Prius - How to EASILY Open Your Hood in Just TWO Minutes If the Release Cable Is Broken!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2024
- This method - from a musician, not a mechanic - will get that hood open in a non-destructive, no tool way in just 2 minutes!
If you have a Gen 4 Toyota Prius (2004-2009) and your hood release cable breaks - what do you do? You can see from the other videos and chats online that people recommend taking off the front bottom of the car and trying to unbolt the still engaged hood release mechanism as you crawl underneath, and some others recommend drilling through the grill into the mechanism. That all seems like quite an ordeal that could take all day, and that is if you had the right tools to do it. Wrench extensions and such would be needed to access the hood release bolts. And they may be rusted and frozen and difficult to even remove once you dismantle everything to try to access them.
I discovered a different way that will get that hood open in literally one or two minutes and not take any tool except one simple thing:
A three foot long skinny stick, or a dowel 1/4" in diameter, or a similar short metal rod.
My video shows quite clearly what to do.
It shows the view from above with the hood already opened so that you can precisely see the necessary stick position - slid easily through the front open grill section on an angle so it contacts the release lever at the back of the latch - and where it has to contact the that spring mechanism so that just a very gentle push will mimic the exact action of what the cable would have done before it broke.
In addition to what I show in the video - you may want to use a flashlight with a tight lens so that you can look through the small slit in the front grill of you Prius to familiarize what the latch looks like from that view as you determine the position that the stick needs to be in to travel behind the face of the latch mechanism, to pinpoint the contact point where a little pressure will release the hood.
Once opened - you can diagnose the cable issue and replace it. Or you can just carry the appropriate stick around in your trunk for future use if you decide not to repair the cable.
This method is repeatable and not destructive to any part of the latch mechanism or the grill of the Prius.
Good Luck!
I hope this method saves you some time and angst for yourself or saves you money that you would have to pay a mechanic to dismantle the front of your Prius or destroy the latch if they decide to drill into it.
None of that is necessary!
![fellow fellow - PROUD feat. INK WARUNTORN [STRING QUARTET]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BQrVkMPTdHE/mqdefault.jpg)
Yep! Been putting off charging my dead battery for WAY too long because the hood won't open.
3 minutes total including finding a stick!
Lifesaver.
2012 Prius.
Yay - awesome!! Magee we should market the perfect stick for this!! haha I am so glad this helped you.
You should have demonstrated it with the hood closed down,would have been more detailed...am still struggling with mine.
Exactly. Also, he has no grille in the way (gone completely). Plus, how are you going to see where to put the stick?
This!!! Where do we aim the stick if the hood is closed?
@@colinfoy Did you eventually get it? I have to try it this week. Any advice?
Get a good flashlight and shine it through the grill aimed at the hood release mechanism. From viewing this video with the hood open - you can see where your target is. Take your time and try to be precise. It's not a trick or anything - this works, and lots of folks say they have been successful doing it. Good luck!
Yo, amazing. Almost went to a mechanic because other methods seemed that out of my realm/time consuming.
I really particularly like how you broke down the simplicity of the logic of “what does the missing component do?> “what’s another way I can do it?”
Shit seems too unnecessarily complicated sometimes
Thank you very much! This video helped me with my problem of having a dead Prius locked, the trunk and doors being locked. The key inside the FOB didn't open the door so I had to find another way to jump start the car. This helped a lot with that. I would also say that the springs are covered by a small metal plate and to open the hood you have to move the plate half an inch to get clearance. Then this technique works like a charm!
That's great!
How did you shift the metal plate? I can't see the small spring so I think it must be covered
@@ariacrisanti3429 the spring should be covered by a metal plate, so u want to find something that’s thin and doesn’t bend, preferably something metal. That way you can bend the plate a little to see the spring.
I tried prying the plate a side with a flathead, but I can't get anything past it. I'm screwed
@@tdok hmm u might need to pry it further, looking at the actual locking mechanism online and how it would look from the angle that you are trying to open it from really helped me when I was doing the same process. I basically just inferred where the spring would be and I was able to feel it decompressing.
Absolutely amazing!! Worked great. 15 minutes to find something skinny, 2 minutes to open hood.
Genius idea checklist:
1. Simple.
2. Works great.
3. Spend rest of the time scratching your head trying to figure out why this isn't widely used.
Only thing to add is at least some 2006 prius' have a metal side wall flange thingy on the latch housing to prevent this. I used a straight slot screwdriver to slightly bend it, easy to bend back after.
Check for sheet metal on left of lock. I had to fold it down to left using flat screwdriver. The metal blocked access to springs shown in this video. When you look at lock through grill, look for a vertical gap in sheet metal and fold to left. Then try repeating what's shown here.My prius is 2008, 200k miles. So glad I did not have to pay mechanic or take bumper and grill out to open hood. Thanks for making this video!
Thanks for that. I spent an hour or so today but couldn't get the stick into the mechanism - no access as shown. Will try bending the flange tomorrow.
update - bent flange worked!!! Still took a while (half an hour?) poking around with the stick until it worked, but then it did!! 2006 Prius. Thanks all for posting and consulting!!
No information at link.
Appreciate your video, it really helped me out of a jam today. I have an 08 Prius which has a metal tab that blocks the spring but I was able to tweak it out-of-the-way with a screwdriver. Just mentioning in case that tip helps somebody else
I think this is where I am failing. No clear path otherwise. Gonna try that.
Sam, thanks for your most helpful comment. I took the OP's excellent video and the knowledge gained from what you wrote to make a Wiki on PriusChat: priuschat.com/wiki/gen-2-hood-won-t-open-how-to-open/
That's great because that's all I have rn.
I am having this problem with the box how did you get around it
@@mofomochibaby it’s made of a very thin metal and if you get a screwdriver in there you should be able to tweak/distort it so you have access. I imagine the metal box is a security measure so anybody can’t just get under your hood
Fyi, on our 2011 model, little plate to be pushed needs to go from right to left, opposite your demo. Cheers
Worked! Have a 2008 so I had to bend a tab out of the way with a screwdriver to get 3/16” metal rod to release latch. Only took a couple of minutes. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much! Your video helped me to open my Prius C hood. Fortunately, nothing was wrong but maybe tight or rusty joints. I sprayed some W4 and now it works well.
THANK YOU! So easy compared to other methods I heard of.
Ahhh - great, hope it worked for you.
If you have a R hand drive then this works the other way round. Also, as other posters have noted there is a metal cover at the side (R in my case) that requires being bent out the way. When it works it is astonishingly satisfying. Took me half an hour to realise it might be the other way round🤫......
Ws impossible on my 2007....the entire latch assembly was sealed off with a metal box (apparently anti-theft) . Definitely factory. Had to remove the plastic splashguard underneath, then twist and bend the box off (on both side of the vertical horn-support. Even then, nothing i "pushed" released it% - had to remove all 3 10mm bolts holding the latch mechanism on, and then it came up with the hood - Found a busted spring. Probly gonna order a repro on amazon ...
Awesome man two minutes as promised it literally took longer to watch the video! I used a rotisserie from the BBQ....
Wonderful if you have to hood already open to see where to place the stick, but what about when it's shut. You have to blindly poke around till you are lucky enough to find the right place to push.
Well, I think that if you look at the video and see the spot you are targeting, and shine a good flashlight through the grill to illuminate the mechanism - then it is not poking around blindly. You may have to be a bit patient until you get the angle right and get the tip of the stick in the exact spot. But it will work. If you get frustrated attempting to do this, I suspect that you might get even more frustrated dismantling the front part of the car to access it all a different way.
How do the hell you do that when you can not see the spring with the hood closes in a real situation?
You show that with the hood closes then I believe it.
This help me out tremendously!
Thanks for the video.🙏
Please supply me with an address I can send a 30 rack of beer to you’re the man worked like a charm
case of Russian vodka will follow
Haha - thanks, I am glad it was successful for you!
04'-09 prius is 2nd generation, no?
The little spring on the 2008 is vertical, not horizontal and parallel to the big spring.
I try but did not work in my 2008 Prius,
Great video!!
Hugely helpful!!
Glad it was helpful!
@@RalphLegnini doesn't work on mine though. Seems...different. No way to access with dowel (2006). Looks like there's an end cap on the release blocking access.
It does work, appreciate the video.
You need to show a zoomed out shot of where the stick goes in and the angle. I am 30 into this with zero results
Seems like a lot of others have had success doing it. Look through the grill with a flashlight and see the spot you have to access with the stick or rod. You get a great view of the latch from the video from the up above view. As you manipulate the stick look with the flashlight and find your target area it has to touch.
@@RalphLegnini again, there is no place for a stick to go in. Show a video of the hood closed and where it goes in not just the top view. Everyone with this issue does not have a top view.
FYI.... on a 2009 model there is a metal tab that needs to be bent out of the way for a stick to go into the spring area.
I appreciate this hack. Do you think this would work on the 3rd Gen Prius?
Not on a 2013 (3rd. Gen)
th-cam.com/video/X_m4iCieFkM/w-d-xo.html
Yes and how do we do see if the hood is locked 😐
Easy to see at night with a flashlight
Is it the same on the Gen 3?
No, different setup.
th-cam.com/video/X_m4iCieFkM/w-d-xo.html
come to Russia. I have job for you
Punctured something trying to do this. I don't recomend jamming anything into your car
Get to the point