How to Open the Hood on a Mini Cooper

Co-authored by Matthew Rava

Last Updated: July 19, 2024 Fact Checked

Don’t worry if you can’t get your Mini Cooper's hood open. The latch under the hood, also known as the safety latch, is what makes opening the Mini Cooper’s hood a little difficult. Once you know to push the safety latch to release the hood, you shouldn’t have any more problems opening the hood on your Mini Cooper.

How to Open a Mini Cooper Hood

Pull the hood latch near the driver's side floorboard on cars made in 2009 or later, or on the passenger side for cars made before 2009. Walk to the front of your Mini Cooper, and feel for the latch under the hood. Push the latch in and lift the hood completely.

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Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Finding the Hood Release Latch

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The latch is near the floorboard where the foot pedals are. Look under the dashboard next to the door’s frame. Identify a black latch with a picture of a car with its hood raised on it.^{[1]
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Walk over to the passenger side of the car. Look under the glove box near the door’s frame. Identify a black hood release latch. On the latch is a picture of a car with its front hood raised.^{[2]
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Pull the latch toward you to pop the hood. Use your fingers to pull the latch toward you. Pull the latch until you hear a pop and feel the tension release from the latch. Your Mini Cooper’s hood should have popped open.^{[3]
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- If the hood is still closed, you may need to pull the latch harder.
- If the hood does not pop open after multiple attempts, the hood release cable may be broken. Ask a mechanic who is familiar with Mini Coopers to look at it for you.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Lifting the Hood

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The hood will be open. However, a safety latch keeps the hood from lifting open fully. Stand in front of the hood with your body facing the car.^{[4]
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Feel for the latch on the right side of the hood. Place your fingers under the hood of the car to the right of the Mini Cooper symbol. Use your fingers to feel for a latch that you can push.^{[5]
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- There is also a metal loop attached to the hood near the latch, which is not the latch. However, the latch is located just to the left of the metal loop. The metal loops help keep the hood in place when it is closed.
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Push the latch open. Once you find the latch, use your fingers to push it. When you push the latch, the hood should release open. If the hood will not open after you push the latch, the latch may be stuck or broken.^{[6]
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- Have a mechanic who is familiar with Mini Coopers troubleshoot your hood release latch.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Troubleshooting the Hood Release Latch

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If your Mini Cooper was made before 2009, the latch is located under the dashboard on the passenger side of the car. If your Mini Cooper was made in 2009 or later, the latch is located under the dashboard on the driver's side of the car. Pull the latch toward you as if you are opening the hood.^{[7]
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Check the cables for slackness. As you pull the latch open, use a flashlight to identify two cables behind the latch. Use your fingers or a hooked pick to pull on the cables. If the cables are relatively easy to pull, they are loose. If the cables are taut with tension, then there may be another issue with the cables underneath the hood of the car.^{[8]
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- The lower cable opens the right side of the hood, and the upper cable opens the left side of the hood.
Pull on each cable with your fingers or a hooked pick to open the hood manually. Tug on each cable until you hear a pop, which signals the opening of the hood. If the hood will not open by pulling the cables, you will need to take your Mini Cooper to a mechanic to troubleshoot the problem.^{[9]
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A mechanic will be able to open your hood to inspect the hood release cables underneath the hood. To fix the issue, the mechanic may just need to clean and re-grease the cables. If one or both of the cables are broken, the mechanic will need to replace the broken cables.