Hood Won't Close 1998 GS 300

Take a look at the hood latch. it is made up of to flat pieces of metal with channels that guide the loop in the hood. When the hood is open, the channels should line up facting upwards. If the latch is engaged, one of the pieces of metal will be rotated so that the channel is oriented sideways, trapping the loop in the hood. If this is the case, insert a screwdriver or sturdy metal rod through the opening and lift upwards while someone releases the hood from inside to open the latch. Then coat with a generous coating of lithium grease to make sure the latch operates smoothly.

Here in Georgia, we'd just use duct tape to keep the thing shut. It's real cheap, it goes with everything, and it's a safe bet no one will think of stealing anything from your car if it's got duct tape all over it.

That doesn't seem to be the case because the hood will go down but when i let go it comes right back up. The latch wont keep the hood "Down" and locked. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Only helpful comments please. I was not amused by the duct tape.

OK, you have the opposite problem from the one I described. It seems like the latch is not engaging. Use aerosol lithium grease and apply a generous coating on the latch. If you want to see what is going on, try to engage the latch with a screwdriver and see if it turns and engages. Worst case, you may need a new latch.

Another possibility is that the hood bumpers are adjusted too high. The bumpers are round rubber pieces mounted on a threaded shaft which screws into the fender or radiator support at the front of the car. You can adjust them downwards by turning the bumper clockwise.

I didn't provide the duct tape idea, but it could be a last resort temporary fix. The tape will leave a residue behind that you can remove with Goof Off, bug and tar remover, or mineral spirits.

Good luck!

I was.

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RAY,

Thanks for your help. I removed the rubber nubs from under the hood completely. I also removed the long piece of rubber that goes along the front end of the hood. That STILL did not help. I pulled the cable from under the radiator support some and pulled the release switch a few times and it eventually closed and locked. It's closed now so I don't need to worry about it until my next oil change or service. Thanks for your help. But please don't forget about this. I will likely post again on my next oil change.. Thanks@

You're welcome!

Hmmm... It sounds like the latch release cable is binding. Perhaps you can disconcnect it from the latch and from the inside relase and try to free it up.

Good luck!

Well the hood is locked now but I'm still curious. What exactly do you mean by "Binding" and what exactly would I do to free it up. Does the cable have to be positioned at a certain length? The plastic that holds it to the radiator core every few inches is only in place at about every other one. Thanks Again.

The hood release cable moves inside a black plastic sleeve. When you pull the hood release latch from inside the car, it pulls the cable about an inch or so. The other end of the cable is attached to the hood release latch. The latch is a flat piece of metal with a U or sideways C -shaped channel. When the latch is closed, the opening faces the side of the car and when it is released, the opening faces upwards, freeing the hood. If the opening was sideways when the hood is open, the loop on the hood would strike the side of the locking latch instead of going into the channel and then moving the channel sideways to keep the hood shut.

When you release the interior latch, the cable should move back to its original position. If the latch or cable is binding, the cable might not move back to its original position.

Another possibility is that the mechanism that holds the latch sideways is not working properly.

Good luck!

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