Has anyone had their front hood pop open while driving? (1 Viewer)

[hidesertfj40]

Greetings all,


This morning while my wife was driving our 1994 FZJ80, the front hood popped up. The secondary latch was still working and the hood did not fly open. Has anyone had this problem and what was the cure?

 

[shootin cans]

Try moving the hood latch cable, it may be seized or binding up. The latch might also be sticking, maybe try lubing it up.

 

[aclos3]

Not the front hood, but I've had the rear hood fly up a lot...

Seriously though, give the latch mechanism (the part attached to the truck near the radiator), a little blast of WD-40. It is probably just gummed up. Mine would do this quite a bit and I've have to keep slamming the hood shut to fix it. Over a year ago, I applied some WD-40 to the latch mechanism and have not had a problem since. Graphite (dry lube) may be an even better option.

 

[Parsnip]

I noticed the latch on mine didn't move freely back to its place when the hood was open. So I gave it a squirt of PB Blaster and it moved at once. A week later I put light weight oil on it. All is well now.

 

[red62]

Try WD40 or 10W40 or some lubricant first, but if that doesn't work, try adjusting the hood latch.

It's sort of self explanatory. First make sure the hood is sitting correctly, left to right and up and down. If not, adjust or replace the hood bumpers so that it sits correctly or good enough, depending on owner specifications. If it still doesn't latch correctly, adjust the latch mechanism.

First close the hood, and see if it is tight or has some play. If it is tight at the second latch but is still coming open, it may be a little too tight, and not quite able to complete the second latch. If it is loose, and only engages the safety latch, it may again be too tight, and a little looser will allow it to engage the second latch. If it engages the second latch and is still loose, it may be too loose and needs to be adjusted tighter.

Mark where the latch mechanism is to start with, then adjust it up or down a bit at a time until it latches smooth and tight. You can adjust it with a couple of wrenches. good luck.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

After our last big snow, mine wouldn't close properly (had to slam it a few times to lock).

Sprayed the latch with white lithium grease, worked it back and forth a few times and it's been working fine ever since

 

[shack]

This same thing happened to me the other week going 60 mph. Thankfully my hood didn't rip off and I didn't crash!

 

[hidesertfj40]

Thanks guys!
I will lube it tomorrow morning at first light.
Cool...

 

[shack]

This same thing happened to me the other week going 60 mph. Thankfully my hood didn't rip off and I didn't crash!

Need to pick up some if that lube this weekend too.

 

[BrotherRob]

About once a year for me. A little lube and good to go. I would pick up some dry lube rather than WD40. It's less prone to collecting dirt and gumming up again.

 

[aclos3]

About once a year for me. A little lube and good to go. I would pick up some dry lube rather than WD40. It's less prone to collecting dirt and gumming up again.

I second this. I couldn't find my tube of graphite so I just used what was on hand (WD-40).

If the mechanism is gummed up, the liquid lubricant should help clean things up. After a few days, coming back and hitting it with some dry lube would probably be the ideal method.

 

[BrotherRob]

I second this. I couldn't find my tube of graphite so I just used what was on hand (WD-40).

If the mechanism is gummed up, the liquid lubricant should help clean things up. After a few days, coming back and hitting it with some dry lube would probably be the ideal method.

BTW, dry lube is available in a spray can. It's both a solvent and a dry lube in one. It's great for anything that is gummed up and prone to collecting dust.

 

[aclos3]

Thanks for the advice. I will pick up a can next time I'm at an autoparts store.

 

[94braassyota]

I was driving on I-80 today and saw a CHP Officer on a motorcycle slowing down traffic as if he's looking for debris on the road. And sure enough, it was a hood right in the middle of the freeway from a 90's Toyota Camry parked on the side of the road. Two women from the Camry were waiting for traffic to stop so they can remove the hood. And, another car almost hit the CHP officer.
This makes me want to check the hood on my 94 Land Cruiser. At high freeway speed, the hood is lifted a little but for piece of mind, I think I will make sure the hood does not move at all while driving on the freeway.

 

[Howard705]

While you're at it hit all the door latches-stops-hinges-all tailgate hinges-etc-even in the locks-gas filler door-window tracks-spare tire mech-etc- 2x or so a year.

 

[DonVito]

Yep mine has done this, its pretty terrifying when it happens on the freeway. My hood has a terrible time latching lately, I guess I should pay it some more attention.

 

[Aggiesdm]

One last bit of advice...make sure it was not a user error. I have accidentally pulled the hood latch when I meant to pull the gas-door latch. My hood doesn't immediately pop up all the way and I forgot to re-engage it after I filled up the truck. I was driving down the road and it caught wind and luckily the secondary latch caught it, but it could have been ugly. Easy mistake to make and I'm now very careful when choosing which lever to pull