# Hood Latch on 2001 Cougar

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/hood-latch-on-2001-cougar/50778>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mercury, cougar\
**Created:** [June 23, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hood-latch-on-2001-cougar/50778 "2010-06-23T22:13:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CoachMike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@CoachMike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/CoachMike)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hood-latch-on-2001-cougar/50778/1 "2010-06-23T22:13:09Z")

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My son’s 2001 Mercury Cougar’s hood latch won’t release. The cable is attached to the handle inside the car, but when you pull there is no tension. How do we open the hood from the outside?

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**Author:** ![Techniker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@Techniker](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Techniker)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hood-latch-on-2001-cougar/50778/2 "2010-06-23T23:10:24Z")

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If you look around the front of the car right where the hood release latch is, you may be able to see the cable through the grill. Get some long needle nose pliers and try to pull the cable.

Hope this fixes your problem,  
Techniker

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**Author:** ![meaneyedcatz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meaneyedcatz/32/692_2.png) [@meaneyedcatz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meaneyedcatz)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hood-latch-on-2001-cougar/50778/3 "2010-06-24T02:33:19Z")

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If you can see the latch mounting bolts through the grille get a 1/4" set and a long extension and unbolt the latch. You may need to remove the plastic deflector under the bumper but you might be able to access this from under the car.