Unscrew the three T30 torx bolts holding the bonnet latch mechanism in place noting each bolt's position. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund. I guess you mean poke a screwdriver in here and try to somehow lift the "fish-hook" off that is on the bonnet catch? I thought this may have been more due to not refitting the lock correctly but I didn’t want to take any chances. You need to first remove the two holding the lock in place, these are located directly behind the VW badge.

Unscrew the two outer torx T25 screws (one right) and the unclip the two inner fastenings (one left). Then clean it up as best you can - hit the wd40 and spray it everywhere and reseat the cable unit into the lock unit with a couple of mini catches if its come away (as mine had). Just bought a 2004 MK5 Golf and when the seller tried to open the bonnet, it opened first time however he tried to close it and it wouldn't close.car front quater virtualy taken apart and still cannot get access to get replacment cabel through bulkheads, can just see 2 grommets that bend the cable through tight angles and did not want to pull too hard in case the line I tied to one end broke leaving me with nothing! Obviously, the previously removed grommet will then no longer fit the hole, but the hole is obscured from casual sight by its location within the top slat of the grille. Remove the last Torx screw and the lock should now be free and the bonnet will release with the lock attached. If the bonnet lock doesn't close and jams, you will need to remove the lock and find out what is causing the problem. Unfortunately the car battery is now flat and we cant get the bonnet opened to jump start it or replace it.

I would (and have) recommend your site to others I was quite satisfied with the quality of the information received, the professional with whom I interacted, and the quick response time. I've read several how-to guides on the net (including the excellent one on this thread) but none of them go into much detail about this bit so I'm assuming I'm doing something horribly wrong! I had initially soaked it with WD/penetrating spray but that didn't work for me either so I ended up removing the catch. A common problem that I had when I was fitting the tensioner cable to the plastic guide was that it was slipping out and losing grip of the actual guide. I ended up having to unscrew the unit that contains the catch, take it out then use a lot of WD40 to clean all the rubbish that had built up inside that was stopping it from closing over properly.

Unclip the side casing around the housing that holds the wire for the tensioner and the spring (it’s behind the drivers headlight).

However, I do live in the worst place for cars in the UK - they salt roads for well over 6 months of the year up here. You should then get enough room to open the bonnet with the catch still attached to release it manually. I can get the handle off and can take the panel off to get at the cable but the dial/wheel seems to be attached to a box - do I need to replace this entire box?As regards the grille I was fortunate in that mine failed open so I didn't need to mod it to reach the 3 fixing screws (2 long,one short, short one behind the grille blanking plug you mention) should it ever fail shut in future.

I pulled it out and it broke in two, cable is identical to that found on a bicycle so no surprise it will rust if exposed to water and the elements. The two T20 screws here and remove them from the car {yellow}, these are the screws just next to the headlights in this picture and then once they are removed from the car squeeze in the two plastic clips {red} can do one at a time and then remove the grill from the car. I think part of the problem is it was already detached from the catch the first time I took a screwdriver to it so I never saw it properly assembled at the start of the job. In theory you should be able to just pull the lead out of these clips but I found this a bit tricky and so instead, just pushed the clips off the bodywork with a screwdriver.However, please note that our tool is for reference only and we recommend that you check the part number on your old unit prior to purchasing. Turn the badge anticlockwise till it pops off, cut away at the useless plastic at the top of the hole left by removing badge. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. I used a Dremmel with an etching head to cut an access hole in each of the above-mentioned "wings" to each side of the "scoop". If anyone with a Mk V finds their car's bonnet release lever hard to operate, don't wait and end up breaking the release lever.