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      07-19-2018, 07:22 AM   #1
overklok
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DIY How to replace BMW e82 hood release cables.

How to replace BMW e82 hood release cables.
Symptom:
Can't open hood from inside vehicle. Hood latch becomes increasingly difficult to release, eventually the cable becomes slack and the hood release will no longer function. The issue is the cable has become stretched and will no longer activate the hood release. BMW can charge you upwards of $850 to do this. Save yourself the cash, it takes about an hour to do this job.

Fix:
Replace both cables that work in unison to release the hood latch. Replace both cables at the same time, they are cheap parts and it better to do both at once.
The part numbers are: 51-23-7-201-904 and 51-23-7-184-603.
51-23-7-201-904 is the cable that runs through the firewall and attaches to hood release lever inside the vehicle.
51-23-7-184-603 is the cable that connects to the hood release latch, it has the black plastic connector box where you attach the 51-23-7-201-904 cable that runs into the vehicle. The black plastic box flips open and inside there is a simple connection between the front and back cables.
NOTE: Before removing anything note the routing and attachment points of the old cables so you know where to place the new cables.

Removal:
1) Remove both front kidney grilles, this will allow access to the front cable and the release latch that it is attached to. You can grab the cable with pliers and release the hood manually to open it once the kidney grilles are out. Open the hood and disconnect the rear cable from the front cable by opening the black box and disconnecting the cables. The box hinges, you just have to pry it open with your fingers or a small screwdriver.
2) Trace the rear cable note that it runs into the firewall, you will need to remove the items that obstruct your work. These items are easily removed, the brake distribution block cover, the screen that catches leaves and the rubber funnel that the screen sits in. All of these items can be removed by hand. The rubber funnel has two plastic pawls that need to be removed, one on the fender wall, one fender wheel well. Once these items are removed you can see where the cable enters the firewall.
3) Inside the vehicle, remove the driver’s door sill trim, there are about six or eight plastic pawls to pop off. Remove the drivers footwell plastic kick plate. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the hood release lever and the screw that is underneath it. There are two plastic pawls on this piece, pop them out and disconnect the trunk release wire harness that connects to the trunk release button. Set the kick plate aside and remove the end of the cable from the small plastic wheel that has a slot where the wire rests and metal end tab is inserted. Pull the cable cover out of the seat where it sits, go under the hood and pull the cable out of the firewall, set it aside.
4) The front cable is attached to the hood release latch; you can’t detach the cable until you remove the hood release latch. There are two Torx bolts that attach the release latch to the body of the vehicle. Loosen these two bolts, lower the release latch and remove the cable from the latch. Run the new cable exactly where the old cable was routed, there are three slotted cable holders that the front cable fits into, the cable pushes into these holders, it is pretty simple setup when you get in there.

Installation
1) Take the rear cable and smear some dish soap on the rubber gasket that will seal the firewall penetration. Smearing liquid dish soap will allow the rubber gasket to slip into the firewall hole more easily. Push the cable through the firewall hole until you have pushed the rubber gasket through the opening, don’t push too far, you want to make sure the collar on the gasket is seated correctly. I pushed the gasket into the hole and slowly pulled it out until the gasket collar was seated correctly. It is pretty easy to get it to seal, just pull slowly and keep looking at your work, eventually it will seat correctly. While you are doing this check to see if you can see the cable inside the vehicle.
2) Go inside the car, you should see the cable sticking out, if it is not obvious, look under the carpet. The cable only has a few places to go and it does not penetrate very far into the vehicle. Attach the tab that is at the end of the cable into the black wheel where you removed the old cable. Insert the cable housing into the seat where the end of old cable housing was attached. It pushes into the seat with a small amount of force.
3) Go under the hood and route the rear cable in the same place the old rear cable was routed. Make sure it is routed to the black box that is attached to the front cable.
4) Route the front cable in the same place as the old front cable, don’t attach it to the body yet. Attach the end of the front cable to the hood release latch that you removed earlier. There is a black plastic collar that has a mount point, push the black plastic collar into the mount attach the metal end to the hood latch. Reattach the hood release latch with the Torx bolts, push the cable into the body attachment mounts that are behind the grill openings. Push the black box into the holes in the body where the plastic pins insert. Attach the rear cable to the front cable inside the black box, close the black box. Check your work to make sure the hood can be released from inside the car. Reinstall everything in reverse order and you are done!!
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Last edited by overklok; 07-19-2018 at 03:01 PM..
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      07-19-2018, 07:58 AM   #2
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I need to do this, mine seems to get harder to release every time.
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      09-16-2018, 11:16 PM   #3
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Thanks great write up. I am having to replace mine but if I do I might just connect both cables together and be done with it. One cable clamp will do the trick.
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      09-26-2018, 07:58 AM   #4
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Thanks for this I've seen like 4 posts in the past month about this issue haha
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      12-15-2018, 11:52 AM   #5
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Just finished this job. It's bitchy. Upon inspecting the cables, the problem area seems to be the latch end of the forward cable, where the casing was rusted and ruptured around the clamp; the rear cable looked fine. While I'm sure there is some stretch, I suspect you could get away with just replacing the forward cable (which is the easier of the two).

EDIT: Forgot to add my bonus tip. If you can't get the rear cable to fish through the firewall, take a piece mechanic's wire about 4ft long and gaffer tape the end of it to the release cable housing. Getting the stiff wire through there is much easier. Once it's through, pull it from the cabin and eventually the new cable will follow.
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Last edited by 02Pilot; 12-15-2018 at 02:38 PM..
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      12-28-2018, 09:13 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fun2drive View Post
Thanks great write up. I am having to replace mine but if I do I might just connect both cables together and be done with it. One cable clamp will do the trick.
I used a 1/2" worm clamp because that's all I had available. I'll probably order replacement cables because mine clearly stretched. What type of clamp did you use and is it holding up long term?

I had about 1" of stretch so when I overlapped the cables and clamped like this, it's "good enough" for now. Sometimes it takes a few tries to close because the front cable has a little constant tension on it.

The other thing to note is that after some WD40 sprayed into the sheathing for the front cable, opening the hood takes way, way less force.

Honestly, "I can't even." with this car right now. What kind of cars break hood release cables...
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      04-08-2020, 01:39 PM   #7
schernov
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A few notes from my experience.
2009 135 (late 2009 production).
Hood was starting harder and harder to open - was ignoring it. Finally could not open it anymore.

- Pull out both kidney grilles. Just grab them and in one swift motion yank them straight out - thats the key - not being at an angle.
- Once grills are out - use a small screw driver to push the latch hook (push from driver side towards the passenger side) - while somebody else is pulling the release handle inside the car.

In my case - the Front cable - connecting latch to the juncture box was in poor condition. It was cracked in several places, and the thicker covering was really bad where it was connecting to the latch.
Remove the latch. clean it with brake fluid cleaner to get it nice and clean.
Lube it with lube of your choice (I used bicycle chain lube).
Remove old cable, noting the routing and re-install new cable.

I was also going to replace the rear cable - but found it operating well when on its own.
However, what I saw was that the black insulation at end of the cable at juncture box was slightly messed up. What happened was - as the pulling got harder and harder - the black insulation got bunched up and slid away from the cable end.
- To fix - remove the metal ring at the end
- flatten or cut out damaged plastic black shielding
- use electrical tape and tape the end covering full length of metal braiding
- reinstall metal ring at the end, align it with end of metal braiding and clamp it with pliers.
- if the rear cable seems to be to long - just readjust it inside the engine compartment so the end aligns well with the cjuncture box and connect two cables inside.

I think in most cases replacing the front cable should be enough to fix the issue - as the rear cable is a pain to replace
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      07-04-2020, 11:02 AM   #8
kahuna001
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I did mine today. I just put some soap on the new rubber and tape the old cable to the new one from inside the car. Pulled it from engine bay. 5 seconds job.

Hope that helps.
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      11-10-2020, 12:18 PM   #9
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Simple hack

Quote:
Originally Posted by awns729 View Post
I used a 1/2" worm clamp because that's all I had available. I'll probably order replacement cables because mine clearly stretched. What type of clamp did you use and is it holding up long term?

I had about 1" of stretch so when I overlapped the cables and clamped like this, it's "good enough" for now. Sometimes it takes a few tries to close because the front cable has a little constant tension on it.

The other thing to note is that after some WD40 sprayed into the sheathing for the front cable, opening the hood takes way, way less force.

Honestly, "I can't even." with this car right now. What kind of cars break hood release cables...
Here's a cleaner fix. This will only work if the front cable is stretched. If it's the rear one then this won't help.

Get a heavy duty zip tie or two and attach them to the cable just behind the ball end at the latch. It will take up the slack in the stretched cable. On the 135i this can be done easily without removing any screws or bolts.


Last edited by kellyzerx; 11-10-2020 at 12:48 PM..
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      01-03-2021, 03:05 AM   #10
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I have just dealt with a stretched cable on my 1er'. Instead of shelling out for a factory cable (not to mention the wait until it arrives and the pain in ass factor of replacing), I devised my own dodgy fix.
I paid a visit to my local bicycle shop & picked up a generic brake cable and adjustable cable clamp. Removal of the kick panel and handle has been covered before so I will not repeat. I left the front cable alone, but removed the rear cable from the housing, leaving the housing intact.
The new cable was lubed with a bar of soap and it slid up into the old housing like it was meant to be there. The round barrel on the end of the new cable was considerably larger than factory, so a combination of enlarging the hole in the cable receptor, and filing the barrel on the end of the cable was necessary to make it fit.
At the other end of the cable I machined a slot in the aluminium block attached to the front cable. The cable clamp I had obtained was larger than space permitted so was filed down to an acceptable size. The pics tell the story much better than I can tell in words.
On a side note, the hardest part of this has been the re-installation of the sill trim piece which is still not installed on the car!!
Placing the cable clamp in position must be done while the bonnet lock mechanism is in the closed position.
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Last edited by bobowar135; 01-03-2021 at 03:12 AM.. Reason: Forgot a necessary nugget of advice.
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      04-12-2021, 10:20 PM   #11
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Ok, so I need some help with this rear cable, please. I made a half-hearted attempt back at Christmastime, got stymied, and have been driving around with no kidney grilles since. Time to get 'er done. On a whim, I asked my dealership how much to replace the rear cable and they quoted me $420. And an independent BMW shop told me to try a body shop instead "because they have the right tools" for fishing the cable thru the firewall. Hmmm.

But kahuna001 says "5 second job", and this DIY does make it seem excruciatingly simple. Unfortunately I'm an engineer so I have an innate ability to screw up simple tasks by overthinking things. Here are my two issues:

Quote:
Originally Posted by overklok View Post
...and the rubber funnel that the screen sits in. All of these items can be removed by hand. The rubber funnel has two plastic pawls that need to be removed, one on the fender wall, one fender wheel well.
1. So how the heck do you get that 'pawl' (scrivet) that goes to the wheel well out?? It's WAY down there were I can't get my fingers and there's no good angle to get a long flat screwdriver in there to pry up the head. Do I need a long pick of some kind?

Quote:
Originally Posted by overklok View Post
Inside the vehicle, remove the driver’s door sill trim, there are about six or eight plastic pawls to pop off. Remove the drivers footwell plastic kick plate.
2. It's not mentioned, but it sure seems like you'd also want to peel back the carpet in that area, up by the footrest dead pedal. Is there a way to peel back the carpet and dead pedal? - how is that attached??

Thanks for your help!
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      06-01-2021, 02:02 PM   #12
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So, I'm in the middle of this hood release issue. The release works fine as long as the latch isn't under the tension of the latch spring but is a bitch when the hood is down and secured normally.

General comment: this has to be the most ridiculous engineering I've ever seen in an automobile given it's simple function. The lever handle assembly in the cabin alone has 4 parts not counting the piece it rotates around? The plastic lever handle is ridiculously fragile. I donno what else to say.. I've never felt like burning a car to the ground before.

Whoever designed this deserves a HUGE German wedgie.
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      06-01-2021, 02:30 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Codboy View Post
So, I'm in the middle of this hood release issue. The release works fine as long as the latch isn't under the tension of the latch spring but is a bitch when the hood is down and secured normally.

General comment: this has to be the most ridiculous engineering I've ever seen in an automobile given it's simple function. The lever handle assembly in the cabin alone has 4 parts not counting the piece it rotates around? The plastic lever handle is ridiculously fragile. I donno what else to say.. I've never felt like burning a car to the ground before.

Whoever designed this deserves a HUGE German wedgie.
Agreed. FWIW, both my cables stretched, but I was able to get it working again only replacing the under-hood cable. I left the cable going to the cabin as-is. No issues yet.
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      06-28-2021, 07:20 PM   #14
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Talking

PSA: Make sure you push the rubber gasket so it seats correctly in the hole in the firewall.


Or else you won't notice water soaking underneath your carpet every rainfall or car wash until months after.


Ask me how I know.
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      07-15-2021, 08:38 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by qxangelxp View Post
PSA: Make sure you push the rubber gasket so it seats correctly in the hole in the firewall.


Or else you won't notice water soaking underneath your carpet every rainfall or car wash until months after.


Ask me how I know.
This is NOT what I wanted to hear, since I was unable to get that grommet seated on mine, either. Here's what it looks like on mine:
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      07-15-2021, 08:54 PM   #16
WeryPert1
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So for everyone else, here's the thing about that grommet:

1 - the location is inaccessible from inside the car and impossible to reach with your hand from the engine bay. I have like a 14" vice grips I was using to try and grab it and pull it through. I could pull it, but it's not aligning with the hole properly: something on the inside seems to be getting in the way.

2 - when you get your new cable, that grommet appears to be very firmly attached to the cable, meaning the grommet does not slide up or down along the cable. Seems to be molded right to it. "Seems to be" but it's not. With enough force you can separate the cable from the grommet. It's still tight enough to seal (I think) but now the grommet can slide along the cable. I did this inadvertently trying to pull the grommet into place by pulling on the cable not the grommet itself.

Knowing this now, I'm wondering if the better approach for someone else would be:

1. Take your brand new cable and pull the grommet off.
2. Inside the car, attach the new cable to the end of the old cable.
3. From the engine bay, pull the old cable out. You'll need to give it a good yank to separate the grommet from the cable. The key here is you wan to leave the old grommet in place in the firewall.
4. Continue to pull the cable from the engine bay until it can be attached to the junction box.

NOTE: I *think* this may work but it is RISKY: I'm not really certain you'd be able to feed the end of the new cable into the small opening on the old grommet. Completely blind, you can't even see that side of the grommet. You'd have to tape them together as slim/flush/inline as possible.
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      10-07-2021, 11:04 PM   #17
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Thumbs up First job I did for my 135i today.. went pretty smooth actually..

The same thing happened in my B5 S4. Stretched inner Hood Release cable. I’ve read this is a VERY common problem with not only the 1 series, but many other BMW’s .. 🤦🏽*♂️🤦🏽*♂️🤦🏽*♂️ Nothing new here lol

Also, probably could’ve had a small family of birds living in the pile of Dirt/Debris/Leaves & Sticks under the DS Rubber drain area (where the cable feeds through the firewall) 🥴🥴 hopefully everyone else is also pulling the Shit out of there too!

And I left the new Rubber grommet kinda loose down there because I got tired of trying to pull it into the firewall where it “should be” secured... didn’t know soap would help, but we’re still learning here!
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