the car. Failing that, then you'll have to either try and release the mechanism through the radiator grill with a screwdriver, or lay down under the front of the car and look upwards through the gap between the bumper and radiator and use something long to reach up to the mechanism and release it.

If the cable hasn't broken, then maybe the cable clamp isn't tight enough and has slipped - the problem is you have to get the bonnet up to tighten the clamp.
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Sat 13 Mar 2004 20:33
Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut - astragte
What am I looking to release through the radiator grill.

I can get my fingers in to press the normal release but it does not open. Is there something else needs to be released first. Where does the cable release go to?

Cheers for the quick reply
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Sat 13 Mar 2004 20:38
Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut - astragte
Fixed.

Getting a second pair of hands did the job.

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Sat 13 Mar 2004 20:52
Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut - Dynamic Dave
Well done. Now the bonnet's up, grease the mechanism and make sure the cable is adjusted properly.

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Sun 14 Mar 2004 20:44
Cavalier Bonnet Stuck shut - old man
This happened to my Cavalier also, and after speaking to the Vauxhall dealer I discovered that there is no adjusment to take up the cable stretch. Not wanting to splash out on a new cable, I opened the bonnet by getting someone else to sit on it whilst I pulled the handle, and used a 5mm plastic tie-wrap to 'noose' the end of the cable where it pulls the bonnet release hook. Then tightened up the tie-wrap and chopped the end off it, thus taking up 5mm of slack in the cable. Hey presto - no more bonnet release problems!
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