Discussion
Saleen836 said:
I 'pop' my bonnet ready for the tester to open and do his checks in/around the engine bay, he leaves it for me to close properly when the MOT is finished, never heard of a bonnet causing a car to fail it's MOT
Given the secondary latch is a key safety feature and saw the aftermath of a failed one to a mate's Clio, I'm surprised more haven't.It is part of the test.
A car should fail if the bonnet cannot be properly secured closed or if the primary bonnet closing device is "excessively deteriorated, ineffective or insecure".
Curiously the secondary catch is not part of the test.
The tester's handbook explicitly says the tester should close the bonnet "in the normal way" so he is probably technically right to fail it if you have to slam it.
ETA: it's not likely to need a new bonnet though! Probably just needs aligning properly and/or greasing.
A car should fail if the bonnet cannot be properly secured closed or if the primary bonnet closing device is "excessively deteriorated, ineffective or insecure".
Curiously the secondary catch is not part of the test.
The tester's handbook explicitly says the tester should close the bonnet "in the normal way" so he is probably technically right to fail it if you have to slam it.
ETA: it's not likely to need a new bonnet though! Probably just needs aligning properly and/or greasing.
Edited by kambites on Monday 5th August 18:08
Roo said:
You have to drop the bonnets on lots of cars to shut them properly.
If you lower them down and then push them to close you'll dent them.
This may be the difference between dropping the bonnet from 4 inches up and from two feet. If you lower them down and then push them to close you'll dent them.
Although I've never come across a car in decent condition which you can't close by pushing with one or both palms above the latch(es). With the possible exception of some front-hinged bonnets where you can't reach both sides.
Edited by kambites on Monday 5th August 18:13
kambites said:
This may be the difference between dropping the bonnet from 4 inches up and from two feet.
Although I've never come across a car in decent condition which you can't close by pushing with one or both palms above the latch(es). With the possible exception of some front-hinged bonnets where you can't reach both sides.
Whereas I've come across plenty that have 2 dents from where people have closed it with their palms,metal can be really thin on some vehicles and easily damaged.Although I've never come across a car in decent condition which you can't close by pushing with one or both palms above the latch(es). With the possible exception of some front-hinged bonnets where you can't reach both sides.
Edited by kambites on Monday 5th August 18:13
Always safer to drop from about a foot normally
kambites said:
Roo said:
You have to drop the bonnets on lots of cars to shut them properly.
If you lower them down and then push them to close you'll dent them.
This may be the difference between dropping the bonnet from 4 inches up and from two feet. If you lower them down and then push them to close you'll dent them.
Although I've never come across a car in decent condition which you can't close by pushing with one or both palms above the latch(es). With the possible exception of some front-hinged bonnets where you can't reach both sides.
Sounds like the OP's is a bodge though.
V8covin said:
Whereas I've come across plenty that have 2 dents from where people have closed it with their palms
Fair enough, I've never seen that. Mind you most of the cars I've worked on have been moderately old, I suppose they may have thinned down the bonnets for pedestrian impact reasons in the last few years. Roo said:
You have to drop the bonnets on lots of cars to shut them properly.
If you lower them down and then push them to close you'll dent them.
Agree. Some tIf you lower them down and then push them to close you'll dent them.
t, at a service, pushed my E36 bonnet down and dented it (handbook says drop). Strangely my current F30 335d handbook says push down!, NO WAY will I do that. The E36 had the unlatch lever inside by lower driver’s A pillar. And the secondary latch under the hood (sorry, bonnet). The 335d has the primary latch in same base, the secondary latch is a second pull of same lever.
Summary: a drop from 300 - 450 mm would seem about right for all rear hinged bonnets. And the joys of gas struts and no stays, ah! Remember not to leave any tools, caps, etc in engine bay/on rocker cover etc.
kambites said:
It is part of the test.
A car should fail if the bonnet cannot be properly secured closed or if the primary bonnet closing device is "excessively deteriorated, ineffective or insecure".
Curiously the secondary catch is not part of the test.
The tester's handbook explicitly says the tester should close the bonnet "in the normal way" so he is probably technically right to fail it if you have to slam it.
ETA: it's not likely to need a new bonnet though! Probably just needs aligning properly and/or greasing.
Greasing is key here. The latch(es) can get rusty on old cars as the elements get in there.A car should fail if the bonnet cannot be properly secured closed or if the primary bonnet closing device is "excessively deteriorated, ineffective or insecure".
Curiously the secondary catch is not part of the test.
The tester's handbook explicitly says the tester should close the bonnet "in the normal way" so he is probably technically right to fail it if you have to slam it.
ETA: it's not likely to need a new bonnet though! Probably just needs aligning properly and/or greasing.
Edited by kambites on Monday 5th August 18:08
Pica-Pica said:
Agree. Some tt, at a service, pushed my E36 bonnet down and dented it (handbook says drop).
How on earth did they manage that? The E36's bonnet has a damned great box-section welded along the underside of the leading edge, I'd have thought you could jump and and down on it without denting it! Or did some idiot push in the middle of the bonnet rather than on the leading edge?t, at a service, pushed my E36 bonnet down and dented it (handbook says drop). I can quite believe you can dent a bonnet if you push on part which is just the outer skin with no underlying support, but I don't think I've ever seen a bonnet without a reinforcing box-section somewhere which you can safely use. If nothing else, the bonnet catch itself needs something pretty strong to attach to.
Edited by kambites on Monday 5th August 19:00
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