Pop-Up Hood - Warning

[EvilAudi]

Afternoon All

Been a happy is300h driver since mid 2014. I own an F-Sport in the lovely blue colour.

Sadly, on 15th February, I hit a deer (RIP Bambi) but it was a small-ish muntjack and death itself was I think caused by a blow to the head on the tarmac rather than speed. This caused only minor damage to the car itself (some cracking around the plastic housing the number plate) for which I was thankful but the pop-up hood activated itself. So, I called the dealership on Monday morning and was told that this was minor and I could get the hood reset while I waited.

Unfortunately when I got there I was told that this was not a 30 minute job, as there was some distortion to the bonnet (which would now need replacing) following the safety feature activating and my car would be out of action for just over a week, and the cost would be a little over £1,000 - all to do with the pop-up hood, no other damage noticed on the car. Clearly I'm a little upset as I took this to be some kind of design fault, or perhaps a way of appeasing dealerships with lucrative repair work. I then decided to escalate to Lexus UK to get some sense because quite frankly the dealership has not convinced me of their knowledge at this point. Let's not forget that it is now 16/02/15 and I got in touch with Lexus UK who assured me that someone else would get back to me ASAP.

On the next afternoon (Tuesday 17th February) someone did indeed call me back from Lexus UK. Her stance was that the repair costs were reasonable in the circumstances. "What circumstances" was my question, the reply being that a cost of nearly £3,000 was acceptable considering all the damage caused by hitting a large deer. As you might imagine this put me into a bit of a spin and call me a cynic but I then thought that something was definitely wrong as the damage was minimal.

I think I will leave this story here and perhaps if there is enough interest I will come back and let you know what happened next.

[rayaans]

Afraid so mate - £1000 is on par for what owners of cars with pop up hoods are paying. I was told that the pop up hood is only meant to go off once in its lifetime at which point the whole mechanism needs replacing.

Google Nissan GTR pop up hood and you'll see what I mean.

[normski2]

Ah come on you can't leave it dangling like that.

Spill the beans, open the worm can........wriggly blighters heading in all directions

[DJP]

Not fair, what's the next instalment, please pretty please!!

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[Rabbers]

Some months ago I was filling up at a service station in Germany when another 300h drove up. In the course of the

ensuing exchange of pleasantries and congratulations the owners pointed out some barely visible scuff-marks on

their hood just above the grille, explaining how they had being queuing at a light when some crazed individual had

jumped out of nowhere on to the hood, popping it open, before running off via the roof and boot never to be seen

again. The hood still closed and opened well enough, if a little stiffly because of a tiny mis-alignment, but the damage

consisting of "something to do with the pedestrian-protection mechanism" together with other connected minor work

was going to be repaired by Lexus at a quoted cost of €1800 which, having agreed to a vandalism claim, the insurance

company would cover.

[Scoops]

Not really commenting on the circumstances of the OP but I am not surprised. These systems and passive car safety systems in general have one aim in mind - protect the occupants (or pedestrian) at all costs. That involves absorbing every bit of energy it can. The driver may perceive a very minor impact which is partly due to the fact the car has done its job. The fact is, a significant amount of damage may have occurred... Expensive repairs are often, unfortunately, the trade off.

[EvilAudi]

OK, so now the process is over I can fill you in on the grisly details.

Woman at Lexus UK got her knickers in a twist re the damage relating to the "impact". However, in a day or two an expert from Lexus UK talked me through the work which needs to be done when the pop-up hood activates - new bonnet, new hydraulic struts, colour matching with adjacent panels, replace front sensor, replace airbag sensors (they didn't go off), reset system, etc etc. So by Friday that week I was able to give the go-ahead for work to be done. The delay was due to spiralling costs and nobody being able to tell me how we got from initial verbal quote to nearly 3 times the cost. Sorry to say I smelled a rat which could have been avoided with good communication from the body shop.

I finally picked my car up 3 weeks after they were able to start the work. Significant waiting time for parts and a final bill of nearly £3,500 plus VAT. Slightly different to while-u-wait reset bonnet and do the work at a later date, which was the original information provided.

So the big question remains - what is the point of a safety system like this if you end up with a black mark on your insurance and the car off the road for 3 weeks? Answers on a postcard but unless anyone can confirm it's similar for BMW or Audi this will be the last Lexus I own...

[rayaans]

OK, so now the process is over I can fill you in on the grisly details.

Woman at Lexus UK got her knickers in a twist re the damage relating to the "impact". However, in a day or two an expert from Lexus UK talked me through the work which needs to be done when the pop-up hood activates - new bonnet, new hydraulic struts, colour matching with adjacent panels, replace front sensor, replace airbag sensors (they didn't go off), reset system, etc etc. So by Friday that week I was able to give the go-ahead for work to be done. The delay was due to spiralling costs and nobody being able to tell me how we got from initial verbal quote to nearly 3 times the cost. Sorry to say I smelled a rat which could have been avoided with good communication from the body shop.

I finally picked my car up 3 weeks after they were able to start the work. Significant waiting time for parts and a final bill of nearly £3,500 plus VAT. Slightly different to while-u-wait reset bonnet and do the work at a later date, which was the original information provided.

So the big question remains - what is the point of a safety system like this if you end up with a black mark on your insurance and the car off the road for 3 weeks? Answers on a postcard but unless anyone can confirm it's similar for BMW or Audi this will be the last Lexus I own...

Its similiar for any car with a pop -up hood. The Mercedes E-class cabriolet, S class and C-class use a pop-up bonnet, Nissan also uses this technology and the new BMW 3 series which is coming out is going to have a pop up bonnet too.

The pop up bonnet did its job - you hit something and it set off.

The bonnet is designed to pop up very fast which requires a lot of force, some of which may have damaged the "insides" so to speak. I can confirm that every vehicle which has a pop up bonnet has huge repair costs if it goes off.

The "point" of the system is to reduce serious head injuries. When hitting a pedestrian, the bonnet is the most likely place for a head impact. If you push down on a bonnet of a car, you'll realise that its quite malleable provided you put enough force into it. The engine components are very close to the bonnet, hence if you had hit a pedestrian and they smashed their head onto it, its very likely that their head would hit one of the engine components so the pop-up bonnet increases the distance between the bonnet and the components.

Many parts associated with pop-up bonnets are not conventional and only authorised repairers can actually carry this work out, possibly resulting in the long time frame. The pop-up bonnet is also only supposed to be activated once in its lifetime at which point its deemed unsafe and therefore the whole mechanism needs replacing.

I would suggest paying through insurance rather than through your own pocket - thats what its there for

You hit a deer and hence, the pop up hood may seem irrelevant. Imagine if it was a 10 year old boy and the mechanism failed to deploy resulting in serious head injuries?

[EvilAudi]

OK, so now the process is over I can fill you in on the grisly details.

Woman at Lexus UK got her knickers in a twist re the damage relating to the "impact". However, in a day or two an expert from Lexus UK talked me through the work which needs to be done when the pop-up hood activates - new bonnet, new hydraulic struts, colour matching with adjacent panels, replace front sensor, replace airbag sensors (they didn't go off), reset system, etc etc. So by Friday that week I was able to give the go-ahead for work to be done. The delay was due to spiralling costs and nobody being able to tell me how we got from initial verbal quote to nearly 3 times the cost. Sorry to say I smelled a rat which could have been avoided with good communication from the body shop.

I finally picked my car up 3 weeks after they were able to start the work. Significant waiting time for parts and a final bill of nearly £3,500 plus VAT. Slightly different to while-u-wait reset bonnet and do the work at a later date, which was the original information provided.

So the big question remains - what is the point of a safety system like this if you end up with a black mark on your insurance and the car off the road for 3 weeks? Answers on a postcard but unless anyone can confirm it's similar for BMW or Audi this will be the last Lexus I own...

Its similiar for any car with a pop -up hood. The Mercedes E-class cabriolet, S class and C-class use a pop-up bonnet, Nissan also uses this technology and the new BMW 3 series which is coming out is going to have a pop up bonnet too.

The pop up bonnet did its job - you hit something and it set off.

The bonnet is designed to pop up very fast which requires a lot of force, some of which may have damaged the "insides" so to speak. I can confirm that every vehicle which has a pop up bonnet has huge repair costs if it goes off.

The "point" of the system is to reduce serious head injuries. When hitting a pedestrian, the bonnet is the most likely place for a head impact. If you push down on a bonnet of a car, you'll realise that its quite malleable provided you put enough force into it. The engine components are very close to the bonnet, hence if you had hit a pedestrian and they smashed their head onto it, its very likely that their head would hit one of the engine components so the pop-up bonnet increases the distance between the bonnet and the components.

Many parts associated with pop-up bonnets are not conventional and only authorised repairers can actually carry this work out, possibly resulting in the long time frame. The pop-up bonnet is also only supposed to be activated once in its lifetime at which point its deemed unsafe and therefore the whole mechanism needs replacing.

I would suggest paying through insurance rather than through your own pocket - thats what its there for

You hit a deer and hence, the pop up hood may seem irrelevant. Imagine if it was a 10 year old boy and the mechanism failed to deploy resulting in serious head injuries?

My beef is not with the safety feature, but around the technology employed getting the car up and running following this sequence of events. There was no way of resetting the safety feature, ordering parts in and delaying repair until the dealership was ready to do so. Therefore I'm without my car for a month and had to borrow something pretty horrible from the bodyshop until mine was ready. Then, the dealer had to store my car for a couple of weeks before he could proceed with the work as the parts take too long to get in.

From everyone's perspective, the current situation of not having the parts to hand and not being able to have a "make do" plan harms the dealer and the customer. Thankfully not as much harm will be done to the pedestrian.

[rayaans]

OK, so now the process is over I can fill you in on the grisly details.

Woman at Lexus UK got her knickers in a twist re the damage relating to the "impact". However, in a day or two an expert from Lexus UK talked me through the work which needs to be done when the pop-up hood activates - new bonnet, new hydraulic struts, colour matching with adjacent panels, replace front sensor, replace airbag sensors (they didn't go off), reset system, etc etc. So by Friday that week I was able to give the go-ahead for work to be done. The delay was due to spiralling costs and nobody being able to tell me how we got from initial verbal quote to nearly 3 times the cost. Sorry to say I smelled a rat which could have been avoided with good communication from the body shop.

I finally picked my car up 3 weeks after they were able to start the work. Significant waiting time for parts and a final bill of nearly £3,500 plus VAT. Slightly different to while-u-wait reset bonnet and do the work at a later date, which was the original information provided.

So the big question remains - what is the point of a safety system like this if you end up with a black mark on your insurance and the car off the road for 3 weeks? Answers on a postcard but unless anyone can confirm it's similar for BMW or Audi this will be the last Lexus I own...

Its similiar for any car with a pop -up hood. The Mercedes E-class cabriolet, S class and C-class use a pop-up bonnet, Nissan also uses this technology and the new BMW 3 series which is coming out is going to have a pop up bonnet too.

The pop up bonnet did its job - you hit something and it set off.

The bonnet is designed to pop up very fast which requires a lot of force, some of which may have damaged the "insides" so to speak. I can confirm that every vehicle which has a pop up bonnet has huge repair costs if it goes off.

The "point" of the system is to reduce serious head injuries. When hitting a pedestrian, the bonnet is the most likely place for a head impact. If you push down on a bonnet of a car, you'll realise that its quite malleable provided you put enough force into it. The engine components are very close to the bonnet, hence if you had hit a pedestrian and they smashed their head onto it, its very likely that their head would hit one of the engine components so the pop-up bonnet increases the distance between the bonnet and the components.

Many parts associated with pop-up bonnets are not conventional and only authorised repairers can actually carry this work out, possibly resulting in the long time frame. The pop-up bonnet is also only supposed to be activated once in its lifetime at which point its deemed unsafe and therefore the whole mechanism needs replacing.

I would suggest paying through insurance rather than through your own pocket - thats what its there for

You hit a deer and hence, the pop up hood may seem irrelevant. Imagine if it was a 10 year old boy and the mechanism failed to deploy resulting in serious head injuries?

My beef is not with the safety feature, but around the technology employed getting the car up and running following this sequence of events. There was no way of resetting the safety feature, ordering parts in and delaying repair until the dealership was ready to do so. Therefore I'm without my car for a month and had to borrow something pretty horrible from the bodyshop until mine was ready. Then, the dealer had to store my car for a couple of weeks before he could proceed with the work as the parts take too long to get in.

From everyone's perspective, the current situation of not having the parts to hand and not being able to have a "make do" plan harms the dealer and the customer. Thankfully not as much harm will be done to the pedestrian.

Firstly, did you use an insurance bodyshop or Lexus dealer bodyshop? If you went through Lexus you should really have got a Lexus courtesy car

[EvilAudi]

rayaans, I took my car to the Lexus dealer. Same company also has Toyota and Isuzu dealerships. Was offered an Aygo which I flatly refused and then an Auris 1.4 diesel estate, which was effectively offered as the only alternative available.

Interestingly, when I took my car back to Lexus today to get the USB ports checked (dealer hadn't reconnected them when they did the work) I had a bit of an issue trying to get either a loan car or someone to pick up my car from work (10 minutes' drive) - if I wanted either I'd be looking at mid-April for them to fix an issue created by them. I ended up setting up office in the Toyota/Lexus reception and sending emails / making phone calls there for about 80 minutes. They were able to sort out the issue and I went back to the office. Received a call a few minutes ago asking whether there was a drill left in my car which I found on the back seat. Interestingly there was no delay in being able to pick up the drill. I was sorely tempted to say that I could return it mid April. We haven't had anyone pick it up yet, I may leave them in reception for 80 minutes...

[rayaans]

rayaans, I took my car to the Lexus dealer. Same company also has Toyota and Isuzu dealerships. Was offered an Aygo which I flatly refused and then an Auris 1.4 diesel estate, which was effectively offered as the only alternative available.

Interestingly, when I took my car back to Lexus today to get the USB ports checked (dealer hadn't reconnected them when they did the work) I had a bit of an issue trying to get either a loan car or someone to pick up my car from work (10 minutes' drive) - if I wanted either I'd be looking at mid-April for them to fix an issue created by them. I ended up setting up office in the Toyota/Lexus reception and sending emails / making phone calls there for about 80 minutes. They were able to sort out the issue and I went back to the office. Received a call a few minutes ago asking whether there was a drill left in my car which I found on the back seat. Interestingly there was no delay in being able to pick up the drill. I was sorely tempted to say that I could return it mid April. We haven't had anyone pick it up yet, I may leave them in reception for 80 minutes...

They should have offered a Lexus courtesy car IMO, especially with the amount of work needed. I would take this up with Lexus UK.

Which dealer was this btw?

[EvilAudi]

Fully agree, and I have taken it up with Lexus UK already. Dealer was Lexus Norwich, run by Dingles.

[rayaans]

Fully agree, and I have taken it up with Lexus UK already. Dealer was Lexus Norwich, run by Dingles.

Hmm is that actually a Lexus showroom. Im a bit concerned as I have googled it and it seems as if they only do pre-owned Lexus cars and servicing, not new ones. It just seems really weird.

It makes me think that they aren't a Lexus showroom at all and are in fact, just a Toyota showroom which do Lexus servicing. Its very odd. Ive never heard of Lexus Norwich either.........

Also their cars dont seem to be on the Lexus Approved used website, whats going on here then? :O

[Rabbers]

No doubt Mat has the sympathy of all followers of this Forum, although this cannot be much of a consolation. That

the repairs should have cost something like a tenth of the price of a new 300h, without this and the time they took

having been quantified from the start, makes for a bad experience indeed - not to mention the added aggravation

of having to deal with people who obviously need straightening out.

Before reading Mat's OP and talking to the German couple mentioned in mine of 4 March, I certainly did not know

how potentially expensive repairs to the pop-up hood can be, and I imagine not many other owners of cars with one

do either. More specifically, did any of us attach much importance to this particular feature when we we considering

buying the 300h? And in the unlikely event that we did, would any Lexus salesman have been able to provide

detailed information about it? As for myself, I certainly felt the car's overall safety rating to be important and would

have thought twice about the purchase were it to have been less good, but, to be honest, until pop-up hoods are

made obligatory on all cars I would be happy enough to do without. Why should I take the responsibility for

pedestrian protection when vehicle regulatory authorities and manufacturers do not?

Also, it would be interesting to know just how interdependent the single items of work and replacement parts needed

for a complete repair are. Mat lists a few of these, but could some be excluded thus reducing the potential total

cost? Or could the feature be eliminated altogether from the car's combined safety package?

[EvilAudi]

Fully agree, and I have taken it up with Lexus UK already. Dealer was Lexus Norwich, run by Dingles.

Hmm is that actually a Lexus showroom. Im a bit concerned as I have googled it and it seems as if they only do pre-owned Lexus cars and servicing, not new ones. It just seems really weird.

It makes me think that they aren't a Lexus showroom at all and are in fact, just a Toyota showroom which do Lexus servicing. Its very odd. Ive never heard of Lexus Norwich either.........

Also their cars dont seem to be on the Lexus Approved used website, whats going on here then? :O

Technically you're correct - no showroom but in fact they are listed on the Lexus UK website when you click on "Book a service". I suspect that this is one down from a Lexus Centre but how could one deal with the terminology when you just want Lexus to fix your car and give good open communication?

By the way, I did see some nearly new IS300h models there when I was considering my options, and borrowed one for a few hours which was also nearly new. As mine is a company car I have no control over where it's ordered from...

[EvilAudi]

No doubt Mat has the sympathy of all followers of this Forum, although this cannot be much of a consolation. That

the repairs should have cost something like a tenth of the price of a new 300h, without this and the time they took

having been quantified from the start, makes for a bad experience indeed - not to mention the added aggravation

of having to deal with people who obviously need straightening out.

Before reading Mat's OP and talking to the German couple mentioned in mine of 4 March, I certainly did not know

how potentially expensive repairs to the pop-up hood can be, and I imagine not many other owners of cars with one

do either. More specifically, did any of us attach much importance to this particular feature when we we considering

buying the 300h? And in the unlikely event that we did, would any Lexus salesman have been able to provide

detailed information about it? As for myself, I certainly felt the car's overall safety rating to be important and would

have thought twice about the purchase were it to have been less good, but, to be honest, until pop-up hoods are

made obligatory on all cars I would be happy enough to do without. Why should I take the responsibility for

pedestrian protection when vehicle regulatory authorities and manufacturers do not?

Also, it would be interesting to know just how interdependent the single items of work and replacement parts needed

for a complete repair are. Mat lists a few of these, but could some be excluded thus reducing the potential total

cost? Or could the feature be eliminated altogether from the car's combined safety package?

Thank you. I think you have encapsulated the spirit of my post and feelings towards Lexus. I'm really struggling with my thoughts on the brand, as I love the product but would not recommend Lexus to anyone given their pretty awful customer service.

[rayaans]

Fully agree, and I have taken it up with Lexus UK already. Dealer was Lexus Norwich, run by Dingles.

Hmm is that actually a Lexus showroom. Im a bit concerned as I have googled it and it seems as if they only do pre-owned Lexus cars and servicing, not new ones. It just seems really weird.

It makes me think that they aren't a Lexus showroom at all and are in fact, just a Toyota showroom which do Lexus servicing. Its very odd. Ive never heard of Lexus Norwich either.........

Also their cars dont seem to be on the Lexus Approved used website, whats going on here then? :o

Technically you're correct - no showroom but in fact they are listed on the Lexus UK website when you click on "Book a service". I suspect that this is one down from a Lexus Centre but how could one deal with the terminology when you just want Lexus to fix your car and give good open communication?

By the way, I did see some nearly new IS300h models there when I was considering my options, and borrowed one for a few hours which was also nearly new. As mine is a company car I have no control over where it's ordered from...

I understand what you're saying. I think the main problem in this case was that its not a full Lexus Showroom. They are listed on Lexus UK as a servicing centre and therefore will be able to service the car, however, on Lexus UK it only shows servicing and not "bodyshop" which is what other showrooms have. I have a feeling the car was fixed by Toyota and Isuzu approved bodyshop and not a Lexus approved bodyshop which is why they had so much trouble with timing and communication.

Id advise going to a "proper" Lexus showroom to get the work done as I can assure you they will be much more competent. I also believe that Toyota and Isuzu do not have the pop up hoods and therefore the bodyshop had no experience whatsoever in changing these components, hence ordering and fitting many more components than needed giving rise to high cost and wasted time. I would have expected around £1k but not the ridiculous figure you were charged.

Did you get quotes from other Lexus dealers?

[EvilAudi]

Firstly, I was originally told that the work would be complete in a week which was bad enough but clearly not as bad as the three weeks which it eventually took to repair my car. Secondly, I was liaising with Lexus UK as soon as the costs escalated who confirmed these costs were in the right ballpark. Therefore, I did not think it appropriate to contact other Lexus dealers - closest one was over an hour's drive and going around in a car with a pop-up hood activated is not too much fun.

You are of course fully correct in your assertion that I was not dealing with a full Lexus showroom, and it was never made clear to me at the time that the bodyshop was not Lexus certified. I think that unless needs must, I will travel to Cambridge in the future to get any servicing etc completed. But at the time I just wanted to get my car fixed and get on with my life.

[rayaans]

Firstly, I was originally told that the work would be complete in a week which was bad enough but clearly not as bad as the three weeks which it eventually took to repair my car. Secondly, I was liaising with Lexus UK as soon as the costs escalated who confirmed these costs were in the right ballpark. Therefore, I did not think it appropriate to contact other Lexus dealers - closest one was over an hour's drive and going around in a car with a pop-up hood activated is not too much fun.

You are of course fully correct in your assertion that I was not dealing with a full Lexus showroom, and it was never made clear to me at the time that the bodyshop was not Lexus certified. I think that unless needs must, I will travel to Cambridge in the future to get any servicing etc completed. But at the time I just wanted to get my car fixed and get on with my life.

Lexus are not known either, im not really sure how many people actually go there. You can usually find reviews of other Lexus dealers here but Norwich is a funny one in that it only services Lexus vehicles and there arent many reviews about either.

Servicing wont be an issue - you can get it done by Dingles as they are certified by Lexus for servicing, they arent with bodywork and I think that's the main problem here. I feel like they took on a job which they had no experience with and ended up changing everything out.

If something happens in the future, use the roadside assistance to get your car towed to Cambridge and work from there

[is200 Newbie]

It doesn't look good in years to come in the second hand market with cars with this feature as the cost in replacing/re-setting the parts could render the car a write off if the insurance thinks its not worth doing the repair due to the cost vs the value of the cars.

How many people do you think will ask or know to ask if the feature is installed on a car

Good for the pedestrian but a step backward for the driver I think...

[rayaans]

It doesn't look good in years to come in the second hand market with cars with this feature as the cost in replacing/re-setting the parts could render the car a write off if the insurance thinks its not worth doing the repair due to the cost vs the value of the cars.

How many people do you think will ask or know to ask if the feature is installed on a car

Good for the pedestrian but a step backward for the driver I think...

On the upside, I'd rather have a written off car than a repaired one

[toffee_pie]

weird, that is awful from Lexus. As pointed out you should have-

a) went through insurance and went to an authorised Lexus dealer to get it fixed.

I have been to hedge end and its fantastic and the attention i have received for merely ordering some parts is second to none. They would give you a proper hire car and not a stupid run about.

As for the pop up bonnet, I was not aware of the costs, I think insurance should subsidise repairs in this, after all its a safety mechanism, I don't see why the owner should foot a heftY bill for having this feature on a car in the first place.

[is200 Newbie]

True .. In all cases if you look after your car for someone to come along and damage it then its not 'fair' on the owner of the damaged one to have it repaired (ideal world and all that it should be replaced with a new one - cant see that ever happening though!!!)

I lost my IS200 in a flood, a 2004 LE, absolutely spotless and very well looked after - the insurers wrote it off. This was 3 years ago so it wasn't old for the car - the only thing going against it was the mileage which was just over 90k but the insurer saw this as a negative point and tried to settle with the first quote from them at a ridiculous £900 !! The final figure was (I think) 1400 after the 250 excess they took off. So while it would be good to have a new car after a write off you do really have to fight to get the value back on your car ... you will always lose out on what they offer - I definitely lost out on this as its the knowledge of people that own the brand that know what they are worth.

[JonnyWil]

Hello All, new to this site but only found this post due to what has happened to me last night!!

Driving along at around 30mph, smooth road, then all of a sudden a massing bang and I thought a large piece of metal had land on the front of the windscreen! Naturally I braked hard and swerved to avoid whatever looked like it was about to come through the windscreen nearly crashing the car through a set of barriers, luckily just avoided!! Once stopped and inspected the car I slowly realised the Pop Up Hood had activated!! The car was only registered in April and has done about 20,000miles.

On inspection by the AA and a mechanic that lives near me they both confirmed there is no reason this safety system should have deployed, the AA guy also put that in writing for me, bless him. On talking to Lexus they have also said on inspection there is no signs or any damamge to the front of the car in fact it is was very clean with not even a small scratch you would come to expect anyway with the milleage.

Im currently waiting for the dealership to examine this further and confirm what the outcome of that investigation is.

This could have been much worse as the noise was extreamly load and when something large and white (colour of my car) appear in your driving view in a milli second of course you react to avoid it, the fact its attached to the car makes that a little tricky of course!! :-)

Am I the only person that has had an accidental deployment of the Pop Up Hood, I would be interested to know????

To be fair to Lexus they had a hire car at their cost ready for me and have that for 3 days but if the repair will take longer they will extend this at their cost or provide a Lexus courtesy car. The servie department has also be fair in stating the inspection shows no damage to the car so points to accidental deployment. Im pretty sure in my experience of Audi this would have not been the same stance!!!

Even though the customer service has been superb from Lexus Im still pretty annoyed that the system did this for no reason and when the car had never had and form of front end knock etc.

As for someone advising you this could be reset in 30 minutes that is funny, the rams come up so far they have even cracked the paintwork on the top of the bonnet, the hinges are bent around 40 degrees out of place so this will never be a cheap quick fix even with colour coded parts held in stock!! It will need a new bonnet, hinges, Pop Up Rams and other work to reset it all.

Of course there has been no mention of cost to me by Lexus which is fair of them again but even still the outcome of this failire could have been far worse and what if I had crashed, would they have been able to tell if the crash casued the pop up hood to deploy or did it happen and cause the crash, that would be a very interesting argument im sure.

Anyway just wanted to add this to the subject as could this be the start of an ongoing fault like the Mondeo Light switch about 20 years ago that Ford said to my mum, its driver error or you must have done somehting or knocked it to then 6 months later Ford recalling all vehicles. Maybe a bit ott but if it starts to happen more then this suddenly will become useful to people :-)

I was going to add some pictures but will only do via URL unless anyway can tell me how to do it another way??