Aygo bonnet release failed

[paulp1966]

The bonnet release has failed on our 2008 Aygo.

I understand you can access the catch from underneath by removing the bumper undertray. Is this the best method, and if so how easy is it to remove the tray? 

[Bper]

Hi Paul.

Not sure if you have a broken cable but have a look at this thread and especially the last post it may help. A few posts highlight this problem.👍

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/174689-bonnet-cable-broken/

 

[paulp1966]

Yes it's definately the cable that's gone. I can see the inner cable is ok at the footwell end but there is no tension, so it's not connected to the latch. The latch releases from a lever on the underside, so I just need to pull on that.

That thread also mentions removing the tray. I tried to do it today but it really needs the front of the car raised to get access. 

I also tried passing a loop of wire through the grill trying to snag the latch lever, but no luck.

 

[paulp1966]

Had a second go at it today after borrowing some ramps, and managed to fix it.

The undertray was relatively easy to remove. Its just a small plastic tray between the bumper and the sump. There are about 10 10mm bolts that need to be taken out, and the tray just drops out. The bolts were rusted and couple sheared when I used my impact driver, so take care! Better to use a socket set and slowly undo them. 

Once that was off it was just a matter of reaching up and feeling for the catch. It's above the radiator but not too difficult to get to. It's offset towards the passenger side (UK), and in line with the edge of the front Toyota Badge

The cable pulls on a lever at the bottom of the catch so you're just feeling for that and push it towards the passenger side. That popped the bonnet.

The issue was the plastic clip which attaches the wire to the catch lever had broken. It looks like a poor design and appears to be a common failure point.

The original clip passed through a hole in the catch lever so I just cable tied the end of the wire to the latch lever via the hole. I used multiple ties for security and the end of the wire has a metal lug fitted so it won't slip through the cable ties.

The whole job took about an hour and a half, but that was taking it easy.

This YouTube video was a lot of help 

 

[Bper]

Hi Paul,

Glad it helped mate.👍