Hood seems not secure

Hi All,

I purchased my 2013 crew cab Taco in October with 20K on it. It replaced an '05 Colorado, which was mostly a POS. I love this truck. That said, I've go a strange problem and wanted to see if this is common or not before going to the dealer. At hwy speed (70 plus) the drivers side of the hood seems to be shuddering as if the wind is trying to push it open. It's securely locked and sits nice and flat normally. But as soon as get to around 70 (especially if it's windy), it starts acting like it's trying to come loose and open. I've had a lot of vehicles, but I've never seen anything like this before. The truck does have a bug deflector on it. I've never had one of these and wonder if that could be a factor in this?

Anyone else having this issue or know what I'm talking about?

Also, one thing about the Colorado was that the heat warmed up quickly and would cook you (Michigan winders in the teens and below). My Taco takes forever for the heat to warm up. Engine temp gets to normal within a few minutes, but it can take a half hour before I get good hot air out of the heater. Is that normal? And on that note, why the f*%k won't the recirculate button stay on? I hit that and it stays on for about five minutes or so and then turns itself off.

Thanks in advance for any input on any or all of these questions.
Daniel

 

Welcome to TW!

Maybe your hood is missing the black spacer that goes on the corners of the hood? The bug deflector should have nothing to do with that issue.

The heater should not be taking that long to get hot. Mine starts to burn me way before the 30 minute mark.

Does your re-circulation button turn off when it's on the face/feet setting or on the defrost setting. Mine will automatically turn off when it's on the defrost setting. Otherwise, it stays on when it's on the other settings.

 

Mine looks like it is going to fly off at any time when windy. I don't even have to go 70, just a windy day or on 2 lane roads when passing a large truck is the worst. Latched as tight as can be in the center, but it shakes like crazy on the corners going down the road. It has the the rubber bumpers on the corners and everything is snug. Always has, I figured they all did it?

 

Maybe I just never payed attention to my hood... I'll look at mine on the way home today. One time my buddy pulled the lever to open my hood but never actually opened the hood. He never pressed it back down either. I noticed that one on the freeway. I thought it was going to fly open.

 

I have seen this a lot as of late on here. Maybe the age is starting to show. My truck does this to, but there was a thread i saw like a week ago on it. Cant find it now but it talks about it and a fix for it.

 

The bouncing hood is normal...
The airflow into the grill and radiator fan produce this affect
I am missing the lower nut off the Body mount bushing so mine is more visible


I agree the heater should be some what warm after 15 minutes as well as the temp gauge...
The thermostat may be stuck Open... Has happened before!

 

My '08 Pre-Runner and my 2012 Pro both do it...nothing to be worried about.

 

I stared at my hood this weekend while going 85 and it doesn't really jump around. It moves here and there but I'd call it minimal to none. It's not even noticeable if you're not staring at it. My truck is a 2005.