Fix Acura Hood that Won't Stay up

Symptoms

The hood strut may be the culprit if you are experiencing any of the following problems.

• Hood won't stay up or open
• Hood stays open for a few seconds, then shuts
• Hood closes automatically

What you will need

• ACURA Hood Lift Support
• Flathead Screwdriver
• A friend 

Procedure

Follow these instructions to change the hood struts in Acura vehicles. Plan on approximately 30 minutes of labor. Be careful not to injure yourself.

1. Open the hood of the ACURA model. The hood latch release is located under the dashboard on the driver's side.
   Watch this video if you need help on how to open the ACURA hood.
2. Secure the hood in the upright position. Locate the hood struts that need to be replaced. 
   • Above, you can see the location of the hood support on an Acura TLX.
   • Below you can see the location of the hood support on an Acura TL, which has two.
3. Have a friend hold up the hood of your ACURA as you change the hood strut.  
4. Locate the clip that locks the hood support locks to the ball joint. Here is the hood clip that you need to remove. 
5. There is also another clip on the other end of the hood strut. 
6. Use a flat screwdriver to pry out the clip that locks the hood strut in place.  
7. Follow the same procedure for the other end.  
8. Install the new hood support in reverse order. 
9. Repeat this procedure for the other side. Here is a video that shows you how to change the lift support. 

In this guide, you will learn how to replace the hood lift support on ACURA vehicles such as the MDX, NSX, RDX, RL RLX, RSX, SLX, TL TLX, ZDX, CDX, CL, VSX, EL, ILX, Integra, Legend.