Hood Latch Fix?

Robinson02 · Nov 13, 2014

Sorry I know this has been talked about before...but I figured somebody has to know a DIY approach for this.

When shutting the hood, it takes a lot of force to close it. Often it doesn't bother me, but I had a car show last week where I had my hood open for the show. Afterwards I tried to shut it and couldn't the first 3 or 4 times. Then I had to drop it pretty much from like 2 feet just to close. It was kind of embarrassing.

I know some people stated that the dealership fixed it for them, but the dealership is about 130 miles away from me. and the Ford dealership here in town would try and charge me $50 just for doing nothing pretty much.

Any body fixed their issue? I have a car show again this Saturday and would prefer not to stand by my beautiful 40k car and have problems closing the hood.

Thanks guys,
Yall are the best!

unintelligible · Nov 13, 2014

Robinson02 said:
and the Ford dealership here in town would try and charge me $50 just for doing nothing pretty much.

Say what? It's a warranty issue on a brand new car... they shouldn't charge you anything.

klousgt · Nov 13, 2014

Robinson02 said:
Sorry I know this has been talked about before...but I figured somebody has to know a DIY approach for this.

When shutting the hood, it takes a lot of force to close it. Often it doesn't bother me, but I had a car show last week where I had my hood open for the show. Afterwards I tried to shut it and couldn't the first 3 or 4 times. Then I had to drop it pretty much from like 2 feet just to close. It was kind of embarrassing.

I know some people stated that the dealership fixed it for them, but the dealership is about 130 miles away from me. and the Ford dealership here in town would try and charge me $50 just for doing nothing pretty much.

Any body fixed their issue? I have a car show again this Saturday and would prefer not to stand by my beautiful 40k car and have problems closing the hood.

Thanks guys,
Yall are the best!

I had this issue with my 2005 and my 2008. Near the front of the hood on the car there are usually two little post with rubber stoppers on the top. These are what the hood closes against. If these are too tight it takes excessive force to close the hood. If you loosen these the hood will close easier. Be warned loosen them too much and the hood may shake when driving.

rcb020 · Nov 13, 2014

I need to adjust mine too, rather do it myself anyways than take it to the dealer and wait for hours when it should be pretty simple. From what I have read so far, it is necessary to take off the plastic radiator housing and loosen the two 10mm nuts, then slide the latch assembly up a little. Hopefully, the folks who have done this can chime in with a more detailed procedure.

Tele5.0 · Nov 13, 2014

VERRRY interested to see about this....I have done extensive motor work in my days but for some reason, adjusting the hood on my new baby scares me to death lol.:shrug:

Robinson02 · Nov 13, 2014

unintelligible said:
Say what? It's a warranty issue on a brand new car... they shouldn't charge you anything.

with it being so small, id hate to argue with it and keep good with the dealership for future reference.

TungstenGT · Nov 13, 2014

I had the same issue. I sprayed some WD-40 on the latch and opened and closed the mechanism from under the hood and and under the dash a few times to work in the lubricant. Problem solved.

Robinson02 · Nov 13, 2014

TungstenGT said:
I had the same issue. I sprayed some WD-40 on the latch and opened and closed the mechanism from under the hood and and under the dash a few times to work in the lubricant. Problem solved.

really? going to have to try that

Trackaholic · Nov 13, 2014

Robinson02 said:
really? going to have to try that

I typically put a drop of motor oil on the pivots so that everything can rotate smoothly.

But, if the alignment is off, then the lubrication may not solve the issue.

If the center of the hood (near the latch area) is being pulled down into the gasket more than the rest of the hood, then the latch is probably a little too low. You might be able to adjust the stops as mentioned earlier, or you might need to raise the latch a bit. I don't have a car to see exactly what needs to be adjusted, but that's what I understand from seeing other posts.

-T

rcb020 · Nov 13, 2014

Mine is definitely being pulled down into the gasket more in the middle of the hood where the latch is.

tsunami · Nov 13, 2014

Last week, I went in to look at the first TY GT at my dealers. The salesperson proudly opened the hood and then mumbled about the hood brace: "the hood almost seems to droop". I mentioned I had ordered twin gas struts for my Mustang.
He then proceeded to shut the hood...it didn't latch...he tried it again...again it didn't latch. Finally he slammed it down...just about everyone in the showroom jumped. I mentioned that this Forum had already talked about the hood latches not being well adjusted from Flat Rock. He said that was going to be added to the Dealer Prep listing.

Noble1 · Nov 13, 2014

Hood on mine takes what I think is an inordinate amount of force to close also...

Todd15Fastback · Nov 13, 2014

This is nothing new with Mustang's. My 01 and 03 Cobra's behaved the same way. Have to drop it from 18" or so for it to latch.

908ssp · Nov 13, 2014

The latch is adjustable. I raised mine it closes much better. now I also srewed the rubber stoppers one had to go up one had to go down to align the hood with the fenders and bumper cover.

mj · Nov 13, 2014

908ssp said:
The latch is adjustable. I raised mine it closes much better. now I also srewed the rubber stoppers one had to go up one had to go down to align the hood with the fenders and bumper cover.

How did you adjust it?

Hood Latch Fix?

Robinson02

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unintelligible

V1, VR, Gear Up!

klousgt

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rcb020

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Tele5.0

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Robinson02

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TungstenGT

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Robinson02

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Trackaholic

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rcb020

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tsunami

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Noble1

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Todd15Fastback

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908ssp

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mj

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