I Have A 1996 C280 That's Hood Release Cable Is Either Jammed Or Inoperable. The Garage That Works On My Car Worked All Day And Could Not Get It To Release.they Took It Over To A Nearby Body Shop And They Are Saying We May Have To Destroy The Grill,then Replace It To Get The Hood Released. My Guy's Are Usually Very Knowledgeable, But There Has To Be A Easier Solution They've Just Missed.
Any Idea's????????????????

Had the same thing happen to me with a 95 C280..

You are on the correct path.. Take it to multiple body shops until one can figure out how to open it..

I went to about 3 body shops before my hood was opened.. He pulled up on the rear of the hood on the drivers side to access & remove the hinge screws and some of the front fender screws. This gave him enough clearance to see the release hinge/cable in the front. Then he used a long trigger pliers (pliers at one end and a squeeze handle at the other) to grab the cable. Yanked on the cable several times and voila, it opened.

We then replaced the release cable and installed a bicycle secondary cable on the hood release for emergency hood access. the bike cable is accessable from just above the front tow hook.

Good luck...