in cab latch and safety hood latch both failed and....

[jdlmodelt]

So, I have a car full of teenagers with me. I'm driving, and I proceed to pass a couple of large oil field semi's. So going 60-65, suddenly there is a loud crash and i can't see anything in front of me. I finally realize my hood latch came loose and the hood swung over and smashed the windshield nearly forcing it into the cab. I'm looking out my side window and safely slowing down and finally pull off in the bar ditch. half a dozen cars just keep on going out in a rural area where I live. No one stopped. I hopped out. assessed the damage, the hood dented in the roof above the top of the windshield as well. Fortunately, we were only 3 miles from home so I caught a county road just up the highway and gimped home and traded out with another car to get the kids home. Thank God no one was hurt. Scared us all. It's a strange sensation driving down the highway going 60mph and when you can't see a thing in front of you. I have a $1k deductible on this car and so, I've already ordered a replacement hood and a replacement hood latch assembly. I'll shop around tomorrow to see what kind of a deal I can get on a new windshield.

[w.rohr]

Oh man that sucks, these are supposed to have some sort of double latch to prevent this exact disaster. The same thing happened to my friend after he changed the oil on his RSX and he swears the hood was latched all the way when he finished. He wasn't so lucky though he hit a couple of cars the found the guard rail so his was totaled.

[starr-]

Scary. That happened to my baja while the previous owner had it... Would be nice to come up with a good/convenient safety mechanism for this.

[anarchy1024]

I recently bought a 2002 Outback where this happened to the previous owner, too. Although, in this case, it was because the three bolt that secure the latch mechanism were loose, and the hood wasn't latching properly. Tightened the three bolts, and never had a problem since.

[jdlmodelt]

My three bolts were tight. after I straightened the hood back out, both latches were secure. crazy. oh well. I have a new hood and a new replacement latching mechanism coming. New windshield is scheduled for a week from this coming Monday. They do have some aftermarket racing latches on ebay. I don't think I'll go that far. I'll just test the heck out of the new one when I get it.
I was fretting the hood popping up on my other car when I was out for a drive today.

[jdlmodelt]

like these...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-TRACK-RACIN ... St&vxp=mtr

[anarchy1024]

If you end up replacing the latch, before you fully close the hood, make sure the cable is connected properly and it unlocks properly. When I was looking into mine, I completely forgot to reconnect the cable before closing the hood..... Luckily you can actually unbolt the hood latch while the hood is still closed using a shallow socket, U-joint, and extension.

[kamesama980]

Ouch, that sucks. Glad everyone's OK.

Goes to show that EVERYTHING needs maintenance and lubrication. When I was in the shop I saw a number of vehicles that the latch was dirty or unlubed and sticky, sometimes the hood would go down and seem to be closed, sticking with the gunk and seem to be latched but if you wiggle it a little it'd pop up.

Having both latches fail is unusual but if it happens at highway speed, the impact and momentum could shock load the mount I guess.

FYI use some kind of dry lube on the hood latch. any lube that stays wet will attract dirt which will cause problems.

[jdlmodelt]

thanks everyone. I had the windshield replaced today. so happy to have my car back again. I had to drive the Porsche for a week since the Baja was down. Haha.
I purchased a new hood from a great ebay vendor and the shipping company must have dropped it off the truck at some point. It had dents in all 4 corners and a couple in the middle of the brand new hood. The vendor had me email pictures this morning and they imediately refunded my entire payment. The new hood only cost me $175, but it has several hundred dollars of damage to it from the shipping mishandling. I got the original hood to bend back to mostly normal shape and it securely fastens to the new latching mechanism until I determine what to do about a replacement hood again.
The roofline is damage between the top of the windshield and the sun roof. I may take it to a body shop to get an estimate for that repair. I raised my deductible to $1k last fall after my daughter was forced off the highway by a hit and run and our insurance doubled. Initially i didn't think my Baja repairs would be much more than $1k but with the roof damage I am considering otherwise. On the other hand, I don't want to give the insurance company an excuse to raise my rates again.