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Could the car being jacked up on the drivers side only be transmitting stresses that might cause the latch mechanism to bind in some way? It is unbelievable how hard we have pulled on that stupid wire and it just won't budge.
2009 A8L Air/Sport - Drivers Side Hood Release Cable
Well, we've followed all the guidance that has so generously offered (thank you Tech Guru) and feel we're going to have to throw in the towel. The only conclusion we can reach is the short cable running to the drivers side latch is no longer attached to the latch itself. No amount of pressing down on the hood at the latch combined with pulling on the cable is releasing the latch. Which again brings me to how will the dealer fix it and how many perfectly good parts (front grill, coolant tank, power steering resivor, etc.) will need to be sacrificed to open the hood. I see no way to apply the Sawsall method without doing SIGNIFICANT damage to the hood/grill. I will wait for additional guidance here before I put it all back together and take it to the dealer.
Any recommendations as to a technician OTHER than an Audi dealer would be appreciated.
Here you go:
This is what I would do: You will need a long-shank (at least 10"/22CM), flat blade screwdriver and a couple of wood or plastic wedges.
I spent most of the time focusing on the North American passenger side since earlier posters with problems had that cable snap off. But, you will soon see where I'm going....
Insert wedges to give you some room for your tool you will use-Photo 1. Note the 45 and 72MM markings from the left edge of the grill.
Fabricate a tool by making an arc at the blade end of the screwdriver by heating it with a torch then bending it in a vise. If you don't heat it, it will snap. Maybe not the Harbor Freight ones though. You want about 1" of drop over the last 2" of the shank (sorry, I don't feel like converting to Millimeters for those that think Metric).
Insert the tool at a 20° angle on the 45MM line. Photo 2-sorry for the poor focus.
When you feel the tip hit the right edge of the latch lever, move the tool to the right. To the 72MM mark. Now the tool is straight, pointing directly towards the back of the car. Photo 3
You then twist the screwdriver to pop the latch.
Photo 4 is photo 2 with the hood out of the way.
Photo 5 is photo 3 with the hood out of the way.
Continued in next post....
Last edited by Mister Bally; 04-19-2015 at 04:03 PM.
Photo 6 shows the successful unlatching of the mechanism.
All of the above are on the Passenger side on a North American 2004 model.
Photos 7 and 8 show the driver's side latch. Note here that I have the screwdriver positioned where it cannot fit due to the right "fang" of the hood protruding in that area. Here, you will have to also fabricate the tool to have a bend "to the left" allowing you to slide it in close to the right edge of the grill.
I have to believe this is how dealers gain access when the cable breaks.
Note that I did not actually fabricate the screwdriver into a custom tool. I'll do that when I need to access mine if the cable breaks somewhere outside of the "black box" for me. I hope these photos help you.
Good luck everyone.
Last edited by Mister Bally; 04-19-2015 at 04:07 PM.
On the driver's side you can reach that lock this way too, but it is difficult to unlock it even with opened hood. I would suggest calling a dealer and asking what would they do. It could be as crazy as a new hood or something simple as Mister Bally suggested but with prooven tool and some experience.
04-19-2015, 09:05 AM
