I tried searching this problem, but only found problems with the hood release lever breaking. My lever was hard to pull too, but my problem is now that I have the hood open, I cannot close it. It will not latch all the way closed. I've tried everything I can think of, including slamming the hood until the thin metal almost dents, but it will not close all the way. I can drive with it because the latch does catch where it would when you pull the release lever, but I don't really have the time to take it to the dealer if there is an easy fix. Anyone?????

 

You probably already checked this, but is there an open, angled slot on both hood latchs? If so, you should be able to engage them by pressing down into each latch with a large screwdriver to see if each latch closes, then spring them back open using the inside hood release. That's the only way I can think of to check the engage / release mechanisms.

 

mine did the same thing.....you need to lube it up. I used a teflon lube that I use on my bike chains. Water and road grime blow into the hood scoop, which drains right over the hood catch. All sorts of dirt and debris gets caught in the grease.

 

Grease the heck out of it, its probably dry.

 

Thanks! I'll pick up some good grease tomorrow and give it a lubing!
Of course the reason I had the hood open to start with was to try to clean some of the left over salt crystals off the inside after winter, so I can see how all that road grime gets embedded everywhere! I couldn't believe there was that much salt on the engine and on the underside of the hood just corroding away!

 

Yeah, some towns use incredible amounts of salt on the roads. Here on LI, the difference in the amount of salt put down in Winter from town to town is amazing. Some towns use little or none, others put it down so heavy you think you're driving through a dust storm when you drive down a salted road. I'm sure that's not very good for the car or the road!