White driving the vehicle, the passengers side hood latch bracket (what the hood latch hooks onto to keep the hood closed) fell off the vehicle and was lost, preventing the passenger's side of the hook from latching and leaving it to flap in the breeze. At a later time, I noticed the driver's side bracket starting to fall off in the same manner, but was luckily able to notice it while stopped and prevent it from falling onto the roadway. As a result I had to use "bungie cords" to keep the hood closed for the rest of the drive home. Metal brackets falling off a vehicle can easily damage a tire (causing an accident), get caught in the driveshaft (another potential accident), or severely injure a pedestrian (fast moving and uncontrolled metal pieces bouncing around a highway can easily cut or even kill someone). This is a serious safety hazzard.
- NHTSA ID
- 11515271
- Incident
- Apr 3, 2023