Stuck 240 bonnet

This happened once on my old 240.

I removed the front grill, and was able to access the opener from underneath. The grill has two lugs on the lower edge that slot into holes in the body work. The top of the grill is held by two quarter-turn clips. By prising carefully along the bottom of the grill I was able to ease the lugs out of their holes without too much damage, then reach in and grasp the bottom of the clips and turn them a quarter turn. The grill should now come away. From here you should see the underside of the bonnet latch.

All things Volvo welcome here. There isn't a FAQ as such, but most people get guided to:

Look under the dash. You may be able to remove the kick panel and grab the cable with pliers, depending on where the cable broke. Another alternative is to use a pair of long needle nose pliers and go through the grill and pull the cable.

When pushing the lever to release the bonnet, some pressure on the top of the bonnet may also be beneficial.

Also, noting that the OP was posting from UK, I'd strongly recommend that he convert the bonnet release to be on the left side instead, as it makes the catch much easier to open. There's some info about this on my web page, although the page is rather out of date ATM.

There are a couple of ways to release the latch. Often the clamp holding the cable in place on the fender will lose it's grip and the hood release will not operate. Fashion a hook with stiff wire and stick it through the grill to pull the cable.

In the event of a broken cable, jack up the front end and look up from under the car, behind the bumper, in front of the radiator. You should see that it is possible to reach up and manipulate the hood latch with a screwdriver. You may have to remove a plastic air duct or two, depending on your particular model 240.

Good luck,

Dear Stewart, Athol and Don,

Thankyou very much for the top notch advice :-).

I followed your suggestions and I've sorted the problem (inasmuch as I can now open the bonnet) although I now need to unseize the cable and latch cam. No problems there, though: that's something I understand. The important thing is that I am able to change the oil, plugs and other (vital) bits and bobs. I can worry about making the bonnet easy to open later. Importantant thing is that I'm able to look after the engine, steering fluid and others before they deteriorate due to me being unable to acces them..

Thanks again for your valuable and friendly advice. Sammy