Hood Support Jack won't stay in storage clip

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Nekota

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
616
Location
Sunnyvale, CA
Each time I open the hood I notice the hood support rod or jack is out of its storage clip. Apparently when hood is closed with support jack in clip the jack end engages the edge of the drivers side headlamp assembly and pushes the hood support jack out of the clip. It's possible to prevent this by pushing on the jack to keep it in the storage clip when closing the hood but this feature is one I find annoying. Anyone else notice this or have this problem? I just got my LEAF on the 11th of May and so much to learn and measure.
 
I've not had that problem, though I've noticed you have to push REALLY hard to get it to snap in completely. Perhaps yours isn't fully locked in place? Or the clip may be broken. Have your dealer check it if need be...
 
+1
The hood support rod snaps securely onto the clip, with one finger on the rod and another on the back of the clip.

Then, it must be snaped out, with on finger on the rod and one finger (thumb) on the large front face of the clip.

Sounds like you rod is not getting snapped into the clip properly, ...
possibly because the clip is broken.?
 
Thanks for the replies.

The clip seems to work fine and I can't see anything broken but the tip of the rod does interfere (~2mm interference) with the driver's side headlamp assembly as the hood is closed. I will have the dealer look at it and report back later this week.
 
When clipped up in place, the support rod should bend slightly to the rear (about 6 inches from the end), and thus clear the light assembly when closing the hood by about 0.2 inches.

Maybe there is some gasket on the light assembly that is sticking out too far.
 
I went out to look for myself. Indeed, the clearance is very small, so any variance would result in the problem you're having. I looked for things that could be installed "backwards", but there's little opportunity for that. The only possibility I see is the clip could possibly installed backwards. Then you'd have to pull the rod toward you instead of away to snap it. Otherwise...tolerances? Body damage? Headlight not installed correctly?
 
I'm curious to hear the result of this, please report back with the Dealer comments, Nekota. Particularly if they end up replacing the clip in some way.

Mine seems to be fine so far, but that clip feels flimsy to me, particularly where the clip is actually anchored to the hood. Granted, I shouldn't be getting into the hood too much other than to check fluids, but every time I'm trying to snap the rod in or out of that clip I think it's going to break.
 
I just came to this place to see if any one else had complain about the clip. My clip already seems to be a bit loose. I have opened the hood may be 4 times to show some interested people but already that clip feels like its not going to stay.
 
The problem is the metal bracket supporting the clip can be 'deformed' or bent either toward the front of the car or toward the rear. If it's 'bent' toward the front (or downward) it will cause the rod to interfere with the light housing and unseat itself from the plastic clip. The fix is to bend the metal bracket toward the back of the vehicle (or upwards) which increases the clearance between the support rod and the lamp housing. So the bottom line - the bracket is a bit 'flimsy' and may require 'tweaking' or have may have been 'damaged' by me when I pulled the support rod out of the plastic clip the first time. I've learned now the clip has a flat surface so when I 'unclip' I should squeeze the rod and clip rather than pull from the clip. I'm thinking it needs more reinforcing and should not be so easily deformed or damaged. I wonder if it's aluminum - magnet time!! edit- it is magnetic after all.
 
Nekota said:
so when I 'unclip' I should squeeze the rod and clip rather than pull from the clip. I'm thinking it needs more reinforcing and should not be so easily deformed or damaged. I wonder if it's aluminum - magnet time!! edit- it is magnetic after all.

Bingo! That's the way to do it.
 
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