I know I'm a 6 day "newbie" with my Red #1375 but this cheesy hood prop has me concerned already. Is it as flimsy as it looks or does it do a good job of holding the hood open? This may have already been discussed in more detail so pls. let me know if my fears aren't warranted. Is there any type of hydraulic strut available to replace the factory prop? I just thought a car of this quality and price would have had a more "substantial" prop rod. I love my SSR and not trying to nitpick but I'd hate to have that heavy hood fall on me while I'm tinkering around under the hood.
It may be more of an issue of perception than any kind of actual danger. The prop rod is curved to match the shape of the fender where it has to be stored. It could be that you're more used to seeing straight prop rods, and because you see more deflection than you're used to it seems like a concern.
The design has been tested to the usual requirements, such as a semi passing by at close range going 60 MPH, and wouldn't be out there if it didn't pass.
If you want to try to come up with your own retrofit, bear in mind that it might be necessary to plan for some sort of additional reinforcement on both ends where the hood strut attaches. If you don't, it might be possible that over time you will find cracks in your fenders or that the hood doesn't line up properly.
You might also keep an eye out for a dealer installed accessory package in 2004. Or keep an eye out for future models to see if it becomes a standard factory installation.
Thanks Slipangle. You are probably correct. Would hate to see cracks in those fenders for sure, and since I see you are an engineer and live in Michigan, well, 2 + 2=you know....I believe you....Ed:-) By the way, others on the forum have mentioned that the four click method on the key fob should lower the windows but has not worked for us. Any thoughts on that?
My SSR: Black, '03, 1sb, #1256, License Plate was WOW FCTR
Hood prop
After taking my truck to the dealer for an oil change, I noticed the hood prop was slightly bent, as it did not fit back into it's clip as it had previously......I hope that this isn't a precursor to future head injuries.
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) wants to be notified of any vehicle that has a defect which could cause a crash or COULD CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH. I think the SSR prop rod falls into that category. I've been to 3 Chevrolet Service Depts. and they agree the rod isn't stable enough to properly support the heavy hood but there's nothing they can do because GM isn't offering any alternatives to solve the problem. I've read on this site of 2 or 3 owners saying their rod has bent allowing the hood to fall. This hood weighs about 3 times that of a normal hood and if you're under the hood "tinkering" and the rod bends allowing the hood to fall you're going to get severely injured or killed. Supposedly the 2004 SSR's will come from the factory with "struts" rather than the rods that were installed on 2003's but GM isn't offering any relief or retrofits for the 2003's. NHTSA's phone # is 1-800-424-9393. There's strength in numbers and if enough 2003 (and 2004 owners that don't have the NEW hood struts installed) owners contact NHTSA about this SAFETY DEFECT then maybe GM will get off their duffs and rectify the problem before one of us is seriously injured or worse. I sincerely feel this is a problem that demands immediate attention on GM's behalf and hope some of you feel the same and will call the NHTSA. Thanks.
I'd love to see a fix for the flimsy rod, but what about the real flimsy clip. That little white thing was broken on half the showroom SSRs I looked at and when I thought to look at mine the first day...sure enough it was broken, too. I suppose GM would replace it, but a new one surely wouldn't last either. Has anyone come up with a better way to stow the prop rod? A strut sounds like a good answer to both issues, but they don't seem to live long either. My Nissan Maxima has one and I now have to hold the hood up with one hand to check the oil. They get weak or lose gas or something. Maybe a 2x4???
My hood prop repacement that the dealer accidentaly damaged is in finally! I think struts are in the works for the future. Hope we see a TSB on it soon.
I contacted the Chevrolet Customer Service 800 # back in Feb., explained my unhappiness with the flimsy hood prop rod, the rep. assigned me case #, and said Chevy would investigate. Never ever heard anything back from Chevrolet. In June I E-mailed the GM Link site explaining the matter and telling how my hood prop rod had bent allowing the hood to fall. Luckily I was not under the hood when it fell. GM Link telephoned me and said I should take it to my servicing Chevrolet dealer so they could look at it and install a new hood prop rod that wasn't bent. My local dealer didn't seem the least bit concerned with the matter but did install a new prop rod. When the GM Press Media release came out stating that the new 2005 SSR's would have "gas assisted, self-supporting hood struts" I e-mailed the info. to GM Link showing that GM had a better idea than the flimsy rods installed on the 2003 & 2004 models and that I thought GM should retrofit this new strut system for the 2003 & 2004 owners. Got a call from GM Link 2 wks. ago and the rep. said that GM is investigating the matter and the more SSR owners that complain about the inferior prop rod the better the chance that GM would do something to rectify the problem. There are now 2 complaints filed with the NHTSA about this and the rep said that the more complaints NHTSA gets, the more attention GM execs. will pay to it. Therefore, if any of you think the hood prop rod is a problem pls. let your dealer and NHTSA know about it. There's strength in numbers and all that. You can e-mail NHTSA at www.nhtsa.gov. Thanks. Yeah, I REALLY want those gas-assisted, self-supporting Hood struts ny my 2003 SSR!
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1995 Chevrolet Impala SS, 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible.
My SSR: #18672, Axiom Grille Bars, Ground Force springs, GTO spoiler, Mike in AZ fan, homemade alum. air dam
Me too, me too, me too...
Quote:
Office of Defects Investigation
VOQ Confirmation
Your Complaint Information is successfully submitted.
Your Confirmation number (ODI Number) is: xxxxxxxx
I decided to file an actual complaint - the falling hood this morning when I was getting ready to check the oil convinced me.
No injuries, no damage (except the mess in my britches), but either Chevrolet adds the pneumatic arms or I will. I added them to my '83 S-10 for about $25 and I can do it to this thing, too.
All SSR owners need to get on board with this one... It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. I paid 50K for a beautiful truck, NOT JAWS! I feel that complaining to GM will do little but complaining to a government body is the only way to go... NHTSA will force GM to take action.
Hey.....let's tell them that when we pull out into traffic, that it's a little sluggish, and maybe we can force GM to retrofit the LS2 in our trucks too!
I sent mine today! Hope this gets someone's attention. I added the fact that we take the SSR to car shows and people are always looking under the hood and what a serious accident it would be, if the prop gave way. It may not be as big a deal if it is an owner because accidents happen that way a lot but when it comes to public safety well they make take notice.
Must be missing something or GM improved on the support for mid 2004 models? I see no way the support rod is going to bend or collapse? As for a wind raising the hood and releasing the support, I don't see that happening either. I will agree the rod clip is cheap and not too strong, but hasn't broken yet. I think the mechanical hood adds to the truck. With all this said, I'll probably be the next victum.......
2003 Chevy SSR engine hood is extremely heavy (two or three times the weight of a normal hood) and Chevrolet has outfitted the 2003 and 2004 Chevy SSR with a simple metal hood prop rod to support the hood when open.
1) The hood is so heavy many owners will not be able to or will struggle with the opening of the hood. This can lead to situations where the hood may be dropped on the person trying to open the hood with the posibility for severe injury. My wife cannot open the hood by herself due to the extreme weight of the hood.
2) The 2003/2004 hood prop is very minimal and bends under the weight of the hood.
Chevrolet has done away with the hood prop for the 2005 Chevy SSR and has installed gas struts to lift and support the hood. The hood itself has not changed for 2005, so Chevrolet has found there is a problem with the existing hood prop system.
Existing 2003 and 2004 Chevy SSR trucks on the road need to be updated with the same gas struts as the 2005 Chevy SSR to avoid possible injury and/or death from the hood falling down on the person while trying to lift the hood or while it is in its fully open position.
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04 Chevy SSR | 12 Dodge Charger SRT8 | 04 Ford Thunderbird PCR #428 | 06 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
My SSR: SSR 04 – PEDIGREE SSR Chrome Wheels w/ 1st Aux. Gauge Package released for Production. #9684
Hood Prop
I really don't mind the the look of the metal rod prop, kind of nostalgic looking actually. However, I have from time to time experienced a tough time trying to get the rod in and out of slot in the hood. I have had to fiddle/twist/turn and even shake the hood to get the rod out of that darn hole. I can see it accidentally slipping out of someone’s hand and hurting someone seriously. Maybe even coming out and slaming down on someone if they where to accidently bump into it hard enough.
I support the effort of everyone here in trying to get GM to allow 03 and 04 SSR owners an oportunity to get a free replacement for the manual rod prop.
Those who doubt the integrity of the prop rod on the 03 and 04 models, try this: Prop up your hood. Leave it for a few hours and come back. Mine bent over after an hour or so. Got a call back after filing my complaint and GM was very nice about it. No promises but they were very professional and courteous.
The prop rod issue is one that is most unfortunate and should have be able to be resolved without too much expense or difficulty. These sorts of hood rods have been around for years and worked quite well and a number of cars come with them even today (like my assistant's TSX as she pointed out this morning).
One of the guys in our area that has an early serial # '03 SSr works for a large automotive parts supplier called Magna International. After seeing whatever Chevrolet Division planned to do for the '05's, he had someone in Magna R&D (or some area that makes metal stuff) make him a replacement out of rod that is slightly larger in diameter and, what he said is, MUCH harder after he heard about this issue and decided he did not want the hood of his truck "around my skull".
He told me last night that this 'fix' was very simple and inexpensive> I suggested to him he should look at this site and offer it to GM as a solution as there were a of complaints, perhaps throught Magna's marketing folks.... frankly, he indicated that he felt Chevrolet would have to come up with their own plan as there seems to be a lot of "not invented here" problems related to this matter "inside"..
We did not have the time or resources to design gas struts for the hood out of the box. The prop rod is designed to hold up the weight of the hood under all normal circumstances. What usually happens is that someone shuts the hood with the prop rod up and bends the rod. The hood is too strong to be damaged by this. After the rod has been bent, it is never quite as strong and should be replaced. The clip is a standard part used on other vehicles and should work, but these bent rods can cause the clips to be damaged. The standard prop rod is not a safety issue.
The design of the gas struts was not an easy task because of the body structure packaging. They do enhance the vehicle. I do not know if they will be available as a dealer installed accessory. That was the plan at one time.
My SSR: SSR 04 – PEDIGREE SSR Chrome Wheels w/ 1st Aux. Gauge Package released for Production. #9684
Gas Struts
freezer,
I would be interested to know when might one be able to order a gas strut for the 03 or 04s?
Off topic:Can I get an early 05 option a "quilted hood blanket" through SPO? I believe it is GMs term for a bra for the front end of the SSR. I tried to find it on the web site for accessories for the SSR and wasn't able to find it.
**Correction: I just talked with Bob from the SSR Team and he informed me the quilted hood blanket was for under the hood option for the 05 SSR.**
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Last edited by Marc NY; 08-12-2004 at 11:43 AM.
Reason: Quilted Hood Blanket correction
Those who doubt the integrity of the prop rod on the 03 and 04 models, try this: Prop up your hood. Leave it for a few hours and come back. Mine bent over after an hour or so. Got a call back after filing my complaint and GM was very nice about it. No promises but they were very professional and courteous.
This I've got to try..... I'm going to open the hood tonight and check it in the morning. If it hasn't moved, I'll just leave it up and check it in the evening. Twenty-four hours should be enough of a test? I'll even measure the opening and see if it just sags a little. I'm not a betting man, but I'm expecting the hood to not move a 1/16 of an inch.
I think there are at least two issues going on here. One being the hood prop itself (plus the cheap plastic hood prop holder that was broken at delivery of my SSR) and the second being the weight of the hood.
The hood is heavy enough to make it such that my wife cannot safely open the hood. I find it a bit of a struggle at times trying to balance the heavy hood while trying to insert the hood prop into the hood.
With the 05 SSR, Chevy has taken the approach my wife's 04 T-Bird has in that gas struts are used to lift and hold open the hood. That approach would solve both of my concerns with the SSR's hood and hood prop.
Also, who was the "wise" person to create the hood chrome piece with the excessively long mounting bolts that allow you to hit your head on the back of them. I've done that once already and received a nasty cut on my head. I've got to find some plastic/rubber caps to place on the end of the bolts to make them "adult" safe.
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04 Chevy SSR | 12 Dodge Charger SRT8 | 04 Ford Thunderbird PCR #428 | 06 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
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It is flimsy and I can smell a TSB comin already....
Thanks Slipangle. You are probably correct. Would hate to see cracks in those fenders for sure, and since I see you are an engineer and live in Michigan, well, 2 + 2=you know....I believe you....Ed:-) By the way, others on the forum have mentioned that the four click method on the key fob should lower the windows but has not worked for us. Any thoughts on that?
Me too, me too, me too...
Hey.....let's tell them that when we pull out into traffic, that it's a little sluggish, and maybe we can force GM to retrofit the LS2 in our trucks too! 
Filed
I know....they weren't!!! 
Hood Prop
Linear Mode
