Bonnet release: loose lever, stuck catch and a better pull

The bonnet release handle is a plastic lever that clips into an aluminium bracket under the dash. Owners complained about it for years: it comes out of the bracket, feels flimsy, or stops the catch releasing, and the cable is long and badly routed. This guide covers getting the bonnet open when it won't release, the cheap repairs, and moving the release somewhere better.

The usual problem

• In 2010 several owners said the handle came off in their hand, or just hung loose, and some had to pull the whole bracket to open the bonnet.
• One owner explained that the plastic part that clips onto the aluminium mount wears away on the aluminium and becomes loose. Pulling the handle back instead of across can bend the aluminium mount, which was said to be hard to get new, although new plastic parts were available. One owner who had a bent mount said it showed a dimple.
• Another owner had broken plastic lugs holding the catch to the aluminium bracket after refitting the clam, which let the handle keep coming out.
• In 2020 an owner whose cable had locked solid blamed the long, convoluted route of the cable.

Getting a stuck bonnet open

1. Get someone to push up and down on the bonnet (not too hard) while you pull the handle. One owner said it takes two people: one to pull the latch wide open, and one to jiggle, press and push.
2. If the handle has come off but the cable is still there, grab the cable inside the cabin with mole grips and pull.
3. You can reach the catch from the offside wheel arch, so remove the wheel and release it from there. One owner said the arch route is awkward if the locking wheel nut socket is under the bonnet, as it was for him.
4. One owner in 2020 said you can open it from above: look down from the windscreen area to see the catch, and pop it open with a long screwdriver. He didn't say how much of the bonnet gap you need, and we haven't seen this confirmed.

Cheap fixes for the handle

• Cable tie. A tight cable tie round the bracket stops the plastic handle being pulled out. Two owners said it held (one in 2010, one cable-tied it back on).
• Move the lever. One owner drilled through the plastic and gave up on the bracket, then fixed the lever horizontally to the bottom of the dash lip with a nut and bolt through the lot. He said there are plenty of holes there already.
• Bolt the pivot. Another owner said to take the lever and bracket, drill a hole through the bracket and the pivot centre, and bolt through it. He had no problem afterwards.
• An owner in 2010 had spare release handles (front and rear) to give away, so ask around if yours has gone.

Moving the release to somewhere better

An owner in 2020, after 16 years of the original, fitted a new pull on the door hinge bracket, a job he put at about an hour. His method:

1. Disconnect the old cable at the catch under the bonnet, and keep the small end bolt that clamps the cable to the lock.
2. Get under the dash, undo the old handle and pull the old cable through.
3. Drill a small hole in the door hinge bracket.
4. Make a small, strong steel bracket (about 20 x 60 x 3 mm) with two holes: one to mount it on the hinge bracket, and one for the pull to go through.
5. Mount the new pull on the bracket and tighten it fully, then feed the cable through to the bonnet lock.
6. Bolt the bracket to the hinge bracket (an M8 bolt about 20 mm long, short enough that a nut goes on easily).
7. Measure the new cable. Cut back the plastic sleeve if it is too long.
8. Fit the cable to the lock with the saved small bolt. A tiny washer at the end of the cable sleeve where it meets the lock acts as a stop.
9. Test it, then cut off the excess cable. Hold the cable in place with cable ties (the back of the ABS unit has a handy place to tie it), so it can't move.

His reasons for it were that the new route is simpler and straighter than the original. Another owner said his earlier fix had already strengthened the original but it still locked solid, which is why he went this way.

A kit. Type 116 Motorsport sells a kit to do the same job: see glgoode.co.uk. We haven't seen the kit or checked its contents.

Other ideas in the 2010 thread were a catch such as an Aerocatch (the key-locking version is available) or a bolt like the Elise uses, so that you open the bonnet from outside the car. That means cutting into the bonnet, which put several owners off, and one has fitted an Aerocatch and was pleased with it. Another owner suggested fitting a second, emergency release cable that runs through the wheel arch, which would avoid a repeat of the stuck bonnet.

See also Front clam removal, which needs the bonnet off or open.