Broken Hood Latch Cable - can't get hood open now

[thesober]

Hi all, looks like my cable broke or disengaged from the latch and now I can't open my hood from the inside pull lever. I google around and I couldn't a definitive way to open it from the outside, wondering if anyone has any tips? It's a 2005 Mazda3 sedan if that makes any difference.

[morganc]

Your best bet would be to remove the very front plastic shield completely (bolts to the front bumper and the aerodynamic shield. This will give you access in front of the rad and you might be able to get a big screwdriver up there to operate the latch.

Otherwise, you might be able to get a thin, long screw driver in from the front if you push down hard enough on the bumper. Some lights going in from the front grille and some inspection mirrors may help.

[thesober]

Thanks for the reply.

I was able to open the hood by removing the 2 x 10mm bolts that was holding the latch to the car. I went through the front grill with an extension on my socket. You need to be careful since 1 bolt was holding the metal piece protecting the airbag sensor. Once the latch was loose, i was able to lift the hood enough to wedge a 2x4 piece of wood so I could put my hands through. There were two cables/wires holding it down, left side is the hood latch sensor wire, right side is the cable.

My cable wasn't broken, the latch was so crudded, the cable couldn't release it from the inside.