pkugrsq

I got my 2014 back from the repair shop Christmas Eve, but there was one thing that kept bothering me. It's that damn hood latch when you close the hood. The problem was there before and it's still there. Of all five cars at the house, my car is the only one that gives a hard time closing the hood. I could just keep dropping the hood, but I fear the latch will eventually break. Anyone have any known fixes to make closing the hood easier?

AzPete

Drop it from about 1 foot up.....works for all the ones I have had before and currently. Of course, keep it lubed too.

pkugrsq

Lube the hook? Any wont it still break eventually?

AzPete

I use a bit of spay lithium lube. Never seen or heard of a hood latch breaking on the s197's.

BrazenStang

+1. The hood is not as heavy as others because it is not steel so it needs a little momentum behind it to fully latch. Keep it lubed and you'll be fine. The latch is a beefy part.

Clevor

Tell me about it. When I tried to close the hood on my 2013 at the dealer I had to try several times. The saleman was laughing. On my 2000 Honda Accord, it closes real easy. On the Mustang, I had to drop it from maybe 1.5 feet up to get it to catch. Same with the trunk lid. On the Honda, just give it a nudge to close, on the Mustang, you have to slam it.

The only thing that closes easy on the 2013 are the doors; they are so heavy, you can flick it with a finger to shut it.

Cruzinaround

Ummm...this just doesn't sound right???? I don't slam my hood down to shut it. Didn't have to with the OEM and I don't do it now with the aftermarket hood. I can just bring it down and give a little push and "CLICK" it catches. I only made a slight adjustment to the catch on the new hood to adjust how it sits when closed , otherwise it worked fine.

I don't think it would be good long term to have to constantly keep slamming it down???? Maybe you might need some hood pins, because it seems the latch is not 100% trustworthy?

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157dB

No fear, your latch will never break ever from slamming the hood too hard. It is designed that way so as to not break no matter how
hard the hood is slammed.

You cant go comparing your Mustang to other makes of vehicles.
It is a horse of its own breed...

Either adjust the catch or live with it.

AzPete

I have seen several hoods dented by "gently" pushing them down to latch. Ford says drop it as described also. If the latch us set to high, it could allow for more hood vibration at speed and can also give cause for adjusting the hood bumpers to high.

05xrunner

yea that annoys the crap out of me. my previous 2010 hood had to slam it to close it. I hated doing that and this 12 is the same way it takes alot of force to close it. I hate dropping it from high up and would never push on it for a fear of a dent it would cause