Symptoms of a failing Hood Latch

Hood won’t latch

I’m guessing (hoping, really), that you didn’t need me to list this symptom. When the hood latch is broken, the hood may not be able to latch. If that’s the case, the latch will be having a difficult time opening, which means the hood cannot close all the way. It’s like trying to close a house door with the dead lock engaged. It just ain’t gonna happen. Sometimes you don’t realize this until you’re driving. It might feel like the hood is latching, but once your car is moving, you’ll realize that it was never all the way closed.

Hood won’t open

Just like any kind of latch, the hood latch can keep the hood from closing, or it can keep the hood from opening. Neither are very good! If the latch is broken such that it’s keeping itself from being able to disengage, then the hood will not be able to open, and you’ve got a sticky situation on your hands.

Hood release doesn’t work

When you pull the hood release in your car, it releases the hood. In theory. But theories don’t always work. If the hood latch has kicked the bucket, then it may not be properly connecting to the hood release, and the entire mechanism won’t work.