sameer71992

What's up guys, I just got this 2000 ex 5 speed. It's my first manual car and all, so I'm still learning...and this is my first post. Anyways, The hood refuses to close all the way. It hooks into the safety latch, but I can't push or slam it into the main latch.

I found somewhere online (I can't remember where) that the problem is within the cable not resetting the latch properly. That is to say, when I open the hood from inside the car, the cable pulls the mechanism to release the main latch, but the locking mechanism does not reset for the hood to lock on again. I also read that pushing the mechanism where the cable attaches to the latch towards the driver side will reset the latch manually.

I haven't tried this yet (since it's dark out), but I'm hoping this will work. Has this method worked for others? What's the best way to fix this problem? Lubricating might work, but I'm low on lube and my girl is coming over tomorrow, so I gotta save... /kidding

lol let me know

edit:
I did search the forums for a similar post. Maybe I got inpatient with searching, but I couldn't find a post with a straightforward answer as to how to fix it, or how others deal with the problem.

ezone

Clicky:
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/217-mechanical-problems-vehicle-issues-fix-forum/349885-hood-latch-stuck-open.html

Probably needs a new cable like the rest.
HTH

sameer71992

I looked at that page already. I had a bit of time this morning to look at it. The hood seems to go down a bit further when the safety hook is pushed towards the engine slightly (the hook is only meant to move horizontally...that is to say, tangent to the direction of me pushing it). I'm about to go out and try to push it in with a knife or ruler and close the hood. If I don't get it to work, I will post a picture.

edit: Problem (not entirely) solved. I found how to close the hood. the safety hook needs to be pushed in to a certain point where I can feel the hood depress further. Although I have to do this each time I want to close the hood, I feel better knowing where the problem lies. Thanks for the help!

ezone

Have you sprayed the latch mechanisms with penetrating oil?

Lordsin

Spray 1 can of WD-40 then wait for it to dry then try again, If it still fails but latches better spray engine degreaser and wash it off with water then spray WD-40 again. I had the same issue on my old TOTALED 1995 Honda Civic Ex. Worked like a charm

sameer71992

It's not that a mechanism is not resetting...the safety hook just isn't lining up properly to latch. I have to push it a few millimeters back for it to latch. The physical hook itself moves up down, left and right, when it should only move left and right...lol