Went for a ride to local cemeteries today to put out flowers. Had stiff wind from the east, we wnet north and then back south. The hood popped up FOUR TIMES!! The first two, only the front popped up, but the last two times, the whole thing came up. Luckily, the design kept it from folding back like a car hood would, but, DAMN, not something you want to see happening. All four happened went we met semi trucks and we all know what a 20 to 30 mph crosswind feels like.
Maybe I figured out what the problem is/was, but I wanted to ask, some folks with more experience than I have.
When we got home, I checked under the hodd. I put white grease lube on the latch mechanisms and the exposed release cables. I even looked for a way to tie the hood down but still be able to open it, even it would take longer. I did see that a strap could be run underneath and hooked to the hood mechanism, but it would take a little back yard engineering.
THEN . . hopefully, I figured it out. Openng and closing the hood a few times, I noticed that it didn't always fully latch by just dropping it closed. I could still once in awhile lift the front and get it to unlatch. NOT GOOD. Then I noticed that the release lever didn't always go clear to the top. If I purposely pulled it up, the hood seemed to latch OK. Otherwise, it could be unlatched.
So, has anyone else had the same experience? Have I just been lucky until today? Is there something else I'm missing?
I sure hope just making sure that having the release lever ALL THE WAY UP is the answer. I sure don't want to see the hood go over my head on the next windy day.