Hi guys,

Had the coolant low light come on so checked under the bonnet and it was indeed a little low. Drove to the garage to get some coolant, got home ready to top it up and i couldn't open the bonnet.

When pulling the lever down to my right leg i felt a bit of a clunk in the handle, thinking it was the bonnet went to the front of the car and noticed the usual handle wasn't sticking out. Went back inside car to pull handle again and nothing. There is a small bit of resistance in the handle and i can pull it about 90degrees before it stops. It returns to it's downward position when released.

I've tried pressing hard on the bonnet whilst pulling the handle etc but cant get it open.

Any ideas? I've been told the cable runs via the front right wheel arch. I'm not too sure what i can try.

Thanks in advance.

P.s. I still need to top the collant up!

I had this problem a few months back. Took it to the dealer and they couldn't open it either. In the end they had to hacksaw a hand size hole in the grille so the mechanic could stick his mit up inside to free it... seriously! Problem was the cable had become detached - 2 minute job to fix but I had to drive around for a couple of days with a huge hole in the front of the car until a replacement grille arrived. All under warranty luckily.

A common problem on the Octavia, the handle in the footwell is weak and strips the plastic teeth.

If it the same problem you'll likely need a new handle.

I'll try and find a recent thread which detailed a temporary fix to get you under the bonnet...

Here you go.

Has the handle lost all resistance, does it feelas though it could easily fall off?

If so this may be your problem...

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/188434-bonnet-release-lever-in-cabin-broken/page__p__2550900__hl__bonnet+release__fromsearch__1#entry2550900