So the other day you were driving down the road when suddenly, without warning, your car hood won’t close. The metal flap that covers the engine is sticking up and out like an antenna for some reason.
This can be incredibly frustrating to deal with, especially if this happens while you are driving or right after you’ve washed your car.
Knowing how to fix a car hood that won’t close will save you time and money in having to take it to a mechanic. Some of these steps may seem obvious but make sure you follow through with them all before giving up on fixing it yourself.
First things first: turn off your car! If it’s still running, then quickly pop the hood open by pulling on the lever inside the vehicle that opens the hood. Make sure that the car is turned off first because you don’t want to risk getting electrocuted if it comes into contact with something.
After turning the engine off, check for loose parts and/or wires. Make sure everything is connected and in place properly. One of your wires may have come undone, or some other part may have been jarred loose during driving. If this happens, then unplugging and re-attaching them may do the trick!
If that’s not the case, check whether or not there’s a jam in front of the hood opening mechanism. A minor car hood issue such as a piece of plastic stuck in the way of where the metal flap will cause it to get stuck upwards like an antenna when closed. You’ll need to remove anything that might get in the way of you being able to open and shut your hood again.
The car hood is connected to the handle inside the car. It’s very dangerous if it doesn’t close properly because other parts in the vehicle will then malfunction and that won’t be good for your safety or anyone else who might be sharing the road with you. If you don’t know how to fix a broken hood latch handle, here are some basic steps on how to change it out.
1. Open the hood on your car and look inside. There is a latch arm that should be connected to a cable leading into the engine compartment. The other end of this cable goes on the locking mechanism on the frame of the car, right below where the hood is located. Use your fingers to see if it’s still connected there; you will feel resistance when pulled through.
2. If the hood latch arm is still connected to the locking mechanism, use an adjustable wrench to loosen the nut at both ends of this cable.
3. Take out all parts that are needed for your car’s specific model, depending on how it looks inside. Some hoods might use a lock plate instead of a handle you could pull on, or they might have other parts attached to them as well. Be sure you know what each part does before taking it off because there are some parts that are very small and easy to lose track of among other things in this compartment if not careful enough when removing them. Also, be careful with any sharp edges! You don’t want to injure yourself right since this repair is fairly simple.
4. When you have all the parts laid out on a clean surface, take note of how they are connected to the broken handle/part that needs replacement. You will notice that some are bolted in place while others are held by something more sturdy like glue/screws or even rivets. If it’s glued together, you can either use chemical solvents or heat up the joint with a soldering iron to make it soft enough for you to pull apart if need be.
5. Once you know what part(s) you need to get for your specific car model, go online and compare prices before deciding which is best for you! Then put whatever part(s) that are still good back into the engine compartment.
6. Find a place, preferably in your garage or in your driveway for this project so you don’t have to carry anything far when finished! But if you do work inside the car itself, be sure that you open all the windows and doors to let fumes out later, or else it could end up giving you or someone else breathing problems.
7. Chances are that the replacement part isn’t exactly like what was originally used on your car; most likely not since it wasn’t made by the same manufacturer even though they both came with similar-looking parts. This is why it is best to take notes on how each component is connected to the broken part/handle because some might need rewiring/reconnecting to fit right.
8. If you want to rewire the new part, take apart an existing wire that is intact and try to find out how it should be done. You might have to cut into it or use other tools for this purpose first before being able to see how all the elements are connected.
9. When everything is fixed, put back all of your parts carefully so they will fit correctly on their designated spots! Twist any bolts tight enough but not too much because you don’t want them to break off inside their holes which can cause even more problems in the future if left there unattended.
10. Now turn on the car and give a pull on the handle; make sure it’s connected to the locking mechanism by the end of the cable! If it’s still a bit loose, you can tighten it with an adjustable wrench.
11. Repeat step ten a few times after you have given the latch handle a good tug until satisfied that everything is working as it should be and no more leaks will come from this part going forward!
12. Close the hood and see how you did with your first car repair ever or repeat any parts that might not feel or sound right yet.
A car’s hood is attached to the rest of the body by a series of hinges and latches. Without these devices, a car would not be able to function properly. Over time, these parts can weaken and stop functioning correctly. When this happens, your hood will have trouble closing fully or it may open while you are driving down the road.
Use a lubricant on any parts that come into contact with each other while the hood is closed. Spray some lubricant onto one of them (don’t use WD-40 as it can make the problem worse, rather use silicone spray). Wipe off any excess oil after spraying it on whichever part you applied the lubricant to.
Silicon spray can be helpful when a car hood won’t close if the issue is related to something being stuck in between two pieces of metal or plastic that are meant to move around each other while the hood is closed. Spray some on either side of whatever’s in the way and wipe off any excess afterward, then see how it works!
Make sure your car hood is properly aligned. If the metal flap isn’t opening and/or closing all the way, it may be because there’s a piece out of place preventing it from moving around as needed. Check to see if some parts are misplaced or if anything looks as though it could prevent the hood from opening and closing as intended!
Check any screws holding your car hood in place. If some have come loose during the crash, you’ll need to tighten them so that everything stays correctly, especially when driving on bumpy roads!
As we said before, the hinges are the things that hold the hood to the car. There should be at least one on each side of your vehicle, though it is possible there are more than one on each side.
These hinges support most of the weight of the hood, so they must be strong enough to do so without being damaged themselves in any way! If they are bent or broken in any way when you try tightening them, you will have to replace them before attempting this process again.
If you need help determining if your hinges are broken, please read below for a brief explanation of what these hinge-like parts under your hood look like.
It helps to have a strong light source shining down on the underside of the hood when you inspect these hinge-like parts. There are two types of latches that hold most car hoods in place—one is called an “overhead latch” and is visible from under the hood, while the other is called a “side latch” and cannot be seen without opening the hood.
The overhead latches are more common for older cars, but can also be found on some newer cars that share components with older models. These latches consist of two bars that pivot over each other in order to lock into position. To determine whether not your overhead latches are broken, look to see if one of the bars is turned slightly inwards.
If this bar has been bent or pushed back too far into itself, then that latch will no longer be functional and must be replaced—you cannot fix this type of latch.
A side latch works just like an overhead, except it does not pivot over another piece in order to lock in place. Instead, aside latch locks when you push it down and turn it away from the hood (the opposite motion of opening the hood). To check your car for broken side latches: look for a hole in each hinge/latch assembly. If either hole appears to be elongated so much so that there are marks around its circumference on both sides of the hinge (this often appears as a U-shape), then that latch cannot be locked into place and must be replaced.
Now that you know how to determine whether or not your hinge/latch assemblies are broken, you can continue diagnosing the problem. If neither of your latches appears to be broken, but one or both of them do not work properly, it may be because they are rusted shut.
Apply a coat of wax evenly over where the metal part of the car hood meets the plastic edge covering whenever you wash your vehicle. This will help protect both sides from getting rusty and won’t allow them to come into contact with each other too much.
Check for rust on your metal car hood edge. If the problem is because the metal part of your car hood has started rusting, you can cut away at it with a metal blade until what’s left isn’t rusted anymore. Use sandpaper to smooth down any uneven pieces left behind afterward, then paint it with whatever color you prefer!
Rust spots, wrong adjustment, or accident damage are just a few reasons why a car hood won’t close. While they can cause damage if your hood pops up while driving, those are easily fixable problems.
Before checking in apply with a mechanic, try using the advice given in the article and avoid unnecessary repairs.
Find more care maintenance tips in these articles:
Car Hood Won’t Open – 3 Things You Can Try
How To Open a Chevy Truck Hood From The Outside
Guide to Car Dashboard Symbols
