I had noticed last week that I did not have the hood insulation OR the bumpers that are mounted on the hood that contact the radiator support when closed. I went to the dealership and brought along a pic of a JK that did have it, for a "show and tell" lesson. I also have a fluttering hood that will raise about 1 inch in a headwind or with passing trucks. Oh, and that pesky leaking Freedom Top.

The service guy says...uh...I don't know. Let me get the service manager. Mr. Turtleneck Sweater Service Manager huffs out and tries to deny the hood insulation. "They don't come with that" he says. I whip out the pic. He starts to stutter something. I come back with "It's a safety feature in case of motor fire." Now I'm getting a deer in the headlights look from both of them. Then the manager snaps out of it and says"let's get these parts ordered and installed".

Fast forward one week, insulation and bumpers are installed, hood is much more stable on the highway, and hopefully tops don't leak anymore. This particular dealer washes your vehicle when its in for service, so the service guy drives it up soaking wet, top to bottom. I get in and no leaks, we'll see next time it rains.

This tactic may work for you as well, all they can say is no......but they definately do not like to hear the words "missing safety feature".

Here it is, the trophy shot Notice the missing underhood light and misplaced sticker.....


John L 1, Dealer 0

 

Good work. I guess you couldn't swing the under hood light?

 

Naw, I didn't want to push too hard. I don't have the correct harness, so it would have been a major hassle. I can do without it or hit the salvage yard in about a year and get one.

 

Take that Chris Nikels!

 

Could you please post all the part numbers?

 

With the insulation on does it make it any quieter? What was the reason that you wanted it?

 

I haven't got the paperwork yet, nobody wrote down their time I was told, they are mailing me the paperwork. If the p/n's are on it I'll post'em.

 

I don't know about quieter, I usually don't ride out on the hood

The reason I wanted it is threefold...

1. I paid for a complete Jeep. I want a complete(or near as possible)Jeep.

2. It is a safety issue. A motor fire will quickly melt the plastic plugs holding on the pad. The pad will drop and help contain the fire.

3. I knew it would help the hood flutter, it adds static weight and mass to a lightweight object and also acts as a doubler. Now the pad and hood skin have to move as one. Much more difficult with the pad in place. Think of it a a bit of ballast.

 

Good work.............it's pleasure to walk out of the service dept. satisfied..

 

1. i hate to burst your bubble, but Jeep stopped including these items on every jeep several months ago. so unless you've got a much earlier build (october/november or prior), the items probably aren't listed on your sticker, and therefore not something you have the "right" to demand. you can call DCX warranty service and they'll tell you a similar story. though i'm happy you were able to swindle this out of what sounds like your clueless dealer as they weren't actually obligated to give it to you unless it was listed on the sticker. and i'm happy to inform you that you did, in fact, receive a complete Jeep.

2. it's not a safety feature. the plastic tabs aren't what holds it up. there's metal flanges around all the sides that do that. the plastic just helps keep it flat against the hood in the middle. if yours is only being held up by the plastic things, then it isn't installed properly. regardless of how it's configured, it's not going to drop down and smother anything in case of engine fire.

no, the only real benefits of this thing are slightly decreased engine noise in the cab. also, with the insultation, you're less likely to sustain damage to the paint and finish on the hood from the heat of the engine over time.

me, i took a more friendly approach to my dealer. i just went there, mentioned to them that i didn't have it. i showed them various packages on their lot that had it - arbitrary X's and some Sahara's. not every JK had it and there was no rhyme/reason as to why some had it. so they called their zone rep while they asked me to call DCX warranty service. when we came back together, they had learned exactly what's been talked about on these forums for ages. the zone rep confirmed that these courtesy features (not safety features) are no longer standard items on the X and are soon to be discontinued on the Sahara. in fact, a salesman at my dealership was pissy to hear this because he didn't even get it on his Rubicon. so my sales manager walked outside to the line of JK's and we looked under the hood. he looked at the hood light and saw that it would be a big pain in the ass. i didn't press the issue. he DID pull the hood insulation off of that 23S X right there on the lot and hand it to me. he also apologized for not being able to make the underhood/footwell lamps readily available and gave me a free locking gas cap (his tech even drilled a hole in the handle to attach to the stock lanyard). we shook hands and i immediately installed it all on mine and drove away.

i think if you're level headed and fair to the guys, they'll just give you the hood insulation without the fuss. hell, mine snatched it from another jeep on the lot in broad daylight with other customers walking around :>