Hood popped up while driving. Sh***t

yeuporsch · 01-26-2004, 03:14 PM

I didn't latch the hood properly this morning. I just started to go on to the freeway and it popped up. Luckily, I was only on the entrance ramp. Pulled off without incidence.

Well, at least I didn't into an accident!

Now the ends of the hood are bent and the cowl is damage. Should I repair the hood or is this a good time to lighten the car and go with a fiberglass or carbon fiber short hood? Anybody with an estimate to do repair and paint existing metal hood or fiberglass/carbon fiber and paint? Do the latter hold up well over time?

Thanks,
John

moazam · moazam's Garage

Dunno about which type of hood you should replace it with, but....

You're very lucky though. I had the same thing happen on another car and the hood flew up, flipped backwards and smashed the windshield while I was driving at 55-65mph on the highway. Good thing for me it was a POS car and not a Porsche though.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

Sounds like an excuse to go with fiberglass to me.

Zeke · 03:30 PM

What happened to the safety latch?

I don't know what year your car is, but often a used hood is cheaper than body shop time. As far as fiberglass or CF, they hold up well enough, but they are not super straight when you get them out or the box. More body shop time again.

As far as lightening up your car, that would help. IMO, the front is not the place to start if you're gonna just do one thing. If I were to do a light weight car, I would work the hardest in the rear, at least equal weight reduction lb. for lb. with the front.

N11Porsche · N11Porsche's Garage

The hood must have not been latched at all. I closed mine, once, without it being shut tight. I was motioned, while on the freeway that my hood was not closed tight. I pulled over and sure enough, I had not closed it tight. Even at 75 mph the saftety latch held the lid. I never did that again

CHILI · CHILI's Garage

Welcome to my hell ! Did the same thing. Have the same damage. I never got an estimate to have it repaired. To answer others questions, no I didn't even have the safety latch latched. Don't ask. You should have heard the things I was yelling!

Now, I never, never, never just close it. I always latch it all of the way. But, alass the damage has already been done. I just touched it up because the hood isn't noticeable. Just the cowl.

Beethoven · 01-26-2004, 03:31 PM

Funny. I wanted to post about an open hood a few days back, but thought this was too weird a thing to confess. Luckily, my saftey latch held. The reason I noticed it was that it was -10F outside and it got mighty cold in a hurry inside the car!
Good thing nothing happend to you!

carreradpt · carreradpt's Garage

I did the same thing. Had been working in the front and didn't close the hood all the way. Went out to take a drive and couldn't close the vent or so it seemed and it kept getting colder/breezier and couldn't figure out why. Pulled over and no kidding the hood was unlatched. Had been doing about 50 for a little while. Damn .

singpilot · 01-26-2004, 04:28 PM

I had the main latch open one night crossing the desert. Headwind was gusty and strong. Combined with the speed, probably opened the latch. Later found a towel jammed in the latch. The safety latch caught the hood.

Didn't see the hood open until a roll of paper towels in the trunk strated to unwind, and 'flow' out the back of the hood, into the airstream. Happened at the same moment it seemed cold.

Felt really lucky. Kept imagining the hood opening all the way at 'desert speed', in the predawn darkness.

trj911 · trj911's Garage

I had the same thing happen while driving a VW beetle. I was doing 75+ and suddenly wham! I couldn't see anything but hood! A change of shorts was required!

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

I had it happen to me in a Karmann Ghia on US 50 in the mountains!

onewhippedpuppy · 01-26-2004, 05:47 PM

That was my first scary Porsche experience! On the way home from getting my 911, I thought to myself "it sure feels breezy in here", but being new to the cars I thought it was just a quirk or bad weatherstrip. After 2 hours of interstate we stopped for food, that's when I noticed the open hood.

Wouldn't that have been a great initiation? It's happened a few other times but I caught it, lubed the hell out of the latch and it hasn't happened again, knock on wood.

Adam · Adam's Garage

It's pretty scary when it happens. Back when I was at University, driving my old Volvo 244, the hood popped up at about 90mph, but the safety catch held. Scared the hell out of me for a second.

yelcab1 · 01-26-2004, 06:20 PM

This is why early BMWs (til 1990) had their hoods open the other direction so that it will never pop at speed.

Sorry to hear about that.

Harlan Chinn · Harlan Chinn's Garage

Pretty lucky it wasn't worse, I did the same thing a few years back, put a nice dimple in the cowl area. Fortunately didn't screw up anything else. If you do decide to replace and repaint, you'll have to pay a competent painter to get a good color match to your existing paint as well as the time needed to properly gap the new trunk lid. I replaced the trunk seal and it required extra pressure to get a positive latch. I latch and double check every time now.

notmytarga · notmytarga's Garage

I had noticed much better ventilation when my hood wasn't fully latched. From the stories here the safety latch isn't to be relied upon. And I thought I had a solution to my lack of Air Conditioning in California.