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PSA: Cable Tie Your Bonnet Release Cable Junction Box

IWMTom

Autocross Newbie
So my bonnet/hood release cable broke.

To those who don't know, there's a junction box under the bonnet where the cable from the release lever and the cable to the latch mechanism join together - a metal ball on the steel wire from the lever sits in a plastic socket/cup inside the junction box.

When you pull the lever, the cable pulls the socket, which in turn pulls a spring acting as a "clutch" (according to VW), which then unlatches partially the bonnet so you can unlatch it fully.

There's a cover over the junction box designed to keep the ball in the socket.. only it's all made of plastic, and eventually it fails.. just like mine did...

Do yourselves a favour and go to your car, open the bonnet, and cable tie the damn thing shut to prevent having to butcher your front emblem and grill just to open the bonnet.

The junction box sits above one of your headlight housings, I believe it's the drivers side on both LHD and RHD vehicles - see this diagram, junction box highlighted in green (number 7):



Aaaand pinched from another forum, cable tie it like this:



Any questions, just ask.
 

Subliminal

Autocross Champion
Location
Vegas
Car(s)
Slow FWD VW Hatch
Yup, I had taken my car to a bodyshop and they neglected to zip-tie the box which caused my hood release to also fail. Dealership charged $300 to diagnose and fix it. Luckily I was able to get GEICO to reimburse me for the cost since they guarantee the bodyshop's work.
 

IWMTom

Autocross Newbie
Yup, I had taken my car to a bodyshop and they neglected to zip-tie the box which caused my hood release to also fail. Dealership charged $300 to diagnose and fix it. Luckily I was able to get GEICO to reimburse me for the cost since they guarantee the bodyshop's work.

If VW had any sense, they'd have these things cable tied from the factory.. or at least use a better retention mechanism to cope with what's involved.

More cost cutting, more shitty design.

Astounded me that there wasn't a service hatch behind the emblem like the Mk6 had.. actually having to take a Dremel to it was NOT a nice experience.
 

Subliminal

Autocross Champion
Location
Vegas
Car(s)
Slow FWD VW Hatch
If VW had any sense, they'd have these things cable tied from the factory.. or at least use a better retention mechanism to cope with what's involved.

More cost cutting, more shitty design.

Astounded me that there wasn't a service hatch behind the emblem like the Mk6 had.. actually having to take a Dremel to it was NOT a nice experience.


The girl at the dealership told me they come from the factory with the ziptie. The bodyshop had replaced the box without the ziptie, which is what caused it to fail.
 

IWMTom

Autocross Newbie
The girl at the dealership told me they come from the factory with the ziptie. The bodyshop had replaced the box without the ziptie, which is what caused it to fail.

Odd. They must have rectified it in later models. Mines a MY15 and didn't come with cable ties - when you buy the part it doesn't come with them either.
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia
Car(s)
7.5 frankenstein
Great post. I'll be doing this as soon as I get home.
 

Subliminal

Autocross Champion
Location
Vegas
Car(s)
Slow FWD VW Hatch
Odd. They must have rectified it in later models. Mines a MY15 and didn't come with cable ties - when you buy the part it doesn't come with them either.


Maybe it was supposed to but was neglected by the factory worker? Seems more likely to happen with an earlier model such as a 2015
 

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
I had my handle fail to open the hood out of nowhere just after changing my oil a few months ago. I was so bummed because it just wouldn't open and I knew it was going to involve butchering the front emblem and I had just gotten the car back from the thermostat repair...

I drove around a bit and then tried it again and it suddenly opened. I inspected this junction box and there was nothing apparently wrong with it at all. Seemed completely intact, leaving me scratching my head because I had seen a post similar to this on Reddit (I think).

Thanks for putting this out there again.
 

gregozedobe

Battle scarred veteran
My June 2017 build Golf R didn't have any zip ties on it, and I haven't heard any reports of them being fitted by the factory.

On RHD drive Golfs the junction box is located more between the headlight and the centre of the bonnet.

I have fitted zip ties to both my Golf and my Skoda Octavia vRS which have a similar setup.
 

Intred

New member
Location
BE
FYI : 2016 EURO golf 7 GTI. Don't really see a way to put cable ties on this, because its very close to the chassis.

 
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