Former Shasta

Have a 2011 JKU. Have noticed hood flutter on my 2.5" lifted JK a few times. Order Daystar latches but never installed them.

Currently on a cross country road trip towing a little 13 ft. Boler camper.

Was driving through Western Wyoming heading towards Rocky Mountain National Park when a Big Rig blew by me. The wind force was so violent, it lifted my hood up, breaking the left side hood latch. I bungied it, and wound up in small town Wyoming at a NAPA auto parts looking for a replacement.

No dice. It would have to be ordered. The story was the same with every Jeep dealership within 100 miles.

A nice gentlemen helped me use a simple ratchet to keep the hood down. I was going to wind up in Snowmass, so I had the closest dealership in Glenwood Springs, CO., order me the part. $63! I installed it pretty quickly, not even using the entire part (which was assembled wrong anyway). I also removed the spring for added safetly.

This seems like a pretty major safety flaw in the JK. I can't believe no one stocks this part. Maybe my experience was very rare. Who knows?

Daystar goes on as soon as I get home.

corupt1

Have you been putting any kind of protectorant on the rubber latches? Not that I have any experience with it happening but I figured that soft rubber will rot over time with UV damage.

Former Shasta

I have not (no telling what the car wash guys do from time to time.) Jeep is in work parking garage all day, and outside in driveway in late afternoon/early evening. It definitely gets some UV when at home. The new rubber was definitely darker than the old one. That being said, there was no visible cracking on the rubber piece that was still left on the Jeep. It was an almost clean break right in the middle.

Covered_Wagon

Thanks for posting your story. I just drove from NC to Colorado and Utah. Jeep was great but I spent several states well puckered hoping my hood wouldn't fly open. If anyone is going to get out on those 75 mph limit roads in those gusty Kansas winds with the semi trucks, then you need to get some hood latches first.

Former Shasta

Yeah, those two lanes roads with semis get very gusty. The hood made a couple of ominous jumps a few times before it finally gave way. I had forgotten about the safety catch, which probably saved the hood from flying up all the way. There was no way I could drive a few more hundred miles without getting it secured flat. Another truck could take out the other side easily.

BombJock

I had extreme hood flutter on my 11. Went with Daystar after first trip. I haven't noticed the flutter as bad on my 14. Maybe jeep got it right on later models.

onlyone

10 cent zip ties. No more flutter.

m&kknox

Remove the spring. It's free and you will never have a problem with it again. I did it within the first 5 miles if owning my jeep and have never looked back. I laugh every time someone spends money on hood latches or zip ties.

onlyone

Taking the spring off doesn't help everyone's problem. Only solves a small number. I laugh every time someone says to just remove the spring. Lol

Mountain Man Tim

the first thing I ordered for my new jeep in june when I got home was a set of rugged ridge black aluminum stainless shanked adjustable metal hood locks. theres zero play in them, once you have them tightened just right you lock them into position with nuts on the shanks. They were nearly $100 for the set of 2, and a pain in the backside to install (had to take off the grill, and have long arm floppy headed socket, and take things on to wrenches to get them threaded) but were worth every penny and the busted knuckles installing them for the fact that they arent rubber, they dont flutter, and my hood is never flapping, it tried to flex in the middle when meeting a semi doing 60+ in high winds, but the locks dont budge.