When I first got my 128i, the hood latch was hard to pull and I was constantly worried about breaking the lever or stretching the cables. It also sat much lower than the fenders even though it has never been in an accident. To adjust the alignment and latch, I did the following:
- Adjust the rubber bumpers so the hood aligned with the fenders when closed
- Undo the plastic screw and pull down the latch retainer
- Screw in or out the latch depending how you adjusted the rubber bumpers
- Shut hood again and pull the release lever to test
- Repeat steps until hood lever is easy to open. Note, you can back out the latch too much and increase the gap between the hood and grills.