I put my car away for the winter today, and when I opened the hood to disconnect the battery something snapped under the dash in the hood release mechanism. At least it did unlatch the hood before it broke, but now I get to fix it.
I didn't pull the underdash cover yet to see just what failed (it's cold out there today) but thought I'd ask if it's typically the cable end coming off, or the plastic handle itself breaking. I haven't noticed that it's gotten stiff so I don't think the cable is binding. I just checked realOEM and it appears the parts are still available; in fact the entire assembly (handle and cable) is only about $30 so maybe it's just best to replace them both. https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpa ... Id=41_0450
RealOEM says $30.63 but I realize that isn't necessarily the actual price. I'll check with Blunttech on Monday. I made sure to not latch it closed again but it probably would be smart to remove the grilles in the meantime, just in case.
That was fast - I placed the order with Blunttech Monday AM and the part was in by 2:00 Tuesday. They're local to me so I can pick up parts at their place of business and save on shipping costs.
This is an example of why I use them, they have great service, their prices are usually good, and they've always been able to find parts for me. I'm friends with the owner Steve; he and all his employees are into vintage BMWs, so they know the older cars. I bought a ton of obscure stuff through them back when I was restoring my car.
At least it did unlatch the hood before it broke, but now I get to fix it.