Back in 2004 the car was in a small fender bender from behind. very minimal damage. but over time for some reason or another the hood has slowly been growing gaps. i think it may have had to do with the accident but I dont know. All I want to know is if there is anything I can do to fix these gaps? check em out and pleast let me know. i've got ocd and i'm gonna flip out if i have to look at this for too much longer.

 

I have already posted this in issues and problems but I think that it is relevent in this forum as well. I was in a slight fender bender from the rear and this may have been the cause of this issue but I dont know. The hood has shifted over time and has some serious gaps in it. Is there any way to fix this or am I pretty much screwed? Any kind of help or hint would be appreciated!!

 

Someone hit you from behind that you consider a slight bump? I doubt this caused your problem.

 

Bring it back to the body shop that did not fix it correctly. My shop has lifetime warranty of body work , painting and adjustments.

 

that section of the front bumper is adjustable in-out too

 

MAybe its a carbon fiber hood that is shrinking..

Ha ha ..

Mu ha ha

 

is there a diy or could you tell me how to adjust it?

 

well i figured it may not have anything to do with the accident, but i still dont know how to adjust the hood/bumper to fix the problem.

 

Undo the 4 bolts till they move slightly....re-align the hood and re-tighten the bolts...

If you got hit hard enough to bend the frame that much...you'd better call your INS CO

 

It actually looks like the hood is warped/twisted left to right.

 

Looks like nothing wrong with bumper. It's evident by the correct alignment with the headlamps.

Why do you suspect the fender bender from behind? Did you hit a car in front? From the looks of it, it looks like either your hood is bent or the hinges are bent.

Does anyone hang on to the passenger's side of the hood when it's propped open? The support is on the driver's side and you can see that the driver's side is higher.

 

If you hood was tweaked like that because of a rear hit i would expect the *** end of your car is pretty much gone. If this is somthing that has just gradually gotten worse over time then you have some issues with either somthing as simple as bolts being loose or somthin as serious as a very poor structural repair on your cars unibody structure , Is your car used?. A tip from an autobody guy look for the dumb stuff first if that fails get deeper and deeper till you find somthing. i would start with the hood bolts (and alot of patience) look at the hinges to see if its moved, if it has you will see where there was no paint under the bolts. if its off by any lil bit it will show in the gaps. If that does not appear to be the problem try seeing if the hood latch has moved or the stricker bar on the hood is bent, if so move the latch or bent the stricker back. If none of that works open the hood, grab the sides and twist it...that can bend things back into shape without breaking or messing anything up. I can not stress enough to check for loose bolts on all of the above and the surrounding area just to be sure thats not your problem, If none of this works at all seriously go to a good bodyshop and let them check things out for you.

 

I'm going to assume that you have already checked the height-adjustable stops near the front of the hood on the underside.

 

What that looks like to me is someone put some weight/pressure on the left side while the hood was propped up and warped it...

 

Dannobre has the idea here. You may find that one side loosened up from the hit in the rear, or that it just worked loose by itself. It's also possible that someone jerked your hood down when it was sticking a little bit, but you should be able to cure it with those bolts. You may need two people and a little patience though as it may take a few times to get it right.

 

Check the bump stops under the front of the hood.

 

Do we really need two threads about this?

 

Yes for noobs

No for us.

 

I think you've got it. I can't imagine a minor rearender would affect the hood like that. I suspect that someone attempted to shut the hood with the prop in place and put a "twist" in the hood. See if a body shop can "remove" the twist.

 

Yes I am still a noob and I was so pissed that I wanted to post 2 threads...sue me. I really appreciate all the help and advice though. I just wasnt thinking about the fact that it could just be twisted and didnt even think about the alignment of the bumper and lights itself. so that takes care of the rearend theory. I'm sure that with what I got from all of you, I will be able to care of this once and for all. thanks

 

Two threads bad,

One thread better.

S

 

I really appreciate all the help here. I am going to check EVERYTHING mentioned, but it's a general concensous that it is the hood bumpers, the bolts or someone pulled on the hood while it was up. Thanks alot for everyones help.