Hood suddenly out of alignment???

[L5211]

My daughter has an 06 M45 sport.

She took the car for an oil change. Later that night I walked past it in the garage and I could see the hood was too short in the front. Thinking it just wasn't closed right, I attempted to open it and it was hard to open.

It definitely is out of alignment. At the windshield it is visible that it no longer matches up with the side panels and in the front it's about 1/4 too short.

Does anyone know why this happened or how to fix it? Do I need a mechanic or a body shop to do the adjustment?

[EdBwoy]

Are you saying the hood seems to have slid backwards? If so, it depends on how far back, but a socket set (those 4 nuts are between 12-14mm) and a helper will get you sorted out.

As to why suddenly, unless someone swapped the hood and just didn't have the patience to replace it correctly (I'm half serious btw, check those nuts for signs of tampering), then the hinges might be going out (very rare for this model year) and it just became apparent after the oil change.

[steve_c]

I agree with Edbwoy
While it could be something simple like hood hinges or bolts loosened up,
it could be an indication that something or someone caused the problem. Check the hood struts, one could have seized, see if any are bent.
Is the problem only with the hood fitting too far rearward? Is hood alignment side to side along the fenders OK?
Check the gaps along the edges of the front door to the rear of the front fenders. Are those gaps nice & even?

[L5211]

Yes, exactly - the hood seems to have slid back toward the windshield about 1/4 inch. I noticed it right away, but being a teenager she was going out on the weekend and I didn't get a chance to look into it.

Driving down the highway on Saturday afternoon she saw the hood molding (chrome across the front) start vibrating. Before she could take a exit it ripped off the car a flew away. I just bought a new one which was 100.00.

When my daughter gets home from school I will look more closely at the side gaps and the hinges.

If the hood struts are the hydraulic things that hold the hood up, they haven't worked in years. I have to prop it with a golf club.

[EdBwoy]

Yeah, odd situation. Did someone hit something to break the trim fasteners & also push it back?

And yes, those are the hood support struts. Pretty cheap and easy to install if you're inclined to look into it.
Check the hood closely for slight buckling as well. And those struts extended to see if locking pliers were used to hold them up.

[steve_c]

Yeah, odd situation. Did someone hit something to break the trim fasteners & also push it back?....

Yep!
That is where I am also. Hood could have been pushed back from the hood trim as point of impact, damaging the hood trim.
The only mystery to that theory is the hood still latches closed. Someone would have had to re-align the hood lock mechanisms to work with the hood in its new position I would think....!

[L5211]

There was no evidence of a dent or tampering. I did wonder if she hit something but nary a scratch, dent or ding.

That "chrome" molding is just plastic.

If I knew how to upload pics I would.

[EdBwoy]

Yes please, pictures would help. Here are some ways to upload pics:

1. using IMGUR
2. using PHOTOBUCKET
3. using TINYPIC

If you don't intend to post many pictures in the future to warrant creating an account with one of those 3, then Option 4 is you send them to [REDACTED] and I'll make magic happen.

[L5211]

I hope I'm doing this right

http://s347.photobucket.com/user/L5211/library/
http://s347.photobucket.com/user/L5211/library/
http://s347.photobucket.com/user/L5211/library/
http://s347.photobucket.com/user/L5211/library/
http://s347.photobucket.com/user/L5211/library/

[steve_c]

Looked at my hood compared to your photos. I agree, seems like your hood line along the windshield in relation to the fenders is off, as if your hood was pushed back.
However it was done, the force applied was just enough to push the hood rearward, and breaking the trim off in the process. I am thinking maybe the car hood was up & damage occurred while it was being lifted, (hit an overhead object) or maybe someone pushed on the hood in the area of the trim in an attempt to roll the car rearward causing the damage.
BTW, although a bit fuzzy, one of the photos shows 2 beautiful dogs in the back round. What breed are they?

[L5211]

Yeah, I noticed it right after an oil change. Bought new molding and lifts and taking it to be aligned next week.

Best dogs in the world - standard poodles. Not puffy haircut standard poodles, but lets go hunting standard poodles. They don't shed, they don't smell are vicious when strangers come in the property and don't need much training.