I am assuming that yours has a latch handle that moves sideways to unlock the hood. I went through this on mine and I figured that it was too tight. Anyway, when the hood latches correctly, the handle retreats to something past center. If it doesn't latch correctly, it doesn't move all the way to that position, but the hood looks fine. In this case the hood can pop.
You really should get a manual. You will save yourself a lot of grief.
