My hood pops open from the inside, but the lever at the front doesn't do anything anymore...

I noticed it was getting harder and harder over time to get it to release, but then randomly today it just decided to stay stuck

I'm guessing I need to regrease something after I get it open.

Saw some threads about hood latch getting stuck mostly on FDs, but those were about the cable / actually getting the hood to pop up from the cabin.

Any thoughts welcome

 

In my 30+ years of ownership of my '90 GXL, I've replaced my hood latch twice. First in 2002 and second in 2017. So, I my case they appear to have a lifespan of about 12 to 15 years. Some latch configurations are apparently still available from Mazda (https://www.tascaparts.com/v-1989-ma...and-components). My specific configuration p/n FB02-56-620G (RX-7. Rx7. Steel. With burglar alarm) for steel hood with burglar alarm is NLA. So, I recently bought a good quality used hood latch off Ebay just in case I should need a replacement in the future. I suppose that p/n FB01-56-620E (Rx7. Steel. Without burglar alarm) would be a suitable replacement for me, but I'd need to reuse my existing micro switches for the alarm.

Yeah, I used to occasionally lubricate my latch, which probably helped, but the moving parts will still eventually wear out and require replacing the latch.

 

Got it open after squeezing my hand through, pulling the latch over to the left and pushing the hood up with my other hand - it just ended up being seized from dirt lol

Some soapy water and little regrease and it works fine now