I have a 2004 Honda Accord ex that I purchased new in may of 2004. On 10/23/2011 I opened the hood to check the oil. I walked away to get a rag and the hood slammed shut while I was looking the other direction. I reopened the hood and watched to see what was hapenning. 18 seconds after the hood is opened, the hood falls about 5" slowly and then free falls the rest of the way. I called and talked to the service manager of my local Honda dealer to see if Honda was willing to correct the problem. He informed me that they would not replace the 2 shocks that hold the hood up for free because the car wasn't under warranty anymore. As far as I am concerned, what ever they use to hold the hood up on the vehicles that they produce should never fail. If I would have had my head under the hood checking the oil, I could have had a very serious blow to the head. I faxed a letter to the Honda corporate office on Tuesday 10/25/2011 and a woman named maribel called me on the phone to discuss the problem (even though I didn't give them my phone number in the letter that I sent them because I wanted a response in writing), she pretty much told me the same thing. The car isn't under warranty any more, so it is on me to replace the bad shocks that hold the hood up. Once the hood of a vehicle is raised and seems to be secure, nobody would ever expect to have the hood freefall on them while checking fluid levels or any other thing that they would be under there inspecting. It seems to be of the opinion of Honda that this is just something that has to be replaced in time. I think they are very wrong. These shocks never gave me any warning that they were getting weak and were going to need to be replaced until the hood actually slammed shut.

- Norco, CA, USA