Well....I pulled the hood relase in the cabin and broke it. Broke the square tab right at the round joint. Its a 99 civic hatchback DX. I can still see the round stem sticking out and if I grab hard enough I can luckily still pull on the cableto open the hood.

Now....can I just get a new or used handle (plastic part) and screw it back in...or is there a lot more work involved?

......thanks guys!

 

You have to replace the entire cable. I just did it on the CRX, it wasn't THAT bad. The part is cheap, under 20 bucks I think. Had to pull the fenderliner and front bumper.

 

thanks MSX.............I'm fairly handy at fixing most things...however I've never really tried to take a bumper off. Is it fairly straight forward on the 99 civic and do I have to deal with any of the airbag sensors?

M

 

No, it's really straightforward. A bunch of plastic clips above the grille, and some screws inside the wheel well, maybe a couple fasteners under the front of the bumper too.

 

Apparently this is a common problem. Mine broke in the same place on my 97 Civic.
Dealer wants $180 to replace the cable.
I've been using vice grips to pull the cable.

 

^ +1...I've been doing the same thing. I can get it w/ my fingers about 50% of the time, otherwise I've gotta bust out the pliers.

 

Just looking thru the net and found other info......

apparently there was a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin ) issued on this problem and Honda is aware of it. It is TSB 99-089...title "Hood Release Handle Breaks".....

the question is....will Honda repair this thru goodwill....?

 

I doubt it. It wasn't a recall, and your car is almost 10 years old now. Spend the money on the part and just fix it yourself