I have a 99 Suburban and the hood will not open with the release lever. I’ve tried pulling on the cable with pliers nothing happened. Not enough room in the grille to slide hand in and pull on the latch. Please help?
You may have to take a sawzall to the plastic grille to gain access…Sometimes you can slide under the car, reach up with a tool of some sort and manipulate the release lever.
Failing that, a visit to a local body shop might be necessary, or even a dealership. These people have seen this problem many times and have worked out the least destructive solutions…
Try pushing down on the hood while somebody pulls on the release. Both hoods on my 2000 Blazer and 93 Caprice stick and this is usually is enough to pop them loose. The grill on my 2000 Blazer pulls off easily, hopefully yours is the same way.
Ed B.
Alternatively you could ask a kid to try and squeeze his/her tiny hand through the grille.
Look through the grille and see if the latch bolts are accessible. If so use sockets and extensions. A long screwdriver may work either through the grille or under the vehicle.
I have the same problem on my 99 suburban and on my first car an 84 buick regal. I have to pull the lever and then gently hit the hood to get it to pop all the way up. some times it takes a few tries to find the sweet spot but it gets me by.