Five problems related to hood hinge have been reported for the 1999 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1999 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the front hood of the vehicle would not remain open in a fixated position. If the hood collapses onto a person, he or she could be seriously injured or killed. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the cause of the failure was the front hood lift cylinder. She has not had the vehicle inspected. The failure mileage was 75,000 and current mileage was 82,000. Updated 4/23/09 updated 04/28/09.
The contact owns a 1999 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rod that is used to keep the hood lifted is too small. The rod does not keep the hood propped up and causes it to close. The hood has never fallen on him, but he has had many close calls. The vehicle has not been to the dealer, but they stated that the failure was the contact's responsibility. The current mileage was 35,000 and failure mileage was 30,000.
The factory hood shocks are too small and cannot hold the weight of the hood. This resulted in the hood slamming shut without warning. The hood would stay up for five minutes.
The pressurized lift rods which hold the hood up failed several times, but the first time the hood fell and pinned my fingers under the closed hood. I feel the cooler air temperature (45 degrees) contributed to the failure. It hasn't occured during the warmer times of the year.
1999 Explorer hood does not stay open when lifted. The gas lift supports failed and caused the hood to come crashing down on the consumer's head. The hood caused a gash and swelling on the consumer's forehead.