Hood flutter

[Bikerdib]

With almost 400 miles on the new 2022 GCSR I picked up last Friday I must say I love it. I traded in a 2015 Rubicon Unlimited and thought hood flutter was a thing of the past. In actuality, I had cured it on the Rubicon by replacing the rubber hood straps with solid lever latches.

Now in my GC when I meet an 18 wheeler that is going into the wind ( me traveling with the wind), I notice a lot more hood flutter than I would expect with a standard type hood latch. I checked the front corners to see if the hood rests needed adjusting but they don't seem to have any play. Anyone else notice this? Have you found the cause and a cure? Maybe I just need to install the good old hood pins... LOL

 

[JeepGeek]

Probably just because the hoods are now made out of aluminum instead of steel, to save weight, so they flex more easily in the air currents. They did that on the 2019 Cherokee I currently have, first year of the aluminum hood on that model, and yeah, in strong winds, it visibly flexes a lot. There's even been a couple times when trucks blow by that it flexes enough to trip a sensor and throw an error about the ESS on the dash, which won't clear until I stop and restart the engine. That's only happened twice that I can recall.

 

[Bikerdib]

Thanks for confirming. I have had 4 different BMW cars, two M5, a Z4M and one M6 and they all had aluminum hoods. I never saw any hood flutter in any of those but of course the aerodynamics were different than the GC.

 

[JeepGeek]

I'm sure not all aluminum hoods are created equal. I would argue that the hoods should be structured such they won't flex at all, and the BMW hoods are probably designed better, but it is what it is.

 

[Bikerdib]

Long as it doesn't fly open at speed...

 

[Sarge]

I've noticed the same. It shouldn't do that IMO. Normally the center latch holds it snug against spring-loaded rubber stops on the leading edges. I don't think it can be 'fixed' as is, it's just a cheap design. My BMW/Audi/Merc/Porsche/Bentley cars in the past all seem to use a better design (and most had aluminum hoods). The only car I've seen that also does this is my Xterra (a very low price point vehicle). Jeep should have done better, but if anyone finds this can be rectified, please let us know.

 

[Sarge]

I'm sure not all aluminum hoods are created equal. I would argue that the hoods should be structured such they won't flex at all, and the BMW hoods are probably designed better, but it is what it is.

It's most likely not the hood structure, but the attachment points, in conjunction with the shape at the lower edge, which allows too much airflow through the gap in conjunction with a cheap design. As you get up to higher speeds (80+ mph, and then add in any head winds or cross winds).