VW Passat B8 2017 - broken bonnet cable repair

(UPDATE - I had my bonnet fail to open 9months later, turned out to be rusty latch. Highly recommend you replace this also if your cable has snapped. As this is a likely cause, much easier to open now. Also recommend buying long nose locking pliers before hand to make opening bonnet job easier)
The bonnet cable broke. And is made out of a two component cable with a weak joint connecting the two which is likely to fail.
This guide is for information only, follow at your own risk based on your personal competence and ensure you do things safely.
The replacement cable I bought was a hook type end. Hope this info helps you all out there. Be safe.

[@PenroseTom]

Thanks so much Rob, you gave the the confidence to do this! A few tips from my ‘fun’. Took around 3 hours. I did not take the wheel off, turned it to the left and went in under the wheel arch. I ended up removing 3-4 screws from the wheel arch and peeling it back in place to give me more room. I used a flat blade screwdriver to shear the plastic pins holding the connector block to the metal strut, then managed to get some wire around it as Rob suggested. Get someone to push on the bonnet release when you give it a tug and that really helps. Thanks again!

[@denisohbrien]

brill, wheel right hand down, folded the front end of the arch out the way (T25 torx), removed the cable bracket and pulled on whats left, couldnt have been more than 5 min thanks to this video ( im a mechanic for better or worse) thankyou!

[@678diego1]

Brilliant video , thank you …was quoted over £500 to get the car grill smashed so they could access to latch to open the bonnet …all I need was my jack, a screwdriver , a plier ,45 mins and a substantial amount of swearing and alas the bonnet was open …I can’t thank you enough for posting this video

[@alexslaywe3142]

Legend mate, got mine open after watching your video. Massive Thank you!!!

[@matt--mun6797]

Amazing video! Saved me an absolute headache. Took the rubber lamp cover off and the had space to drag the coupling close enough with a pair of pliers to get a pair of needle nose pliers onto the broken part. My screams of joy were heard from miles around😂

[@adrianthickett404]

Thank you so much for posting this, didn't know where to start, you saved me hours and cost. Found an easier way to release than trying to wrap a cable around it, hold the black cover flap with a long nose pliers and then using a long thin flat screwdriver pushed behind the broken part and lever over the long nose pliers as a fulcrum. Long story short, just spent last 2 months in between work desiging and making a new engine mount for the front crankcase because one of the bolts snapped and the other tore the cast iron lug out of the back of the block. Just finished fitting engine yesterday, went for drive, came home, went to pull bonnet to top up coolant and this happened......😢

[@robot2cobotshaunedwards308]

You are a Legend, im stuck in Germany and used your video to fix my vw on the hotel car park nice one fella many thanks

[@RobsRepairs]

Glad it helped. Cheers

[@user-lo3hm6pq1h]

Great video! Helped to fix this in under 2 hours

[@alanhillyard1639]

Had to do this myself, 2018 Passat estate. Your video helped to let me know it could be done! I couldn’t find any wire so had to try something else. I’m my case, for whatever reason, I definitely couldn’t get it close enough to use needle nose pliers and certainly couldn’t lever anything with a screwdriver - I’m guessing anyone able to do that has a very well lubricated latch (which begs the question why theirs broke in the first place..). The way I found that worked was getting a curved pick (one of the ones that looks like a hook) and sticking it through the spring return mechanism and pulling that while someone gently pushed up and down on the bonnet to release any upward pressure on the latch. This works because the spring is wrapped around the cable and is smaller than the plastic end, so effectively is pulling the end of the cable as with your wire method. I couldn’t get the pick to work trying to just hook around the plastic end piece. I’m sure this will fk the mechanism so only do it if you are sure you need to replace the cable obviously!

[@paulhorrocks4868]

Thank you so much for sharing your video. I was able to work to your instructions and opened my bonnet within a couple of hours👍🏻👏🏻. I have a sore hand and wrist now but it was worth it. I saved myself £100 + at the VW garage who wanted that amount before they even looked at it so the work would have been extra. The local VW dealership is a daylight robber. Shame on them , they’ve had my business for a number of years but no more. Thanks again for your help.👍🏻

[@RobsRepairs]

Glad I could help. I’ve used so much free KZbin advice over years I felt I needed to pass it forward 😊

[@nickkirk-su7pv]

I followed this video for the repairing my failed bonnet release. It really works, recommend bright lighting. Use a long screwdriver to release the plastic housing from the car frame and break off the cover, as it gets in the way. Use a loop of galvanised wire , use a screwdriver to lift the end of pull wire, loop round a few times. A bit fiddly, it does work. Thanks

[@daveys]

I had to do this on my 2015 B8 Estate. Didn’t jack it up, wheel to full left lock. Bit of a faff but opened the bonnet in about 30mins using a couple of wire coathangers.

[@centurion1916]

Excellent video with some great tips and reassurance that this can be a DIY fix. Getting a (left) hand inside and working in that small gap is as close to impossible as you can get, but persistence paid off! Thanks.

[@RobsRepairs]

Thanks. Glad it was helpful ☺️

[@PenroseTom]

Also be aware there are a few part numbers. Mine is a 2017 1.6 bluemotion estate. The correct part number was 5G2823531D

[@munickhan8365]

The best video I ever see , thank you soo much , you video helped me a lot 😊

[@marijussamparas1559]

Thanks a lot! If it wasn't for your video, I wouldn't have attempted to fix this! I tried to fix the broken off plastic bit by polishing/drilling it, wrapping a nail around it and the metal ball - there's a post on vw vortex forum and apparently it can be done. But that didn't workout for me so I ended up ordering a new cable. I spent most of my time on the clips and the release of the bonnet. A word of advice for those who will have the same issue: use tweezers to push out the clips shown at 2:04. Also, the plastic bit shown at 3:04 was still in the plastic tube and I was unable to get it out and therefore wrap a wire around it. So what I did instead was put the end of the tweezers were the spring joins the plastic bit and then simply push it up - this motion released the bonnet. Cheers!

[@RobsRepairs]

Glad it was of some help. Honestly don’t know why they did a two part release cable. I got the plastic but down by just breaking it away with a screwdriver

[@markarnold6612]

Excellent would recommend long nose pliers in place of trying to get some wire attached

[@dingo137]

Thanks, this was very helpful. Instead of the wire I grabbed the broken black bit with some mole grips and yanked. Was a heck of a job getting them on, but it was the only thing that worked.

[@richardstephenson2534]

Just done mine today 2 tips I can offer is don’t buy a cheap replacement from eBay as I’ve had to do mine twice! And sometimes the part breaks if the locking mechanism has become stiff/seized!!! Vw wanted £600 plus vat to do it!

[@BetaUKtf2]

Wow...I'm glad I haven't asked them Thanks for the video, I have the part, now just waiting for a time to get it done

[@richardstephenson2534]

I also found if you take off the lamp cover and headlight adjustment then it gives you a bit more room!

[@dilr]

Hi Rob I found myself in the same situation and eventually managed to get my bonnet open! The bonnet lock looked very rusty and weathered so want to replace it. However i just wanted to ask whether you got a genuine latch or one of these aftermarket ones from ebay which go for around £25-£30? and if you have a link to where you bought yours from? Would appreciate your further assistance! :)

[@RobsRepairs]

i bought one off ebay, £23 seemed to be working great so far... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363993067013

[@user-hx1ru9ru9m]

hey, just wanted to know which part you had bought as a replacement. Your video helped me to Open it finally but I can't find the right part!?

[@RobsRepairs]

Tried putting links here but they don’t last. I recommend searching eBay for “passat b8 bonnet cable” and go with a genuine part as I’ve had a cheaper part before that didn’t fit too well

[@RobsRepairs]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234818764483

[@marekprikryl8753]

Ahoj prosím potřeboval bych poradit jak vyměnit lanko předni kapoty vw passat b6 variant

[@RobsRepairs]

sorry i only know the B8 version.

[@JimCricket]

Quick question. The part you linked shows a ball on the end as apposed to a hook. Is this link still the same listing?

[@RobsRepairs]

Yes. The ball part goes into the hood latch mechanism and there is a plastic connector to fit the other part of the wire into.

[@JimCricket]

@@RobsRepairs thanks for the reply. Sorry I meant the eBay link/listing the part at 0:23. I ordered a replacement and it came with the wrong hook type where the cable links to the bonnet catch.

[@RobsRepairs]

@@JimCricket sorry Jim. Looks like the eBay link has changed since I bought it. This type is the one I used… with a hook end. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334459804278

[@sagas070707]

That crap can get a lot of tension and obviously in cold temperatures that stupid plastic it will break. Who was the idiot that didn't think about it when they aprove a part like that or maybe the smart one so they can get dirty money from the owners because obviously that stupid part will break out of warranty.

[@RobsRepairs]

i found replacing the locking mechanism massively helped reduce the force needed by the cable to open. (the old locking latch had gone rusty)