The hood of your car acts as a cover for the front engine and provides access to the interior of the vehicle. Many things can be done under the hood, from removing oil or replacing spark plugs to checking batteries and doing other maintenance.

The opening of the hood is hinged onto the cowl of your vehicle and secured with a latch installed underneath. While it may seem simple, it is very important to ensure that it can be opened and closed properly when needed. Having a malfunctioning hood that won’t open or close can cause many other parts of the car to fail, potentially jeopardizing the safety of the driver and passengers.

Before attempting to open your car’s hood, be sure that it is not running. This is very important so that you are not electrocuted if something becomes loose or comes into contact with live wires or other components that may be under the hood.

Once you have ensured that the car is turned off, look under the hood and find the hood-opening lever inside. This lever can be pushed, pulled back, or pulled to the side, depending on the make and model of your vehicle. Once you have pushed this lever, look under the front edge of the hood and pull down on the prop rod that is there to hold it up (it has a clip or plastic piece attached to the bottom to help prevent the hood from slamming down during use).

Gently lower the hood until there is about a foot of space between the hood and the body of your car. Be careful not to dent or ding the hood while doing so. Be sure to remove any tools, containers of fluid such as oil or coolant, and other items that you may have used under the hood before closing it.