Why do cars still use a rod to hold up the hood (and the big arms for the trunk)?

[antef]

My inexpensive base 2007 Cobalt has hydraulic lifts for both the hood and trunk. So there is no rod to mess with for the hood, it just holds itself up, and the trunk doesn't have those big arm things attached to it that get in the way when it's full, just two simple rods attached to the car that expand and contract. Why do most new cars, even ones that are much more expensive, still use the old-fashioned hood rod and the big arms that get in the way to hold up the trunk? Is there some random downside to the hydraulic lifts that I'm not aware of?

 

[punjabiplaya]

$$$

 

[pauldun170]

Never had an old fashioned hood rod fail.
I have had to find a broom stick to hold up the hood of a car equipped with hydraulic lifts.

In the end..I'm indifferent until the hydraulic ones fail.

 

[Perknose]

Weight reduction for fuel efficiency, mostly.

 

[TheHashmaster]

$$$

+1

no other reason, besides cost, every orifice could open automatically in 3 seconds from a remote, but that costs a lot, so to save money, they just throw a rod there.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

a hood prop rod is cheap and 100% reliable. the pneumatic struts are neither.

 

[Bignate603]

a hood prop rod is cheap and 100% reliable. the pneumatic struts are neither.

This. Additionally, it's not something that people really think about when they're buying a car. If the customer doesn't care why would the manufacturer?

 

[JulesMaximus]

a hood prop rod is cheap and 100% reliable. the pneumatic struts are neither.

My car is going on 9 years old and the pneumatic struts that hold the hood up still work perfectly.

The prop rod is for cost savings...nothing more.

 

[MovingTarget]

Well, you could always have the hood of a 1980s or earlier car where the hood had a spring tension mechanism to keep it up. Everybody loved those, right? Right.........? Is this thing on???

 

[LTC8K6]

The pneumatic springs sometimes quit working in the cold, also.

 

[Bignate603]

The pneumatic springs sometimes quit working in the cold, also.

Yup, I've got two pneumatic springs on the hatch of my cherokee that were working great this summer but now on cooler mornings they're starting to not quite hold the hatch open. It's a 10 minute job to replace them, I just haven't bothered to do it yet.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yup, I've got two pneumatic springs on the hatch of my cherokee that were working great this summer but now on cooler mornings they're starting to not quite hold the hatch open. It's a 10 minute job to replace them, I just haven't bothered to do it yet.

Well, it is a Jeep. I had a pile of shit Isuzu many years ago with the same problem and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the exact same part in your v-hicle. A prop rod might fly under the hood but it would never fly at the rear hatch.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Well, it is a Jeep. I had a pile of shit Isuzu many years ago with the same problem and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the exact same part in your v-hicle. A prop rod might fly under the hood but it would never fly at the rear hatch.

The two pneumatic struts in my parents old I30 died after like 4 years, never bothered replace them.

 

[MotF Bane]

My '98 Pontiac had pneumatics, my '06 Infiniti has a rod. It's the only car in the house in years with a rod, and I keep putting the hood up and standing there puzzled for a second as to why it isn't holding itself.

 

[HarryLui]

Hydraulic lift fails, just a matter of time. I prefer a strong rod.

Well, you could always have the hood of a 1980s or earlier car where the hood had a spring tension mechanism to keep it up. Everybody loved those, right? Right.........? Is this thing on???

Yes, I love them. Volvo still use them.

Dodge Daytona

Volvo 240

Volvo 850

 

[Bignate603]

Well, it is a Jeep. I had a pile of shit Isuzu many years ago with the same problem and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the exact same part in your v-hicle. A prop rod might fly under the hood but it would never fly at the rear hatch.

It's a 14 year old vehicle, I don't think it has anything to do with it being a jeep. I've had plenty of other kinds of older cars that have had the same thing happen. After a decade or so you're going to get some leakage. Sometimes it will be enough to be a problem, sometimes it won't.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's a 14 year old vehicle, I don't think it has anything to do with it being a jeep. I've had plenty of other kinds of older cars that have had the same thing happen. After a decade or so you're going to get some leakage. Sometimes it will be enough to be a problem, sometimes it won't.

My point still stands. Do you think a single car manufacturer cares if the less cost effective hood struts fail after 9 years? Cost savings...nothing more.

 

[MovingTarget]

Hydraulic lift fails, just a matter of time. I prefer a strong rod.




Yes, I love them. Volvo still use them.

Dodge Daytona

Volvo 240

Volvo 850

Thats what I was talking about! I didn't know any major manufacturer still used them. They definitely seem more user friendly than prop rods, but more reliable than the pneumatic/hydraulic struts. I still have a set in my 87 Caprice. They still work like they did straight out of the factory.

 

[halik]

German engineering ftw:

 

[Herr Kutz]

German engineering ftw:

If by German engineering you mean expensive, breaks often, and is expensive to maintain, I don't want it.

 

[punjabiplaya]

If by German engineering you mean expensive, breaks often, and is expensive to maintain, I don't want it.

:thumbsup:

give me some Japanese engineering or American simplicity

 

[Raduque]

The pneumatic shits that hold up the hatch on my mom's 9-year old Eclipse are starting to weaken. Funnily enough, the hood is held with a prop rod.

My old truck had a prop rod, but my new one has the pneumatic shit too.

I'm not sure what's heavier though, my truck's hood or the Eclipse's hatch.

 

[LTC8K6]

German engineering ftw:

Painting a common ordinary gas spring silver is German engineering?

 

[antef]

a hood prop rod is cheap and 100% reliable. the pneumatic struts are neither.

Thanks for the terminology correction. I knew hydraulic didn't sound quite right but I couldn't think of a better word.

My '98 Pontiac had pneumatics, my '06 Infiniti has a rod. It's the only car in the house in years with a rod, and I keep putting the hood up and standing there puzzled for a second as to why it isn't holding itself.

This is exactly why it confuses me, an old GM has the nicer struts and a newer Infiniti has the cheapo rod? If it's only about cost savings, why would this be the case? Again with my Cobalt...it's a base trim compact car. If it's purely a cost saving thing I couldn't understand why my car has them (including on the trunk as well) and new cars that cost 2-3x as much don't (again, not just for the hood, but the big ugly arms that impede space in the trunk too). One reason I can think of for the trunk arms I suppose is that the pneumatic struts would not allow the trunk to pop open much from a fob.

 

[Bignate603]

This is exactly why it confuses me, an old GM has the nicer struts and a newer Infiniti has the cheapo rod? If it's only about cost savings, why would this be the case? Again with my Cobalt...it's a base trim compact car. If it's purely a cost saving thing I couldn't understand why my car has them (including on the trunk as well) and new cars that cost 2-3x as much don't (again, not just for the hood, but the big ugly arms that impede space in the trunk too).

Because they figured out that the person buying a new car won't base the buying decision on something like a prop rod. It won't even be a blip on their radar. Why spend money on something that won't influence their buying decision?