This one has definitely foxed me. The hood latch lever inside the car was hanging loose so I naturally assumed the cable had stretched. Only it just started happening this morning. A stretched cable would surely have gradually elongated over months/years, n'est-ce pas? And it will open the latch if you pull it hard enough, so it's not broken. In addition, the hood will basically not latch when I drop it. I had to screw the bumpers in as far as they will go and really push it down to get it to latch. Broken latch? But then why is there excess cable inside the car like it has stretched if the latch has broken?

Any ideas?

 

We can speculate, but you need to open the hood to make the real determination.

Steel cable should not stretch, but if it is rubbing instead of sliding it can be worn to a point where the last few strands would stretch and break. Once the cable is severed the cabin end would flop down and the latch end would not release.
The jacket [sheathing] may also be dislodged ... the action is between the jacket and the cable.
The latch hook can be mechanically damaged.

Based on previous posts, the hood latch malfunction caused quite a bit of aggravation. You may have to go to a body shop. Once release, make sure everything works before attempting to fully close the hood. You can rely on the secondary latch, but use a bungee cord and drive slow without the primary latch.

Salim

 

Yes, I'm thinking of taking it to a body shop, rather than the dealer's service department (hopefully that will cost a lot less). The hood release does work - I can eventually open it (pulling real hard and far back) and I can close the hood with a good slam and with the bumpers fully screwed in. Just can't make any sense of what's going on.

 

Well, called a couple of body shops in my area and got "they only do collision repairs on cars 10 years old or newer"?! That's a new one on me - I guess they are just trying to get the insurance company business and don't want to deal with individuals(?) Anyway, called the Local Lexus dealer and got "$650 plus tax and fees"............ No thanks.

So decided to dig deeper; took out the actual latch mechanism thinking that might be broken but everything appeared OK. Pushed the cable back and forth in the housing and it was very stiff. So that does appear to be the problem. Squirted some WD40 on the latch and the cable end and worked it back and forward and it did loosen up some. Put it back together and everything appears to be working now.

I guess I'm going to have to change that cable soon. I've looked at this web site and the various other Lexus web sites for info. Not much out there but it does appear to be a colossal pain to get the old cable out and the new one back in its place.

UGH!

 

My feeling on the cable/latch is that a bicycle repair person can fix the problem. The mechanism is no different than handlebar brakes or gear-shift cable. Prior experience with RX hood release would be great, but factory trained tech is not needed.

I would not wait for the problem to get worse and if the cable brakes, you will run into complication.

I alos estimate ti to ne 1.5hr labor {max] + parts.

Salim

 

Yes, not too difficult in principle. The challenge is routing the new cable behind the radiator, under all the fuse boxes and wiring in the engine bay, through the wheel well and finally through the firewall. Should probably take less than an hour (I replaced the air mix servo in less than an hour - the dealer wanted over $800 for this). Not sure where they get almost $700 from for replacing this cable?!

 

Is the cable captive? If not it can be as simple as pulling it out from one end and sliding the new one in.

Lets know what you find out.

Salim

PS: Captive ... slug bonded in the cable at both ends that prevents it from being pulled out from at least one end.

 

No it's not captive - it is, as you said, like a bicycle brake cable. But it might as well be captive, as it goes behind all the engine bay systems. through the engine bay wall into the wheel well, back into the engine bay, and through the firewall!

 

If it is not captive then replace the cable and let the sieve remain in place. As long as the open end is glued to stay together you should be able to thread it in. The risk is pulling the old one out and keeping the open end from fraying.

Salim

 

Ah, sorry, I didn't know what you meant by captive. Yes it has button on each end that don't come off. So, in those terms, it is captive. I doesn't come out of the housing - both the cable and housing have to be replaced and because of the circuitous route from the hood to the drivers seat, you cant just yank it out - you have to feed it out through each location and then get the replacement back in. That said, it shouldn't take a dealer 4 hours to do this!

 

How about wiggle test to see where the sleeve is being held down to the body/engine. I can guarantee that there are no sharp bends and the only thing to overcome are the clamps and possibly the grommet at the firewall. The parts diagram only shows one point near the hood release. If the sleeve is free to move taping the new at the end of the old should allow "pull" to bring the new one in.

Salim

 

Well, rather than waiting for the cable to break, I got the cable from Bell Lexus in AZ ($38 shipped) and took the car to a local mechanic who replaced it for $150.
All is well again.