Why Jeep Wrangler Hood Won’t Open? (7 Causes & Fix)

We understand how bothering it can be when your Jeep Wrangler hood won’t open! Behind this bothersome matter, factors like chilly weather, jammed or rusted hood latch, or improper alignment are the main of the many reasons. 

Whatever the reason is, first try out the quickest fixes like lubing the mechanism or making the Jeep Wrangler warm. You can also try to open the Jeep Wrangler hood using a screwdriver or just by applying some pressure. Out of these, get the hood mechanism or the release handle changed when they are broken. 

Now the situation is an obvious call for a proper guide. That’s why we are here. You’ll get all the answers to your queries related to the matter. Without overdue, let’s get all the pinpoint of the issue.

Why Won’t My Jeep Wrangler’s Hood Open?

Jeep Wrangler’s hood won’t open is enough of a frustrating issue for wanting to know all the reasons behind the matter. Some major factors make the hood of your Jeep Wrangler to be stubborn to open. Here are they-

• Chilly Weather/Frost 
• Jammed Hood Latch 
• Rusty Or Corroded Hood Latch 
• Improper Alignment 
• Broken Hood Cable 
• Flawed Hood Latch Mechanism 
• Bad Release Handle 

Read Also: 7 Fix For Jeep Wrangler Passenger Seat Won’t Fold Forward!

7 Easy Fix For Jeep Wrangler Hood Won’t Open 

As we’ve already highlighted the main factors behind your Jeep Wrangler hood won’t open matter, let’s know the solutions. There are many more easy steps to solve the matter. So, let’s get started!

#1- Let The Jeep Wrangler Warm-Up 

At the time while facing the Jeep Wrangler hood won’t open, you may be thinking it is a big deal, but the reason can be just the chilly weather or frost. 

In the winter season, the latch mechanism of your jeep’s hood can’t work, resulting in a jammed hood opening. It prevents the latch mechanism from moving freely. 

So, if this is the case, sorting out the matter can be just as easy as warming up your Jeep Wrangler. 

Keep the engine of your Jeep Wrangler on for a few minutes so that the jammed latch can melt down. 

You should move your jeep to your garage on a snowy day not to face the issue.

#2- Lubricate The Hood Mechanism  

If a snowy day isn’t the reason for a jammed latch, then that might be due to the want for some lubrication. 

When your release handle is pulling fine and the cable has a good connection then WD-40 lubrication can work out for you. 

Take your WD-40 and spray it to the hood latch mechanism. Hope lubing an obstinate hood latch can assist you effectively in resolving the matter.

Read Also: Jeep Wrangler Back Door Won’t Lock or Latch – What To Do?

#3- Apply some pressure 

A rusty or corrosion build-up latch can easily make your Jeep Wrangler hood to be stubborn to be open. 

A corroded or rusted latch causes the hood to stick in its position and not open. It can affect both the lock and the safety latches preventing the hood from its functioning. 

In case you can’t find the solution by lubing the mechanism, a simple fix like some pressure may help you out. 

However, to do so, you may need to follow the below steps.

• Call someone for assistance. 
• Have the helper help while he will push down on the Jeep Wrangler hood over the latch and you should pull the release handle as hard as you can to lessen the pressure of the hood not opening. 
• Expect that the process will help to sort down the rusty hood not to open matter. But don’t force the hood to open as it can do more harm to your Jeep Wrangler hood. 

Once you find the solution with this method, have a good lubrication for further prevention. 

#4- Get Access To The Latch

When your Jeep wrangler hood won’t open or just open only about one inch, you can get access to the latch by removing it from the grille. 

Remove the front grille and push the latch of the hood to pop it up. It’ll help to open the hood as well as to check through the hood mechanism that is creating the issue. 

At times there can be a possibility that the cable isn’t in the correct alignment to do the hood open job. You should now check out if the cable and the lever are in correct alignment. 

By placing the hood mechanisms in perfect alignment, you can get the hood problem resolved. Go under your car and check it through. 

#5- A Screwdriver Can Do The Trick!

In the way of troubleshooting, apart from applying some pressure to the hood, a screwdriver can help you out. 

This is also applicable when the cable is loosened or broken. Over time the cable can be loosened or broken making you face the issue.

In this situation, you need to replace or repair the cable. But before that, you still need to open the hood. 

So, nothing to be stressed about! You can manipulate the latch to open just by using a screwdriver. Check out the process below. 

Step 1: Take a long screwdriver and a flashlight to find and see the latch properly. 

Step 2: Use the long screwdriver and push the hood latch forward to disengage the cable. It’ll pop the hood latch and you can find the not open problem solved. 

Now it’s time to change the cable. As it can be somehow tricky, you should take the experts’ help. They’ll provide what is best for your Jeep Wrangler.

Read Also: What Does Service 4WD Light Mean In Jeep? [Explained]

#6- Replace the release handle 

The other thing that you need to check out now is the release handle of your Jeep Wrangler. 

Because sometimes the release handle can be faulty with your Jeep Wrangler hood to open. 

When that happens, the release handle has to be changed to sort out this tension. Better to take the help of the experts not to have any further issues. 

#7- Replace The Flawed Latch Mechanism

Now in this situation when you’ve tried out all the troubleshooting methods that we have discussed above, the latch mechanism is the very last thing to check now. 

Now it can be possible that the latch mechanism of your Jeep Wrangler hood has gone bad. 

You should change the flawed latch mechanism to get the resolvent permanently. It’ll cost you about $101 & $124. Estimated the labor cost between $42-$53 where the $59-$71 for the parts.

Read Also: How To Fix Jeep Wrangler Cruise Control Won’t Turn On Issue?

FAQs

In this section, we’re going to highlight some of the Jeep Wrangler hood-related issues that users face occasionally. It’ll be a good help to get a quick idea of the different hood matters of the Jeep Wrangler.

Conclusion 

Let’s wrap up the whole article! The tack ticks we have discussed above, hope that it has proved informative enough to resolve the Jeep Wrangler’s hood won’t open matter. Expect that the issue isn’t giving you a hard time anymore. 

Whenever you face this Jeep Wrangler hood won’t open matter, get a grip on all those easy tricks we’ve discussed above. Lubricating the latch mechanism, and opening up the hood either with the screwdriver or removing the grille is effective enough to get it to settle down. 

Still, in case you don’t find any solution, contact your dealer or the jeep experts and get your hood won’t open matter resolved. Thank you so much for staying tuned with us till the end.