Could use some advice with a CEL issue and a hood problem

congrats and welcome!

extra clicks won't help if the cap gasket is bad. in fact, you maybe damaging it.

if you're going to diy this puppy, get mini vci and subscribe to toyota tech info. that way, you'll have everything the dealership techs have for under a hundred bucks.

all the best!

 

You can try disconnecting the 12V battery to reset the codes, see if it recurs. Normally the car has to go through a "drive cycle" to reset itself, and depending on your driving habits that might take a while. Best bet is to get the MiniVCI noted above. If you have an old Win7 or XP laptop, it'll only cost about $25.

Don't drive the car if the hood isn't latched completely and correctly! It may be a misalignment of the hood latch, or a linkage problem, or even frame misalignment from a collision. You may be able to align it with common tools.

 

Make sure you didn't leave something from the oil change procedure like a rag or tool in the way of the hood latch. Also, there are two alignment rubber bumpers about 20 inches away from either side of the latch mechanism that may be way out of adjustment (long shot guess). Finally as others have said, it could just be a loose latch mechanism that needs retightening or possibly cleaning/lubrication from gunk build up over the years.

 

Re point #2:
Whoa Nelly! Hokey Smoke, Bullwinkle, I think your hood is on the SAFETY catch rather than the main latch. Please do NOT drive the car above 25 mph or so until you can get it latched on the main latch, in which case you should NOT see that 1/2 inch gap, I recommend this because if I am correct and it is on the safety catch, and if that catch gives way when you drive it over 40 mph or so, the result is that the hood pops all the way up and is then blown back through the windshield . Unfortunately, that is where you and the passenger are sitting , and having a large sheet of aluminum slice through the windshield at you is apt to end very badly. Please be careful.

Re #1:
I would agree with most likely culprit is gasket on gas cap, but absolutely buy a new one rather than just trying to over tighten it, which could even crack the cap or fuel tube threads.

 

Ok, I am having a similar issue. It's been happening a LOT since my last oil change. Hood pops up while driving. When I look inside the latch, I see that the main latch seems to be frozen in place. But the hood does go all the way down, just pops up really easily, and then is obviously only on the safety latch. It's also possible that the people who did my oil change pulled it out of whack. Valvoline folks, I did call them when I noticed this, but they didn't seem to think it was their issue. I'm going to take it back there tomorrow. But I have been driving like this for a while now. It's beginning to happen all the time, so it's kinda scary. And they are not close by, so I have to go on the highway to get to them. nail biter .... would spraying some wd40 on the latch possibly help?