Hood fluttering at high speeds

[bbyer]

Get into the habit of grabbing the corners and pulling upwards.

Well done, but do yourself a favor and get into the habit of pulling up on each of the two front corners after the bonnet has been opened.

Every so often, the latch on my passenger side does not quite catch. I sort of solved the problem with some graphite powder lock lubricant but I still always check the corners after dealer service or me just opening the hood.

Back in 2005, Land Rover advertised the bonnet as the largest single sheet aluminum pressing of any vehicle manufactured anywhere. As such, the hood is also priced that way. And yes, both latches are required. LR did not double up just to raise production costs. The hint is the word Aluminum.

 

[Sonies]

They obviously are being weight savers with this vehicle! LOL Aluminum hood... well I guess if it was steel they'd have to have some pretty heavy duty hydraulics to keep the hood open! Then again they could always just use a fricking prop like most cars, anyway...

 

[bbyer]

Spare tyre maybe?

Actually if LR put the spare tyre back on the hood, that would probably resolve the latch concern. I do recall however that then the bonnet had to be reinforced to carry the weight of the tyre.

The Series III Land Rover manual cautioned against ordering that particular spare mounting option if "Mylady" was be the primary driver, or at least to bring a "boy" along in the "available" rear jump seat. Presumably Mylady, while delicate, was expected to have some mechanical smarts. This reminds me of Meryl Streep in the movie, Out of Africa.

As to why aluminium, to quote: "The use of aluminium in the construction of bodywork has been favoured by The Rover Company since the introduction of the Land-Rover. The three main advantage of this material are its light weight, its ease of shaping and its resistance to corrosion. The aluminium bodywork of the Land_Rover is one of its most valuable distinctions over competitive vehicles."

 

[Houm_WA]

I agree with the quote from LR. I like Aluminum for those purposes.

 

[Earing2008]

To keep it from happening again you can also apply some 3 in 1 oil to the moving latch joints. I do this in the spring and fall to help protect against the winter salt/corrosion.

I noticed the same problem once while driving home from my dealership. How comforting it is to know that my dealer can't even get that right...

 

[gdrider77]

I've gotten into the habit of slamming the hood down and pulling up to see if there is any play. Had the whole juttery hood incident happen to me before. No more...

Yup, same here, have had the same issue, just needs to be slammed hard, and then i pull up around the perimeter to make sure its closed.