Has anyone experienced a problem with the hood of a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo not opening? The hood seems to be locked.

 

I had the same problem on my 96 Rodeo for years till I figured it out. Yours may be similar. There are two rubber bumpers on the outside corners of my hood. There were a twist fit and the had slowly twisted into the hood. They are supposed to stick out enough to put tension on the hood latch. I twisted them out a bit, and they the hood popped open again. But they were old and dry and eventually I replaced them with new one. I got them from the Isuzu dealer and I think they were less than $15.

 

Yep, same thing here. Bumpers had vibrated into the threads, not pushing hood up when release was pulled. Try turning them out a few turns and seeing how it works. If you go out too far, the hood will be hard to close. By having tension up on the hood, it will eliminate the hood rattle too. Use some locktite penetrating formula after you have it set. The penetrating locktite will creep down into the threads, you put it on after it is together.

 

Had the same problem - did the same fix