Afternoon,

Long story short, my Superb mk2 bonnet will not open, was only checking screenwash, nothing major, it has opened without issue until today.

New serpentine belt going on tomorrow, but that's through the offside wheel arch.

I have taken the handle off, the little plastic insert was broken, so took off trim and plastic attached to car and pulled the end with pliers, no joy.

It feels stuck, as not pulling out much, did not give it to hard a pull in case the end snapped off.

Tried the bonnet, it feels really wedged shut, like something is wedged in the mechanism.

Any advice welcome.

I have a journey through the mountains Saturday, so screenwash is paramount having grit every mile.

Thanks.

I had a very sticky catch when I bought my car, fortunately for me it wouldn't lock shut so could get it home on the catch and a lot of WD40 and manually activating the catch system freednit up but doesnt help much with not opening!

May have gummed up inside making it difficult for the catch to open?

Morning all.

I have still not had any luck opening my bonnet, will be getting very low on washer fluid due to the heavily gritted roads here.

Has anybody had the same issue please?

Local dealer has a 3 week wait.

Any access via the grille to the latch? There's a few videos on YouTube if you've not yet looked.
On my MkI Fabia I had the same issue years ago and the cable inside the car needed a really good tug to get it open - I used Mole Grips on the cable.
Fingers crossed for you.

Hi there.

On the mk2 the grill is half covered and not accessible.

Saw a YouTube video on my model but it looks really awkward and you are totally blind, without knowing exactly where the catch is you need to push/pull, it looks impossible.

Bloke said it took 5 minutes all in, but he already had the bonnet open for the video, highly edited.

Was hoping, as I hear its a common issue, that someone on here has achieved the task without taking an angle grinder to it.

My model has a very long bonnet, and a big area from grill to mechanism, so a long screwdriver would not even do it, if I wedged the bonnet up a bit with wood.

Ho hum.

Update.

Skoda want £144 per hour plus diagnostic, without parts, first available slot, 18th Feb!

Roads will have new grit next week and not rained in 6 days.

Looks like crowbar time.

Poxy bonnet.

On 19/01/2026 at 12:01, Lee01 said:

I had the same issue years ago and the cable inside the car needed a really good tug to get it open - I used Mole Grips on the cable.
Fingers crossed for you.

This ^^^^

Maybe with help from someone else pushing own on the bonnet to take some resistance out

55 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

This ^^^^

Maybe with help from someone else pushing own on the bonnet to take some resistance out

I have tried that. I get the feeling once its open, the problem will be very obvious indeed.

Does not feel snapped at the handle end.

Think the cable has either come loose at the junction box, or stuck latch. Both extremely easy fix. If its stretched I will add washers to adjust the length.

Very frustrating issue though, had cars since I was 17, never had a stuck bonnet.