1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

front hood latch will not close, Prius 2007.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by maimee, Feb 13, 2021.

  1. maimee

    maimee New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2020
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    maine
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    prius 2007 hood safety latch won't close. how can I repair it?
     
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The cable may be broken or worse. Have you ever lubricated it?

    your very lucky most broken hood latches are the hood is stuck closed and that is not fun.

    Have to keep the latches and hinges lubricated. Take some pictures of it
    And post them.
     
  3. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2020
    3,203
    1,337
    0
    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Lubricate the latch (WD-40, oil, etc) and try it. I have seen the latch and cable damaged by rust and ended up having to replace both of them.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,463
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Are there rubber "bumpers" the hood lands on? The kind that screw in/out to adjust their height? Long shot, but maybe one or more of those is set too high?
     
  5. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2019
    1,329
    404
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Was it able to close previously, or is this a new (to you) car which has this problem?

    Was the car just in an accident?

    Does the latch "not close" because it does not reach its target (or is otherwise displaced) or because it does not move?

    Is the latch already closed? That may seem like a strange question, but if it has been triggered to close with a screw driver or some other object it cannot then engage its normal target until the hood release is pulled. If this is the case when the hood comes down there will be a load bang when the two pieces of metal collide. Depending on its design a broken release cable might on some cars cause the latch to close. I do not know if this is the case on a Prius.