Hood won't open!

[Leadfoot281]

My hood doesn't want to open on my 04 MM. It doesn't pop-up or nothing. Had it into the dealer at 30k miles and they apparently lubed the latch mechanism (I saw their greasy little finger prints all over it). Worked fine for a while. Now it's back.

Has this happened to any one else? Got any possible suggestions for a lasting fix?

I pop the hood alot. People are just so curious about the engine (yeah, and I like looking at it too :D ).

Thanks

[rocknrod]

"If guns kill people, did spoons make Rosie O'Donnel fat? "
No McDonalds did. Hence the reason to extort $$ from them for
government "projects".;) :beer:

[Skiordie53]

Had a similar problem on my 89 Formula, a good graphite spray usually fixes it

[Ken]

Had the same problem with my 98 SVT Contour this spring. Ended up spraying a good amount of PB Blaster through the grill blindly towards the latch. It worked, hood popped. This was after I tore apart the hood latch release in the car to find out that the cable was in fact not broken! Ended up lubing with a lithium grease; didn't have a problem again before I traded off the vehicle last weekend. Hope this helps.

Ken

[Dark_Knight7096]

The exact same thing happened to me with my marauder what i would do was, i would pull the latch, i would hear the pop sound, but it wouldn't pop, so i'd get in back up and then accelerate forward to about 5 or 10 mph and slam the breaks, that would make the hood pop enough to unlatch it, then when it was up i would spray the crap out of it with WD-40 or whatever other stuff i had laying around let it soak in for about 5 minutes work the latch mechanisms and stuff then close the hood and be good to go. It will come back, i'm usually about 3 or 4 months in between with my car, does it more often in the cold though. Took it to the dealer they did the same thing, lubed it up and said there, it's fixed, a week later it stuck again. I'll keep fixing it my way. It's not that big of an inconvenience.

[Smokie]

If your hood rubber stops are adjusted too HIGH it will cause this problem, try lowering them a bit.

[Bradley G]

I had/have this issue.

The first fix was lube the cable.
That worked for a week or so.
The second time the dealer replaced the latch.
Works most of the time, although a couple times the new latch failed to open it.
Thanks Smokie, for the tip.

[RoyLPita]

Take the car back to the dealer. If they fixed it before within 12 months or 12000 miles and it happens again, they will fix it for free. This would be called a "comeback".

[SergntMac]

Nothing protects the hood latch from road dirt. Add too much grease and you end up with a lot of gunk. The latch needs cleaning every once in a while, brake cleaner works fine for me. Add a small application of light grease and check in six months, or, when the hood "slows down".

My hood stuck closed too, and when I got it open, I found one of the adjusters way too low, and loose. I added lock nuts to hold them in place, and adjusted them up from the factory setting for additional "spring". It took a couple of tries to make the hood sit flush with the fenders when closed, but once done, I haven't had to make any changes. Hood pops up fine, and I cured an annoying squeek as well. Happy motoring!

[Dragcity]

Keep it outta' the dealer, they usually booger something up in the meantime. (some of them anyway).


I fortunately have not had any problems with my '04. Dry Graphite would be my choice. Slick stuff, non collective for debris.
Remember the old days the latch had a big spring to push up the hood? Always worked...

[CBT]

Try gently pushing down on the hood above the latch area while someone pulls the release handle.

[Bradley G]

I did resort to that several times before complaining to the dealer.I tried cleaning everything well, lubeing both sides of the cable release and latch.

After a "Hey, do you wann'a see a" ,....Hoodie no workiee:alone:
Very anticlimatic!:banghead:

Try gently pushing down on the hood above the latch area while someone pulls the release handle.

[Leadfoot281]

I may try the "come-back". I think they actually raised the rubber bumpers to get it to pop up better. Pushing on the hood didn't help. Popping the hood and driving around the gas station/car show/ friends house/ shopping mall does work, but it's embarrassing!

No hood "pop" spring, and no underhood light? Gee whiz, what gives? It's not the way I'd build a car....

Thanks all!

[MarauderMark]

Had it into the dealer at 30k miles and they apparently lubed the latch mechanism (I saw their greasy little finger prints all over it).
Next time tell the service manager you didnt spend all your free time cleaning it so it can come back to you in this shape.Next time have the decency to clean it before you return it..
I said this to a certain crummy dealership and everytime my car went in for service it came back detailed..That kind of disrespect i dont like. :mad2: .

[Leadfoot281]

You're right, it is very disrespectful. The worst part was the hand prints all over the front part of the hood.

These clowns can't tell an '83 Dodge Omni from a Mercury Marauder. (and they sold it to me!). The salesman actually told me tell my insurance people that I bought a Grand Marquie! ("They won'y know the difference, and you'll save money!"). How stupid do they think I am? :mad:

I'd fix it myself, but I like wasting their time and drinking their coffee.:P

[jgc61sr2002]

Try gently pushing down on the hood above the latch area while someone pulls the release handle.


That would be my advice also.^^