Bonnet not locked before driving off. Popped up on motorway.

[LucasSilver]

I had the fright of my life today as my stupid ass forgot to close the bonnet and it came up while joining the traffic on M8 today. Driving along the traffic and gaining speed, everything was normal. Nice and chilled drive. And suddenly BOOM bonnet on the windscreen. My sleepy head went full awake. No hard shoulder. What to do??!! Emergency lights on, checked traffic, pulled up to the left and jumped out to at least lower it. Thank god it did lock when I slammed it down. Made it to my destination. Took me a while to calm down and rethink my ways of living.

What's the best course of action now? I looked up second hand bonnets, going around 50 to 150 quid. Side wings are slightly bent on the top. Bonnet struts were ripped out but hinges look and work intact.

[oragex]

Sorry to see this. At least the windshield is fine. I would replace the hood with used one if you can find the same color, these are aluminum made. I would make sure the latches work easily and smoothly - try pulling on the hood release lever gently without forcing, if the latches are stuck from hood deformation, the cable can snap and be a trouble to open. This made me remember one of these videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mHzoRPWrus

[BlueRubber]

You got very lucky, this happened to a colleague in his Corsa, he freaked out and crashed his car into a ditch and landed upside down ... was a pretty epic excuse to avoid going into work!

Replacement bonnets are usually much cheaper from if you take it from a scrapyard yourself, same for the wings.
I bought some replacement bonnet struts for my v70 for about £26 for the pair from Autodoc. I would recommend getting STABILUS ones as they make the struts for Volvo.
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/stabilus/2...t%20%20(033599)
They might also be for sale on ebay.

If it was me and the damage to the bonnet and wings is only cosmetic I would ignore it and just replace the struts.

[wynnj]

The spring loaded hook/latch that you have to release before opening the bonnet fully should have held it down even if it wasn't fully closed. Have you checked why that didn't happen?

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by wynnj

spring loaded hook/latch .. ?

this was my thought also, you drive around feeling safe in the knowledge that the latch exists, and then ...

wtf

[LucasSilver]

Originally Posted by oragex

Sorry to see this. At least the windshield is fine. I would replace the hood with used one if you can find the same color, these are aluminum made. I would make sure the latches work easily and smoothly - try pulling on the hood release lever gently without forcing, if the latches are stuck from hood deformation, the cable can snap and be a trouble to open. This made me remember one of these videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mHzoRPWrus

Thanks mate. What saved the windscreen were wipers coming up exactly at the mid point of it I think, then the bonnet slammed into them.

Originally Posted by wynnj

The spring loaded hook/latch that you have to release before opening the bonnet fully should have held it down even if it wasn't fully closed. Have you checked why that didn't happen?

Interesting. Should it work like this? Also, my concern was, why is there no message on the dash like there is for every single door and boot? Are you saying that upon releasing the bonnet it should still hold until you press the button to unlock it? The one you have to reach with your fingers? Thanks for this mate.

Originally Posted by BlueRubber

You got very lucky, this happened to a colleague in his Corsa, he freaked out and crashed his car into a ditch and landed upside down ... was a pretty epic excuse to avoid going into work!

Replacement bonnets are usually much cheaper from if you take it from a scrapyard yourself, same for the wings.
I bought some replacement bonnet struts for my v70 for about £26 for the pair from Autodoc. I would recommend getting STABILUS ones as they make the struts for Volvo.
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/stabilus/2...t%20%20(033599)
They might also be for sale on ebay.

If it was me and the damage to the bonnet and wings is only cosmetic I would ignore it and just replace the struts.

Damn man. Proper excuse for sure . I do consider myself very lucky today. Judging by the photos I attached, do you think I can drive it as normal and not be afraid of water damage? All seals are intact, the bonnet locks in place well. I've just done a test run for about 30 miles andeverything seems intact.

A few questions here. I know I can replace the bonnet easily myself. How hard or easy are side wings to remove and reinstall? Do I need any special tools? I have the color code for the car. Is it easy/would you trust sellers on ebay to grab a used piece?

[LucasSilver]

Originally Posted by wynnj

The spring loaded hook/latch that you have to release before opening the bonnet fully should have held it down even if it wasn't fully closed. Have you checked why that didn't happen?

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

this was my thought also, you drive around feeling safe in the knowledge that the latch exists, and then ...

wtf

Made me shiver. How well should it keep the thing buckled? I was going 70mph on an upward slope with wind blowing my way.

Please bear with me, I'm a newbie and it is my first car

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by LucasSilver

Are you saying that upon releasing the bonnet it should still hold until you press the button to unlock it? The one you have to reach with your fingers?

for sure, yeah, that's what it's there for!? I guess all mechanicals can go wrong though, I will definitely check mine now. pull the release lever and tug on it to see it it's still held firmly

I know someone who sneezed when driving on ice and ditched it lol the right way up though, and on his own farm so his dad came with the tracc'er (oo arrr) and tugged him out

if the wings are a write off anyway it cant hurt to hold a block on wood on and tap away with a mallet, you never know you might get them back to reasonably correct shape? I'd try that first. just go slowly and try to find/make a block the right shape, maybe wrap it in a thick cloth to protect the paint a bit?

[LucasSilver]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

for sure, yeah, that's what it's there for!? I guess all mechanicals can go wrong though, I will definitely check mine now. pull the release lever and tug on it to see it it's still held firmly

I know someone who sneezed when driving on ice and ditched it lol the right way up though, and on his own farm so his dad came with the tracc'er (oo arrr) and tugged him out

Haha, well, the bonnet always felt firm and in place after releasing it. I wonder if there is a certain amount of force that will pull it up regardless. Which happened today. Mind you, the temperature was 3 degrees below zero. Could that have been a contributing factor. Let's keep in mind this is a 15 year old vehicle. I do have problems with boot reporting as being open while it's locked or not locking at all below negative 8

But then again I'm not looking for excuses but solutions

[stuart bowes]

you could go max power style and put some bonnet pins on i suppose

http://www.carmate.com/product_detai...d=UNIUNABPCMBP

or the old 60's rally leather straps