A freak thing happened to my G at the track in Loudon, NH a few days ago. I left the hood up to cool the engine down and took a ride in my instructor's car. Upon returning 20 minutes later, the hood was now down about 6 inches open. It wouldn't close at all and when I lifted it up, I realized that a gust of wind had lifted the hood up off the prop and bent it way backwards bending the hinges and the tops of each front quarter panel. It's now an expensive repair. This is probably a design flaw of the hood prop. So, be very careful opening the hood when facing a strong wind.

that's good to know. but i don't think it's a flaw in engineering/design. but rather, it's a freak accident due to unforseen forces of nature. i don't think any designer would ever think of situations involving high winds with the hood partially open during their design process. it would be like blaming the designers when you leave the windows down during a downpour......why couldn't they design the windows so that water can't get in if the windows are down!??!!? : )~

yeah - not a design flaw, it will happen to any hood if aenough wind hits it

There was no damage to the slot into which the strut fits. The strut just didn't hang on. They'd have to design a hook that doesn't let go. If the hook just stayed in the slot, everything would have been fine. We're not talking hurricane winds here. This could happen in a gas station just going inside to buy some windshield washer solution.

true

sure it's true, the point being it is true on almost any car.
The hood is a huge wind catch/sail a 20 - 30 mile gust will tear up almost any hood if it hits it dead on. The basic reason all hoods have a second latch when you go to open them.

The stand bar is a prop, not a latch.

While at the track, you can prop open the hood with its post, then use a rope
and tie it down so the hood doesn't open any further... kind of a common sense
thing for CF hood users, but also applies to factory hoods under high winds.

Wind erosion at work.

file a claim on your insurance, it would be a "comprehensive claim" due to the forces of nature, and will be fixed at no cost to you, not even your deductible...

any have a automatic hood lift or mod ? so you wouldnt have to use the prop??

yeah..don't understand why our car don't have the Damper to hold the hood up
with the price we paid ???
if there was a damper the hood may not flip backward

A while back a couple of forum members were "testing" a gas strut type of support. Unfortunately, the hood being aluminum, and the strut having to exert so much pressure to keep it up and sturdy, the hood would buckle, and so the idea was shelved.

They tried several types of gas struts, and re-inforcements to try to eliminate the buckling, but the shocks were either too weak, or the hood would not support the pressure...

The early owners tried and failed. maybe some of you new comers can come up with a better solution. I sure wish I had two gas struts that would hold and support the hood without damage.

Same thing happened to pimpinpearls car just a few weeks ago in CFL. Maybe you'll feel better to know you're not the only person who's experienced this happening.

All infiniti's have gas strut hood props. All except for the g35's. The fact that the hood is a composite means that the pressure from a gas strut will dammage it as said above.

I agree...file a claim...however, check your policy for the amount of your comprehensive deductible....there usually is a comp deductible that you will have to pay.....here in TX, you can choose the amount of your deductibles (both collision and comp), but the lower the ded, the higher the premium (payments)....I have only a $100 comp deductible on my policies....comp covers "other than collision" losses, including acts of nature, theft, vandalism, shopping carts, door dings, etc.....good luck....