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Hood Shaking While at Hwy Speeds?

40K views 50 replies 22 participants last post by  ravenuer 
#1 ·
At hwy speeds, I notice the hood shakes a bit. Enough so that when I first had the car (its a new-to-me used '06), and drove it at speed, I pulled over, thinking that perhaps the it was not fully closed/latched.

Well, it was tight upon inspection, but it continues to shake a bit when the wind hits it. I wonder if the latch is wearing or something is loose. Over time, it may become worse.

Anyone else with this problem?
 
#4 ·
Yes, it is all too common. The latching mechanism is plastic believe it or not. I had the latch replaced under warranty but the hood still flaps, just not quite as much. That's the next TSB many of us are waiting on.
 
#5 ·
Yipes. Plastic? If that piece snaps while we're in motion, can you imagine the danger with a hood flapping in our face then it would likely snap off and fly into another car's windshield, cause other cars to swerve out of the way as the hood jumps across the lanes.

That should be a recall, not just a TSB. What's the TSB number?
 
#7 ·
ah, no tsb...yet. hopefully no one has a hood fly open on them. that's all toyota needs is more bad rap.

from reading the other threads that i was directed to, it seems some folks are using weatherstripping to seal out the wind and water. well, another trip to vato, i mean autozone.
 
#8 ·
I had the weatherstripping changed under warranty. The four cylinder and the V-6 come with two different types. My V-6 came with the four cylinder style rubber strips under the hood. Seems like I posted pictures here somewhere........

The change did nothing at all, zero. I wouldn't waste my time with it.
 
#9 ·
ravageme said:
At hwy speeds, I notice the hood shakes a bit. Enough so that when I first had the car (its a new-to-me used '06), and drove it at speed, I pulled over, thinking that perhaps the it was not fully closed/latched.
Funny I did the exact same thing. I pulled over because I had just checked my oil level and seen the hood shaking and I thought for sure it was not latched properly. Now I just ignore it but it concerns me that one day it will not be latched and I will just ignore it as being normal.
 
#10 ·
It is not normal, they don't all do it. I've never seen the hood shake at any speed and I've had my RAV up over 100 mph. There has got to be an adjustment either in the latch, bumper stops, or weatherstripping that will solve this. Unless there is something different about the hood structure.
 
#12 ·
Interesting that there's many of this with the shaking. Mine is not just the center, but the whole hood. I'd think its the wind turbulence forcing itself under the hood causing the flex we're seeing. Very unsettling to see. It's gotta be wearing on the latch. I just worry if over time it could work loose.

We'll never know the longterm effects. It could be one of those problems that doesn't become a safety issue until many more years from now. This body style is only 4 yrs old.
 
#13 ·
D0T-C0M said:
The hood on mine isn't loose at the latch. Its as if the hood itself isn't braced enough underneath. There's a slight distortion or wobbling when driving over 40-50mph near the center of the hood.
Agreed... mine does the same. It's as it was made with cheap tin and no bracing under the hood. In my opinion another cost cutting measure. Because the hood moves so much it does act as a safety factor. I would be scared to death to see what my car could do on a long open road. I'm afraid the hood would rip off and go over the roof on it's way out.

It just really shouldn't do this at legal speeds, not at all. This is a design problem, no doubt. I await the next TSB on this one.
 
#14 ·
I see it now. First a TSB, then a recall reads:

"Certain model Rav4, the hood can come loose after reaching freeway speeds causing it to break free and hit other cars and serious injuries. Dealers should inspect the latch mechanism and replace if loose." Ha, after only so many thousands of injuries. We dont need another "floormat" type problem. Nor does Toyota. It would behove Toyota to act on this now, in light of recent bad rap.
 
#15 ·
junebug1701 said:
It is not normal, they don't all do it. I've never seen the hood shake at any speed and I've had my RAV up over 100 mph. There has got to be an adjustment either in the latch, bumper stops, or weatherstripping that will solve this. Unless there is something different about the hood structure.
It's not normal with your car but it is normal for many others including me. You can't judge by one car only. There are far too many complaints here about this problem to proclaim "It's not normal". It is indeed a problem with many many owners but you haven't seen it yet. I'm glad yours doesn't dance about but there are tons of others that do.

It is totally unnerving so please don't dismiss it so lightly just because you haven't seen it on your ride. The problem is real and it does exist.

Should ANY car's hood move about like this? NO, and in that instance I would agree with you, it is not normal. The fact of the matter is that it is common with the RAV 4.3.
I would entertain any means to stop it but none are available so far.
 
#16 ·
ravageme said:
I see it now. First a TSB, then a recall reads:

"Certain model Rav4, the hood can come loose after reaching freeway speeds causing it to break free and hit other cars and serious injuries. Dealers should inspect the latch mechanism and replace if loose." Ha, after only so many thousands of injuries. We dont need another "floormat" type problem. Nor does Toyota. It would behove Toyota to act on this now, in light of recent bad rap.
I hope something comes of this and they can establish a repair.
 
#17 ·
With the hood in the closed position I would think there would be more downforce than lift.
Bumper stops have adjustment in them, that's the first thing I'd check.

Has anyone had a latch break and caused the hood to fly open?
I really can't see a latch breaking from this, but then again "I ain't no engineer"
 
#44 · (Edited)
mine did that and the two rst stops at the front of the hud are adjustable.they are threaded to adjust how the hood rest in the down positon.try adjusting them out further till the shake is gone.
It stopped it 100%. All you do is turn them out by hand. Another way to tell if they're adjusted properly is to put a little piece of tape with the sticky side up on the bumpers. Very gently close the hood, then open it to see if the hood 'picked up the tape'. IF it didn't .... go another half turn., etc, etc .... you don't want a lot of pressure on the bumpers ... just touching. At least that's the way I adjusted them. Worked like a charm. Mine were all the way down originally.

REV


Ding Ding Ding!

Solved mine! I was driving mine home the 120 miles from the dealership I bought it from, had the whole clench my brown doughnut when a truck passed me in the opposite direction thinking I was in that damned movie Final Destination watching my hood wiggle like the first girl I went down on! I pulled over pretty quickly thinking exactly what a bunch of you reported, that I hadn't closed the hood correctly when I was looking at the engine... but it was fine.

First thing I did when I got home was hop on to Rav4World and do a search. LOTS of people talking about exotic fixes didn't seem quite right to me. Tried the easiest one I could find (If it didn't work I was going to go to the next easiest... and so on...) and bada-bing bada-boom.
This fix should be made a sticky in my eyes.

BTW, the tape trick is DA BOMB!
 
#20 ·
Re: adjustment

ravrunner said:
mine did that and the two rst stops at the front of the hud are adjustable.they are threaded to adjust how the hood rest in the down positon.try adjusting them out further till the shake is gone.

That sounds about right.

Also, I thought race cars use pins primarily for weight reduction and less moving parts to go wrong. I guess I learn something new every day.
 
#21 ·
I had the dealer adjust mine. It no longer flaps in the wind at speed.
 
#22 ·
Re: adjustment

ravrunner said:
mine did that and the two rst stops at the front of the hud are adjustable.they are threaded to adjust how the hood rest in the down positon.try adjusting them out further till the shake is gone.
Been there done that 100 times over. No difference whatsoever........it still moves around. Our other RAV? No movement at all!
 
#23 ·
Re: adjustment

ravrunner said:
mine did that and the two rst stops at the front of the hud are adjustable.they are threaded to adjust how the hood rest in the down positon.try adjusting them out further till the shake is gone.
It worked for mine. I adjusted them 1/2 turn at a time, and then attempted to lift the hood and/or wiggle it. You can tell when you've resolved it. Takes about 5 minutes.

Hint lift/wiggle the hood BEFORE you adjust it so you know what it feels like when you start adjusting it.

REV
 
#24 ·
Re: adjustment

revhigh said:
ravrunner said:
mine did that and the two rst stops at the front of the hud are adjustable.they are threaded to adjust how the hood rest in the down positon.try adjusting them out further till the shake is gone.
It worked for mine. I adjusted them 1/2 turn at a time, and then attempted to lift the hood and/or wiggle it. You can tell when you've resolved it. Takes about 5 minutes.

Hint lift/wiggle the hood BEFORE you adjust it so you know what it feels like when you start adjusting it.

REV
did it stop the hood flex?
 
#25 ·
It stopped it 100%. All you do is turn them out by hand. Another way to tell if they're adjusted properly is to put a little piece of tape with the sticky side up on the bumpers. Very gently close the hood, then open it to see if the hood 'picked up the tape'. IF it didn't .... go another half turn., etc, etc .... you don't want a lot of pressure on the bumpers ... just touching. At least that's the way I adjusted them. Worked like a charm. Mine were all the way down originally.

REV
 
#26 ·
ravageme said:
Well, someone said the latch is plastic. i repeat, plastic.
No, I inspected my hood latch yesterday. It is metal, top and bottom. However, there IS black plastic covering the metal parts, so it might look that way.
 
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