A dinged, dented, or crumpled hood can cause problems ranging from mere cosmetic embarrassment to serious functional or safety concerns. If your vehicle's hood has taken on a different set of contours than it once had, you may need to have that unwanted alteration dealt with before it causes additional trouble.

A useful general knowledge of car hood damage, from common types and causes of damage to recommended solutions, can put you on the right path toward ironing out your own mangled hood. Check out the answers to these frequently asked car hood questions.

How Do Car Hoods Commonly Get Damaged?

External forces can damage a car hood in a variety of ways. One common cause of damage involves objects such as hail, tree branches, or other debris that impact the hood. Hailstones may leave rounded dents, while large or heavy branches can bend or crumple the hood contours.

Hail-related dents may amount to nothing more than regrettable eyesores. However, if those dents include damage to the clear coat and pigmented paint layers, oxygen and moisture may corrode the metal beneath, weakening the hood. You may also suffer from a seriously reduced resale value when the time comes to sell your vehicle.

Collisions also cause damage to car hoods. Your hood may wrinkle or crumple to the point that it no longer opens or closes correctly. That latch of the hood may also sustain direct damage that renders it useless.

Even ordinary wear and tear can take its toll on your car hood. Years of repeated use can cause the latch to break or the secondary hood release to quit working properly. Your hood assembly's cable may also give out over time. Old hinges can eventually fail, potentially causing your hood to pop up unexpectedly.

Why Might a Damaged Hood Cause Mechanical Problems?

A hood that gets seriously bent or crumpled may squash or rub against engine components. Depending on the components involved, this pressure or friction could impair proper engine performance. Large gaps that expose the engine bay to the elements may promote rust and subject rubber components to damaging UV rays.

Why Does a Malfunctioning Hood Pose a Safety Risk?

If you can't trust your hood to permit clear visibility, you place yourself at risk for accidents. For instance, a crumpled hood that partially blocks your field of vision might keep you from seeing obstacles in the road. You may also struggle to read traffic signs at a distance, causing you to miss important warnings.

A hood that pops up unexpectedly presents obvious dangers. Even if your hood seems securely fastened, you should have any suspicious changes in the latch's function or appearance checked as soon as possible to prevent this unpleasant surprise from occurring.

Your hood counts as one of the crumple zones built into your car to absorb collision forces. If an impact damaged the hood, it may also have damaged the frame. A damaged frame may affect your car's suspension and alignment. It may also fail to protect you the next time you get into an accident.

What Can an Auto Body Shop Do to Repair Your Hood?

A skilled, well-equipped auto body repair team can remove many dents quickly and easily. For instance, a technique called paintless dent removal (PDR) uses specialized tools to remove dents without any need for filling and repainting. These technicians can also replace hood components such as hinges, latches, and cables.

If your car hood has sustained so much damage that it has lost some of its impact protection, your auto body technician will recommend that you replace the hood instead of trying to fix it. the technicians can remove the damaged hood and install a stronger, safer replacement.

Cambron Body Shop can evaluate your hood damage, recommend the most sensible strategy for repairing or replacing it, and then perform the necessary work to ensure that you have a safe, beautiful vehicle. Contact us today for more details.