Snow under the hood..!!!!

[jrandom]

Was wondering if maybe someone had the bumper cover off and forgot to put some plastic back on.

 

[bofa]

I thought that too but after the dealer said that others have complained I figured it must have been latched...

Yeah but considering there are far more 4Runners here that havent had the problem, it might be possible there are a couple of people that didn't properly latch it.

Its easy to test - take it for a spin in the next storm.

 

[e10e10]

Try not parking into the wind during the next snow storm. Well, if parking outside.
Next time it snows I'll check for the same issue, but I have a limited (front bumper).

 

[JSparky]

I feel like there's a price of trim missing on the underside of my hood that my '13 had. I'll take a photo and post it up.

 

[Bucko]

Try not parking into the wind during the next snow storm. Well, if parking outside.
Next time it snows I'll check for the same issue, but I have a limited (front bumper).

I have a limited trim too...

 

[TBBrewer]

Snow or no snow, that is the question!

Had lots of snow here over the last month and have never noticed any snow on the engine when I check the oil. In any case, I'm sure snow would not last long on a hot engine.

 

[1engineer]

Hi folks, my first new thread but I figured that it would be something that would interest everyone.

Traded in my FJ for a 4Runner last September, love it so far. I live near Buffalo NY and after driving in the snow the other day I opened the hood to check the washer fluid level and I saw lots of the white powder all over the engine compartment.....more especially on the left and right side and all the way back to the firewall....

Today my wife brought it in for it's first service and showed the techs these pics....and the response was that some other people had complained about this same issue (snow in the engine) and they mentioned that the new hood design is probably the cause....but said that it was normal....????????...wait what?....normal?

I'm not sure if any of the owners who have the new style hood have seen this....or even know about it?....The tech told my wife that if enough people were to complain then maybe a FCO may be created.....

I think that this would also be an issue in wet weather......so I bet we can expect premature rust in the engine compartment

The hood is the exact same hood as the 2010 model. There has been no new design of the hood, which shows how much your techs know and why you should do a bit of research before posting stuff like this. The front end changed, not the hood.

Snow or rain, depending on a lot of factors, will get under the hood. It does not hurt anything as everything is designed to get wet under there.

 

[Bucko]

While changing my LED's to HID's today I noticed that the rubber seal on the hood does not go all the way around the hood.

I have a ford fusion and honda ridgeline and both of those have a rubber seal going the full length of the hood....

with the hood closed you can see the plastic cover that goes over the radiator....it looks like this is where the snow gets in........

I may add my own seal to the ends of the hood..

 

[Bucko]

The hood is the exact same hood as the 2010 model. There has been no new design of the hood, which shows how much your techs know and why you should do a bit of research before posting stuff like this. The front end changed, not the hood.

Snow or rain, depending on a lot of factors, will get under the hood. It does not hurt anything as everything is designed to get wet under there.

I'm not sure what you mean by "stuff like this"......this is a valid gripe of a design on a new vehicle.
As the original post said this is information that my wife received....is it verbatim..I don't know....she is not tech savvy....so I'll give her an exception to front end vs hood....

 

[Saker]

...... but I don't have the blowfish front end either.

Hey, I resemble that! :loco:

 

[BlackWorksInc]

It's snow... I wouldn't really be concerned about it if it's getting in the engine bay, the salt stuff is more deadly and less likely to get into the engine bay; but far more likely to devour your frame.

 

[catrains]

I'm not sure what you mean by "stuff like this"......this is a valid gripe of a design on a new vehicle.
As the original post said this is information that my wife received....is it verbatim..I don't know....she is not tech savvy....so I'll give her an exception to front end vs hood....

on my other vehicles I used and have now a plastic stiff sheet cut to cover the radiator over the lower 60 % or so . I do this so that snow and chemical snow melting crap stays out of the engine bay.

with the brick /fish mouth design this is a reason for the dry snow in very cold temps to get sucked in .

I have seen motors packed with snow really bad when it is parked facing the wind direction and with 40-50 MPH winds it will fill the engine bay ..

 

[1engineer]

I'm not sure what you mean by "stuff like this"......this is a valid gripe of a design on a new vehicle.
As the original post said this is information that my wife received....is it verbatim..I don't know....she is not tech savvy....so I'll give her an exception to front end vs hood....

Did you check out the validity of what the tech told you?
No.
It's snow. No big deal.

 

[Bob43]

Wow seems like folks on here are a bit crabby ???
I would like to thank the op for posting this I really don't think snow should get in the bay and I also believe the head and taillights should not get condensation in them which I was told was "normal" just sayin

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Wow seems like folks on here are a bit crabby ???
I would like to thank the op for posting this I really don't think snow should get in the bay and I also believe the head and taillights should not get condensation in them which I was told was "normal" just sayin

Yeah the condensation in the headlamps and tail lamps thing is BS IMHO. It's something that's started popping up more in the last few years I've notice. Dealt with a few 4Runners and FRS with that complaint.

 

[Boyds4Runner]

So based on the OP's post, I have been driving out in the rain today and popped open the hood back in my home garage. There was a little bit of a drip line on the front most side of the radiator shield. I did notice that further in on the hood there was a rubber gasket but it did not cover the entire width of the hood. I would say it lined up to the headlights leaving that area exposed.

Even so there was still not a lot of moisture in that area under the hood. My guess for the OP would be to check the gap when the hood is shut and see if it can be adjusted if too much is showing.

I am heading into my 3rd snow/road-salt season with this 4runner and I don't see any evidence of corrosion yet or tell-tale salt rings/stains inside the engine bay.

In fact all the dirt and mud in my engine bay is coming from where my cooling fan has picked up mud during deep crossings and sprayed it around on the inside.

 

[1000MPH]

I have the same problem only I also found this stuff near my truck...

 

[reelamin]

Hi folks, my first new thread but I figured that it would be something that would interest everyone.

Traded in my FJ for a 4Runner last September, love it so far. I live near Buffalo NY and after driving in the snow the other day I opened the hood to check the washer fluid level and I saw lots of the white powder all over the engine compartment.....more especially on the left and right side and all the way back to the firewall....

Today my wife brought it in for it's first service and showed the techs these pics....and the response was that some other people had complained about this same issue (snow in the engine) and they mentioned that the new hood design is probably the cause....but said that it was normal....????????...wait what?....normal?

I'm not sure if any of the owners who have the new style hood have seen this....or even know about it?....The tech told my wife that if enough people were to complain then maybe a FCO may be created.....

I think that this would also be an issue in wet weather......so I bet we can expect premature rust in the engine compartment

I fully understand your post....not normal so what is going on? If that was dust you would have a heavily coated as in measureable amount all over your engine bay. Again that is not normal. I would not want all that moisture/salt in my engine bay. My 96 does not do this even if I'm out driving through deep snow or going 60mph during a snow. It looks like it coming out of your wheel wells not from the front. Check your inside wheel well covers and plastic inserts. Now that I covered this part.

There are some funny arsed replys. LOL

 

[Bucko]

I fully understand your post....not normal so what is going on? If that was dust you would have a heavily coated as in measureable amount all over your engine bay. Again that is not normal. I would not want all that moisture/salt in my engine bay. My 96 does not do this even if I'm out driving through deep snow or going 60mph during a snow. It looks like it coming out of your wheel wells not from the front. Check your inside wheel well covers and plastic inserts. Now that I covered this part.

There are some funny arsed replys. LOL

I thought about the wheel wells as the source but the snow was white...no dirt, no salt......anything coming from the wheel would be dirty....

both headlights have moisture in them too.....thought it was the LED's and tried the HID's but after an hour driving tonight there is even more moisture......

I'll be adding some extra gasket in the area that's not covered on the hood and I'll see if that makes a difference......hopefully we'll have another snow storm here in Buffalo before winters end so I can check it.....

I didn't notice any noticeable gap between the headlights and the hood....but I have nothing to compare it too.....pic of the hood head on....

 

[catrains]

I use the dielectric silicone grease on the exterior light gaskets . careful not to get any on the bulbs . it does keep the water out .

I have had moisture in some light fixtures , it was not from the bulb seal but the seam of the light fixture. I used some clear silicone sealer on it. this occurred on one of my vehicles after is was a few years old.

the new T4R I have not seen any condensation in the light fixtures yet.

that will damage the fixture and light output..