Hood Struts

The hood struts finally failed after 180,000 miles. Not bad. But, they gave NO warning when they failed, and the hood came down on my head while checking the oil to prepare for a trip. Pissed me right off. Anyway, I can get OEM struts for $70+change/each ordered online and picked up at a local stealership. They are side specific. Or are they? I can also get them on RockAuto for $6-$11/each, but they are sold with no left or right specific. The OEM/Interchange numbers cited are for either side. Part of me says spend the money on the OEM and hope they last another 180K. Or, I could buy ten per side if they fail quickly from RA. Has anyone had to replace theirs sooner? What would you do?

 

Your the first I’ve heard of a hood strut failure, but I’m sure more of us will be in the same boat eventually. That must have really hurt getting slammed by that heavy hood.

 

Yes it did. I'll be feeling that for a while.

 

Well, F it. I ordered the ones from RA. I can get 7 of them for each side for the price of the OEM. I ordered the ones for the rear hatch too. For all four I was at the same price (including shipping), as what I would have paid for one. I'll update if they're the shit, or if they turn to shit.

 

Damn man, you okay? I hope you're using the NFL concussion protocol. That fucking hood must weigh 100lbs.

 

I would also go Rock Auto on those after previously installing some on a family members vehicle with no issue.
Even back in my Dealer days failures were rare unless we had installed the factory spoiler (infiniti). On the Honda's we had to replace those freaking rods between the hinges which were pretty sketchy.

 

I'm good. A little sore. Luckily there was still a bit of "oomph" left in the struts, so I didn't get the entire weight of the hood on my noggen. Thanks for asking.

 

I'd be interested in a side-by-side photo of the oem vs. Rockauto versions, if you wouldn't mind...

 

I'd get OEM. The RockAuto brand might fail and drop the hood on you sooner than 180k mi.

 

I went with these cheapos. Shockingly strong. No issues. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CHKV2DJ?ie=UTF8

 

I'll take that risk. Again, I can buy 7 of them at RA for the price of one OEM. You can spend your money however you choose, I will too.

 

Absolutely no difference. OEM on left.

 

Probably made in the exact same plant as OEM.

 

They're branded "Stabilus Lift-O-Mat". The hood struts were made in Romania, interestingly enough, and the rear hatch struts were made in Mexico. I know the OEM were made in Japan. But, are they really worth 7X what I paid for these. Only time will tell. My 4R has 180,000 miles on it. I doubt I will need to replace them 7 more times.

 

This. Mine were $20, work fantastic. I am not spending $200 on OEM for this type of part.