engine lid wont open

[mgold]

I changed the oil on my 2012.5 Carrera S yesterday and now the engine lid will not open.  I did knock the cable loose while pulling out the intake, but I thought I put the ball end of the cable back into place.  The actuator operates but the cable doesnt release the latch.  I looked all over the place for an emergency release cable but could not locate one.  Is it possible to use a screw driver to release the latch?  Suggestions are welcome!

[Loren]

Are you sure you are pulling the emergency release cable hard enough?

Sometimes it helps to have someone press down on the engine lid (over the latch) while trying to release it.

[mgold]

Thanks for the feedback.  The latch is activated by a solenoid when the lever in the cabin is lifted up.  I did try to push down on the lid when the latch was activated.

 

 

[ivass]

I have the same issue with a 2013 Carrera S with Aero kit. The main cable came loose from the latch. The actuator is working but since the cable is loose it can't release the latch. Because I have a fixed wing, I can't reach the emergency cable. Do you guys have any other ideas how I can get to the latch to release it? 

 

 

[Loren]

Have someone press down (gently) as you release the lid.

[ivass]

Yes, but I can see from the bottom that that the cable is completely detached from the latch, so pressing the lid will not help. I need to figure out a way  to get to the latch with causing the least damage. Looks impossible from the bottom, so I think I will try to go through the slats right after the air intake. If anyone had done this, I would appreciate some pointers.

[ivass]

Follow-up ... I found a post which showed that on a car with an electric wing, one can reach the latch from under the raised wing. Since my car has a fixed wing, I could not do that. Instead, I reached through the louvers of the deck lid (pic1), removed the rubber shroud that goes to the intake, reached in under the black plastic cover of the engine (used a few rags to hold the plastic pulled apart), and was able to see and  push the latch with a long screw driver, right where the cable was supposed to attach. Pic 2 shows the disconnected cable and, pic 3 and pic 4 show how it connects. The issue is that the plastic clip holding the cable is not to strong and pops out easy. Part of the issue is that the cable attaches to the air intake (pic 8), and every time you pull out the intake pipe, like when you change oil, you put strain on the cable and it can pop out. My solution was to fabricate a small bracket (pic 5), and bolt it on top of the plastic clip using one of the bolts holding the latch mechanism plus an additional 6mm bolt which I added to an existing hole on the latch (pic 6 and 7). 

 

Note in pic 9, the location of the emergency lid release. This cable can be reached by raising the electric wing, but is unreachable on cars with a fixed wing. Plus, it is attached to the actuator, so if the cable pops out from the latch, it is of no use. I tied up some 60lb fishing leader to that cable and routed it above my tail light so I can use it if the electric release fails. The main issue I see with the design here, is that the emergency release cable is not independently attached to the latch mechanism. I will consider adding a whole new emergency release cable in the future.

 

Ivo 

[malahhaor]

On 8/18/2018 at 2:39 PM, ivass said:

Follow-up ... I found a post which showed that on a car with an electric wing, one can reach the latch from under the raised wing. Since my car has a fixed wing, I could not do that. Instead, I reached through the louvers of the deck lid (pic1), removed the rubber shroud that goes to the intake, reached in under the black plastic cover of the engine (used a few rags to hold the plastic pulled apart), and was able to see and  push the latch with a long screw driver, right where the cable was supposed to attach. Pic 2 shows the disconnected cable and, pic 3 and pic 4 show how it connects. The issue is that the plastic clip holding the cable is not to strong and pops out easy. Part of the issue is that the cable attaches to the air intake (pic 8), and every time you pull out the intake pipe, like when you change oil, you put strain on the cable and it can pop out. My solution was to fabricate a small bracket (pic 5), and bolt it on top of the plastic clip using one of the bolts holding the latch mechanism plus an additional 6mm bolt which I added to an existing hole on the latch (pic 6 and 7). 

 

Note in pic 9, the location of the emergency lid release. This cable can be reached by raising the electric wing, but is unreachable on cars with a fixed wing. Plus, it is attached to the actuator, so if the cable pops out from the latch, it is of no use. I tied up some 60lb fishing leader to that cable and routed it above my tail light so I can use it if the electric release fails. The main issue I see with the design here, is that the emergency release cable is not independently attached to the latch mechanism. I will consider adding a whole new emergency release cable in the future.

 

Ivo 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Priceless info. just had this happen on mine, with less than one week ownership. Was very upset but this helped allot. Dealer quoted $500 to fix. saying i need a new latch system. I also think they efed up when changing oil.

Going this route as well so it doesnt happen again.

 

Thank you very much!!!! . 

[joec500]

I am in the same boat here, my question is how the hell does anyone fit a screw driver and let alone see the actuator through the slats? 

[joec500]

THANK SO MUCH TO IVO, I was able to release my engine lid. You need to left the plast portion of the middle slat and use a long flat head screwdriver, mine is 8" long. You then pry apart the engine cover (the cover that holds the two engine fans) with the screw driver and you can see the actuator. You then can release the actuator using the tip of the flathead screw driver and pushing towards the passenger side of the car. This should release the actuator. Happy to pay it forward to anyone that gets stuck with this. 

 

[Kesh911]

Hi Guys, i know this is an old post but i have the exact same issue on my 991.  Was fixing the dodgy wiring on the spoiler tail light and the latch must have slipped when i put things back to together.  Only took the fan off to give me more room to work 😞

i have tried to follow IVO’s post but i just cant see the actual latch to hook.  I cant see past the plastic vent and heat sink material even when lifting up the slats plus the fan cover has a plastic tab that sits right in front of the latch.  I have looked on videos to see where abouts the latch is but without being able to see it I'm just fumbling in the dark.  Any pointers/tricks someone can give would be much appreciated.  
 

i have included a photo of pretty much what i can see and as shown the tab and plastic vent cover most of the view.

 

Pic1

[Waoudi]

On 7/9/2020 at 4:50 PM, joec500 said:

THANK SO MUCH TO IVO, I was able to release my engine lid. You need to left the plast portion of the middle slat and use a long flat head screwdriver, mine is 8" long. You then pry apart the engine cover (the cover that holds the two engine fans) with the screw driver and you can see the actuator. You then can release the actuator using the tip of the flathead screw driver and pushing towards the passenger side of the car. This should release the actuator. Happy to pay it forward to anyone that gets stuck with this. 

 

Can you please help! When you say plastic piece of middle slat do you mean the painted lid piece?