ok, so ive never had any problems with my hood before, including the last time i opened it...
so i just tried opening it like a minute ago and it seems like it doesnt want to open all the way.. so i tried not pushing too hard, but im pushing a bit trying to figure out what is going on
and i... chipped all this paint where its circled

cuz the hood wont open without touching piece right next to it... the otherside isnt opening like this.. does anybody know what the problem might be?
i need to hurry up and fix this cuz i need a working hood for the work im doing on the car tomorrow, so please help asap!

 

I think it's something about winter ****ing up the joints that move it up, I'm pretty sure you need to oil both of them and it should go back to normal. Need someone to back me up on that though.

 

thanks.. is there a technique to make it open properly until i oil them?

 

Its hard to tell in the pic, but it looks like not only is it not aligned (right to left) but also raised up quite a bit… is the hood line flush with the fender line? If not, make sure you didn’t leave a tool in engine compartment (that could be impeding the hood from closing properly).

As for the right to left alignment – that’s pretty simple to correct; loosen the nuts on the hinges and lower hood to where its almost closed – its very light so you will be able to inch it right or left to line up (it only takes a tiny bit of light force to move it) – once its centered, carefully lift hood and tighten the nuts real good... close hood and check for fitment… sometimes it takes a couple attempts to get it perfect (if you are a fanatic like me and want it dead center).

 

What year is your car? If you still have warranty you can take it to the dealer and they should fix it. I had a similar problem where it was rather stiff to open and it chipped the passenger side corner. The dealer replaced both my hinges and repainted, or rather "blended" my fender. they did a great job, even covered up some other minor blemishes that where on the fender as a side affect of the paint job

The hinges seem flawed where they start to bind/seize up and then they bend from the leverage of the hood when opening and closing. This causes the alignment mess up which leads to the hood hitting the corner of the fender. I am not quite sure why these hinges have this problem. I had a '99 Infiniti G20 that never once had any problems with the hinges in all it's 112k+ miles.

 

It's a common problem, the hood hinge is bent

 

thanks for the help guys.. looks like i need new hinges.. my car is an 04 so the warranty is up.. im just pissed about all that paint i chipped off... i managed to open it with clearing the other part, so i should be able to do that again when i need to open it tomorrow.

 

If you do a search, you will find some info on bent hood hinges. Sounds like a pain to replace them since the fenders have to be removed too. Good luck when you decide to replace them! Let us know how it turns out.

 

and if it does need oil you have to reallign the hood to....took me like an hour to do mine. the trick is to push it up more than side to side

 

I noticed that if you pull up in the same place where hood dampers would normally be placed, then you avoid the binding of the hinges -- seems like having hood dampers installed from the beginning would ensure this problem never happens.

 

Same thing happened to mine and chipped both fenders. Seems like the hood hinges buckled or something and it isn't aligned properly. In my case, I couldnt get the hood open at all so I didn't even try to force it or bend it to avoid damage to the body.

DEALER COVERED REPAIRS 100%. They offered to paint it but I wouldn't want the front end repainted for such a small area. They touched it up and I talked them into giving my car free maintenance up to $500. HOLMAN INFINITI in Maple Shade, NJ was the dealership.

 

Sorry to be that guy that revives a dead post...but....
Same thing has happend to me, will have to post pictures in a few days but. I think that the hood dampers may have cause this problem in the first place. considering that my car is an 03 and I got it then put the hood dampers on sometime in 15. The problem didn't arise until 16. sooooooo, hood dampers = weird hood hinge wear.

 

I would also accept the idea that the hood hinges were already marginally out of wack and I just provoked them more by putting on the dampers. Don't really want to go to the dealership and spend money I don't have right now.
Wonder if there is a cheaper solution... I am not afraid of taking off fenders. So, what needs to be done after they are off? Are the hinges a replaceable part? Or are the part of another assembly?

 

The hinges are replaceable, you can get them for about $15-20 each. You actually don't have to remove the fenders to replace the hinges. You have to remove the bolts that attach along the top of the fender by the hood and there is one bolt that you have to remove by opening the front door that attaches the back of the fender. You need to remove the screws that hold the plastic wheel well liner to the fender and you'll need to remove the headlight bolts, and pull the headlight out just enough to get some wiggle room for the fender. From there all you need to do is gently pull the fender away from the body to reach the hidden bolt that attaches to the back of the hood hinge.

Also, one thing you can try before buying a new hinge is apply lots of white lithium grease to the hinge and slowly work the hinge loose by opening and closing the hood several times. You want to work the grease into the crappy joint on the hood hinge and it might free it up enough to get it to close properly.

 

Oh, someone actually read this awesome. Have you had to do this yourself? Also, it sounds like taking off the fender might make this job much easier...too bad it's winter