01 Prizm hood latch

There is a plethora of good lubricants (I've had good luck with the LPS brand products) you can choose from, but the most important issue is to find out what is binding the latch.

Disassemble the latch and it's pivot point fastener. It may be rust, dirt, bent sheet metal (has the car ever been crashed?), or a spring problem.

When you take it apart, you may want to clean off all the parts of the assembly with a wire brush, and then reassemble, checking for free movement.

The secondary latch is an important safety device that for your convenience needs to work easily. Good luck.

---MIKE---

The pivot for the secondary latch is basically a rivet, and the latch is pulled closed with a spring. In my experience, WD-40 is not an effective lubricant, and it was actually designed to displace water ("WD" stands for water displacing) from electrical components. WD-40 is good for loosening up brand new Klein pliers and cutters, but I digress.

Try an aerosol penetrating fluid on the pivot to loosen it up, working the latch back and forth as you do so. After the pivot is loosened, clean with carburetor or brake cleaner and then try the L-P lubricant that Ph@Boy suggested. Lithium grease has a tendency to attract dirt in tight spaces like the inside of the pivot so the L-P or CRC stuff would be better.

If that doesn't work, you can close the hood up to the point where the secondary latch would catch, then push the secondary catch closed manually, and then push the hood shut.

Thank Ray - I'll try that.

---MIKE---

---MIKE---