Hi Everyone,

I have a 2007 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 AWD that I have been working on. It sat over the winter and the battery died, and when I went to pull the hood release, the passenger side is stuck. Knowing that this is a common problem and assuming it was just the cable, I jacked the car up, went underneath with a flashlight and a long screwdriver, confirmed the cable was popped (it still moves when the hood release is pulled, but it isn't attached to anything)

Here is where it gets complicated... I successfully located the manual hood release, got a long screwdriver under it, and moved it all the way to the left toward the center of the car (and in the same direction the cable moved when the hood release was pulled)... aaand absolutely nothing happened. The hood didn't pop open, nothing seemed to move at all. yet the lever underneath moves.

The car is dead, so I can't move it, and now I am totally stuck. Please help!

 

This video should help you:

 

Sorry, after rereading your post it looks like you already found the video. Can you get close enough to spray some penetrating oil (WD-40 or the like) on the mechanism? Maybe that could free up some dried grease or corrosion.

 

I appreciate it, but unfortunately, that is the video that I used to figure out how to pop the hood in the first place. I followed the instructions to a tee, got a long screwdriver up to the mechanism from under the car and moved it all the way over. In theory, the hood should have popped, but it didn't.

 

I just tried to spray WD-40, not sure if I hit my mark or not, I am waiting a few minutes then going back under to see if it helped.

 

Will pushing down on stuck side of hood cause the latch to re-lock? If so maybe another try at unlatching may work.

 

You might try getting someone to help you by either pulling up on the hood while you hold the lever over, or pushing down quickly on the hood after you push the lever over (the quick push sometimes causes the hood to "pop" open after it bounces back up from the push).

 

Problem solved. I got my girlfriend to come and help me, opened the hood on the driver side as far as I could get it and propped it there. Then, we used a flashlight to locate the mechanism from the little bit of visibility we had under the hood on the passenger side and I had her stick a screwdriver into the mechanism. Then, I went underneath, used a pry bar to move the mechanism from the bottom while she pulled from the top and it worked both sides of the mechanism and finally got the hood to release.

I assumed I was going to have to face this issue one day, but didn't think it would be quite the nightmare it was. Thanks for your help everyone!