Im now in a major pickle, with Indy telling me they may need to cut my hood to open it.
Folks, DONT let this happen to you.
Apparently my passenger side lock mechanism has seized.
I ignored an increasingly harder second pull required to release and open my hood over past 2 years. Eventually it just stopped working altogether and I now cant open my hood at all!

My Indy said that to avoid this, regularly glance at the cables especially at the junctions where they join & make sure the boxes they're enclosed in are closed tight.
He also said to regularly grease the lock mechanism to prevent corrosion.
He also said that little impacts, etc can misalign the system so check if your hood closing smoothly with barely any slamming and if the release level pulls relatively easily for both pulls, as those are all signs.
Lastly, Hhe also said that the cables can stretch over the years and it's smart and relatively cheap to replace them every 4-5 years or so. (I havent confirmed how easy or cheap this is).

Just posting this as a heads up so others hopefully dont end up having to cut open your hood like I may have to now (looking at abut $1500 in repairs!).
Fingers crossed, they find a way to open it without such drastic measure, it's at the shop right now!

Best to all!

 

Wow!

 

Did you see this?:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...sed-again.html

 

Yes, thats me too, lol.
One post is me trying to solve this issue and this one is just meant as a heads up to everyone else here.

 

Well, good luck!

 

Yep it was common on the Gen 1 MINIs. Gen 2 MINIs its the locks and then the cable popping out near the kick panel opener. Now looks like Gen 3 MINIs share that similar cable system to the Gen 2 MINIs and rust up front. I hit my cables in my Gen 1 and Gen 2 MINIs once a year.
Seems like add gen 3 MINI to it.

 

What do you use to lubricate the cables?

 

WD40 or PB blaster up the cables and on the pivots.

Then I use something similar to the sunroof grease for the places that contact the latch. Also good for the convertible top and sunroof cables.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...83192157321kt/

 

You don’t need to cut the hood open, replaced by mini dealer about 4 years ago,