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Bonnet Popped up


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Hi guys,

I would like to ask if anyone can advise me with my bonnet on a 2018 Lexus IS 300H.

It popped open due to a minor collision, but I’m unsure what needs doing, do I need new sensors or is this something I would need resetting at dealership?spacer.png

thank you,

Phil

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According to my handbook - 

"The Pop Up Hood system cannot be
reused once it has operated. Have it
replaced by any authorized Lexus retailer
or Lexus authorized repairer, or any reliable
repairer."

"When the Pop Up Hood is operated
●Do not pull the hood lock release lever.
Doing so after the Pop Up Hood has
operated will further raise the hood
and may cause an injury. Do not drive
with the hood raised, as doing so may
block the driver’s vision, possibly causing
an accident. Do not forcibly push
down the hood. As the popped up
hood cannot be lowered by hand,
doing so may deform the hood or
cause an injury. If the Pop Up Hood
has operated, have the vehicle
inspected by any authorized Lexus
retailer or Lexus authorized repairer,
or any reliable repairer. If the Pop Up
Hood has operated, stop the vehicle in
a safe place and contact authorized
Lexus retailer or Lexus authorized
repairer, or any reliable repairer."

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The bonnet panel itself will be able to be reused. However the hinges and the pop up system will have to be replaced and I believe the car has to be coded via techstream as well.

I would be speaking to a reputable body shop if I were you to see if they can offer any advice


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Phil:  I’m sorry to suggest what I think you’ll find to be depressing reading, but the subject was exhaustively discussed in the following thread:  Pop-Up Hood Warning, started by EvilAudi on March 3, 2015, IS300H etc. Club.  Check it out.

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2 pop up hood Pistons, 2 bonnet hinges, a new pressure tube, and an airbag ecu!

i priced the Pistons from Lexus and they were over £1500 plus vat per side. I'd guess it's going to be near a 5k repair at dealer!

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14 minutes ago, 200h said:

Surely with a car this age which is under warranty it would be sensible to make an insurance claim. I don't know what was hit to activate the system but suspect other hidden damage may have occurred . 

I hit a seagull in a Mercedes E250 cabriolet. In that case there was no damage at all but the bonnet popped. Fortunately on Mercedes it is mechanical not pyrotechnic and I was able to easily reset it on the roadside. 

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it takes very little pressure to activate the popup hood warning.

i had a paramedic in a skoda ocatvia slowly roll backwards into me

whilst i was stationary i just felt the bump it was so slight ,and i had a

popup hood failure message on my dash , because it didnt go off

i had to reset the message and 2 airbag fault codes.

the bonnet will only activate between speeds of 7mph - 38mph i think

as these are the speeds where pedestrians can be injured.

i would repair myself as its not major damage to the car.

 

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10 hours ago, 200h said:

it takes very little pressure to activate the popup hood warning.

i had a paramedic in a skoda ocatvia slowly roll backwards into me

whilst i was stationary i just felt the bump it was so slight ,and i had a

popup hood failure message on my dash , because it didnt go off

i had to reset the message and 2 airbag fault codes.

the bonnet will only activate between speeds of 7mph - 38mph i think

as these are the speeds where pedestrians can be injured.

i would repair myself as its not major damage to the car.

 

I wondered why mine didn't pop when I had and accident...

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9 hours ago, Comedian said:

They say its about safety and environment. But its always about profit.

It's probably about both. They have to make a profit. In this instance they may have sold more cars by getting the Best in Class NCAP safety rating for the IS 2013 model.

They probably got the best in class by having the best pedestrian safety score. They got 80% for pedestrian safety, the highest score for any of the 2013 cars and slightly ahead of the 2014 Mercedes C class with 77%.

My understanding is that when a pedestrian is hit by a car and bounces onto the bonnet a lot of the injuries are caused by hitting not only the hard bonnet surface but also, when the bonnet deforms, by hitting the hard bits of metal under the bonnet including the engine.

So I believe the Lexus bonnet is aluminium which deforms more easily than steel and presumably causes slightly less injury. And by popping up the bonnet, a bigger gap is created between the bonnet lid and the hard bits of metal under the bonnet, resulting in less severe injuries.

The cost of replacing this system did actually make me think twice about buying the car. There's another thread somewhere on this forum from three or four years ago about the costs of repairing it, which made me wonder whether it was a good idea to go for this car and I have great sympathy with Phil having to deal with this repair.

But at the time I thought that on balance I'd probably rather have an annoyingly large repair bill, which I would eventually forget, than a dead pedestrian for ever in my memory.

If there was just a minor accident, even if there was barely any visible damage, I thought I would just have to go the insurance route, annoying as that would be too. The insurance companies ought to be happy to repair the pop-up bonnet - it's probably saving them from some huge payouts for pedestrian deaths.

And if it pops up when there's no sign of any collision, then Lexus ought to recognise there was a fault. If the insurance company says there was no collision, then it must have been a fault and Lexus should repair it without charge.

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There is minimum legal clearance between bonnet and hard parts (suspension/engine), for as stated above pedestrian head impact.  So basically a car company has to balance out styling / aero / ground clearance and engine height requirements, an easy win of a couple of inches is to have the bonnet pop up.

You wouldn't believe how limited space is on some cars, literally Swiss watch engineering...

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6 hours ago, Thackeray said:

It's probably about both. They have to make a profit. In this instance they may have sold more cars by getting the Best in Class NCAP safety rating for the IS 2013 model.

They probably got the best in class by having the best pedestrian safety score. They got 80% for pedestrian safety, the highest score for any of the 2013 cars and slightly ahead of the 2014 Mercedes C class with 77%.

My understanding is that when a pedestrian is hit by a car and bounces onto the bonnet a lot of the injuries are caused by hitting not only the hard bonnet surface but also, when the bonnet deforms, by hitting the hard bits of metal under the bonnet including the engine.

 

Yes I understand that - but I'm not saying it's Lexus' fault or accusing them of profiting unfairly. It would of course be cheaper to make an uglier car though.

I guess person X just has to make sure they get hit by a car that falls under the right legislation.  

I don't buy based on safety ratings - I know other people do.

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Thanks for your replies everyone, I’ve managed to source some 2nd hand popper charges and fitted myself, just need to get the ecu reset, I’m 700 quid down

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Hood popper delete is quite popular in Japan. The remove the rams and fit an SRS plug with a resistor in to 'fool' the ECU.

I was wondering if someone had figured a way of circumventing the pop up system, it was only a matter of time


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I wonder how that would work should the unfortunate happen and such a modified car hits a pedestrian and causes the very head injuries this pop up feature is designed to mitigate?

How would one's insurer view such a modification? Tampering with a safety device?

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On 7/13/2019 at 7:17 AM, NemesisUK said:

I wonder how that would work should the unfortunate happen and such a modified car hits a pedestrian and causes the very head injuries this pop up feature is designed to mitigate?

How would one's insurer view such a modification? Tampering with a safety device?

I would suggest that the insurer would minimise cover on the basis that you haven't declared a modification and that the safety equipment doesn't meet the specification of the vehicle you have insured. 

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...and I would add that you would most probably get sued by the victim, and that they would have a strong case against you.

Let's turn things around: How would you react if you were to find that one of your kids is brain damaged as the result of being hit by a car, the owner of which disabled a major safety device designed to prevent such injuries in the first place. Just to save a few quids.

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What was the kid doing in the road and at what point did the kid become the car driver's responsibility and not the parent's? Well this case kind of answers it : https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cyclist-who-hit-yoga-teacher-who-stepped-into-the-road-while-staring-at-her-phone-faces-bankruptcy-a4172661.html

So I'd agree that while the law seems to go in this direction one would be wise to be fully insured with legal cover and not disable the feature. One that most cars don't have. Perhaps a consideration at next purchase?



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On 7/13/2019 at 6:52 AM, Andrew888 said:

Hood popper delete is quite popular in Japan. The remove the rams and fit an SRS plug with a resistor in to 'fool' the ECU.

That's how I've got mine done. It's a 20 minit job! 

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