So I haven't opened the hood in a while and I pop it open today and lo and behold it's jammed and some paint gets scraped by the force of me lifting it up as it is misaligned. WTF. I inspect and see how I can re align it properly and am baffled how that it would shift on its own like that. Anyone have this problem? How do I fix it?

 

The hinge is probably worn out, it's supposed to lift UP and rotate at the same time, when they wear out they begin to rotate first before it lifts up. Causes rubbing on the fender.

 

cleric is correct, the hinge is starting to bind. You can spray some white lithium grease in there and move it around, and it should regain normal function.

If you don't lube it up soon, it will seize, and, if you're as super duper lucky as me, the hood will no longer line up, meaning on a 35°F Monday morning you'll have to remove your hood, pull the fender back, remove the hinge, call around to try and find a replacement, not find anything, hammer that sh*t back into shape, lube it up and wiggle it around like crazy until it finally gets unstuck, reinstall it, bolt the hood back on, get the hood and demon hinge lined back up with the fenders and hood latch, and finally get to work a few hours late with hypothermia!

edit: alright I lied, I called out of work and drank hot coco.

 

You can purchase the hinge for around $25 on Amazon. I plan on fixing this issue on my G this Tuesday
EDIT: I just actually fixed it today my hood wouldn’t shut on the Passanger side. Its a very easy fix with 2 people. You’ll have to unbolt your fender so you can have access to the hinges. Did it within 30mins in the Night time with a flashlight, 10mm 12mm and a flathead for the clips.

 

Dumb question to bump the thread. How do you tell which hinge is bad? The hood in my case is shifted to the drivers side such that it won’t latch by ~1/4”?

Or do you just replace them both since the other one is likely just as likely to fail, and you have to remove the hood anyway? Thanks!

 

I'd guess that the direction it's leaning is the side that seized, but I'll reiterate that it is possible to lube them, bend them back to shape, and use them trouble free for many years for the cost of a bottle of white lithium grease.

 

Thanks! I’ll try that first.

 

Worked! A few applications allowed it to jiggle free enough to shut properly.