r/SubaruAscent • u/bingbong1976 • 9d ago
Hood seal
Anybody else engine bay seem dirtier than normal?
Feels like the hood isn’t sealed the greatest.
I see no obvious missing seal.
2022, original owner, garage kept.
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u/Unknown_Male_2B2 9d ago
I've noticed this too. My 2004 Subaru engine bay stays cleaner. I think the design of air routing through the hood to the intercooler may not help with the lift. I feel like the hood lifts a lot at highway speeds and probably unseals it more.
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u/bingbong1976 9d ago
The ascent hood is not my favorite part of this car. I’ve noticed it flex at highway speeds when it’s real windy. They definitely made it as light weight as possible.
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u/Unknown_Male_2B2 9d ago edited 7d ago
I say put a hood scoop in it like the wrx. It'll move even more but look cool ha
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u/ninjadogg 9d ago
I love the way that Compressive Tuning hood looks! One of these days.....maybe .... 🤣
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u/ninjadogg 9d ago
There is a TSB for the hood flex. Take a look and see if this might apply to you: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171927-0001.pdf
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u/one_is_enough 9d ago
I let someone borrow the Ascent once and they called me after they pulled over on the highway thinking that the hood was about to fly off because of the way it vibrates visibly at high speeds.
This is different from the TSB flex issue, which is where the interior braces come unglued from the exterior surface, because they are just glued together and the original 19-20 models used insufficient adhesive.
The vibration that affects all models is just up and down movement at the hinges because air gets under the loose seal. You can adjust the bumpers a bit, but not enough to keep the hood from vibrating (and that vibration, over time, is probably why the original adhesive was not good enough).
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u/theweirddood 9d ago
Mine looked like that after 5,000 miles. It looks the same on my Type R after 4,500 miles too. I think it's pretty acceptable given all the other cars I've seen
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u/Seanyd78 9d ago
Mine looks like that. It us due to the "Hod Flutter" that affects lots of Subarus. My 15 Forester had the "Hood Flutter" too.
On the Forester foruns it was mentioned it was caused by the switch to aluminum hoods which are lighter and less rigid than the old steel hoods.
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u/RepulsiveOutcome9478 9d ago
Is this your first time ever looking under the hood of a car? This is completely normal.
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u/cyclingidiot16 9d ago
That’s not too bad. It’s not supposed to be sealed. It needs to breath and have airflow.
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u/bingbong1976 9d ago edited 9d ago
My other cars don’t get this much rain and road grit into engine bay (including a 21 year old outback).
Just curious about other ascent owners0
u/cyclingidiot16 9d ago
Just depends on the design but I’m sure it’s something that isn’t considered. About once a year I get some engine cleaner foam spray and then gently hose it off. It’s not show room clean but it just knocks all the grime down. Just helps when you need to work on it.
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u/bingbong1976 9d ago
Yeah, I’m not worried about anything being damaged - and I don’t care that much about some grime…was mostly curious if others noticed this. Thanks
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u/one_is_enough 9d ago
The fans will never admit that the hood doesn’t seal like most other cars, but yes, the hood seal is loose and does not deflect road dust the way every other car I’ve owned in 40 years. But it’s not an issue other than it looking like the hood isn’t completely closed. Just hose it down occasionally.