Hood Flex??

[CarlzExpedition]

I have been noticing a lot of hood flex on my 2019 XLT. Most of the time only when driving 75-85mph, but yesterday there were heavy winds and while going about 75mph it was moving a lot!

I have made sure the hood is fully secured.

Does anybody else have this issue? It is a little concerning.

 

[aggiegrad05]

It's normal. Check out these threads:

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/floppy-hood-when-driving.39307/

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/loose-hood-2019-ford-expedition.39400/

 

[scottdm]

It's normal. Check out these threads:

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/floppy-hood-when-driving.39307/

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/loose-hood-2019-ford-expedition.39400/

If will be interesting long term if there is aluminum fatigue on the bottom support structure of the Expy hoods. Some guys on the Super Duty forum have identified hairline cracks in the aluminum support structure under the hood skin due to all the flexing at highway speeds.

https://www.powerstroke.org/threads/hood-cracked-from-fatigue.1364489/#lg=thread-1364489&slide=0

 

[Deadman]

Mine flutters like a kite on the highway. I hate it!

 

[dtaylorfd]

Same on my 2019 Expy. I always think its going to take off.

 

[CarlzExpedition]

That is unfortunate for such an expensive SUV, but I guess I can live with it. The weight reduction needs to come from somewhere I guess! Lol

Thanks for the replies

 

[Hardrocker]

I noticed a lot of hood flutter on my trip to Utah recently. But it wasn't bad except for the hour or two when we had a 30+ mph headwind. I expect the hood aerodynamics on this big brick of a vehicle weren't optimized for airspeeds of 100+ mph.

 

[JExpedition07]

My theory of this problem is the new hoods are too flat, the 3rd gen Expeditions and 11th-12th gen F-150s also used aluminum hoods with no flex issues because they had the power-dome bulge which added strength. Take away those huge creases and you lose ALOT of strength imo.

 

[5280tunage]

Oh man, this freaked me out yesterday. We had some pretty crazy winds yesterday and while traveling on the highway, I literally thought my hood was going to rip off. there were times when it literally was bulging in the center, then the front and rear of the hood looked like waves in water a little. It got to the point where I wanted to pull over and throw my hazards on, probably would have if I wasn't running late to a business lunch. I love the idea of aluminum to reduce weight, and additionally reduce oxidation issues, but from a safety perspective, this massive hood needs better rigidity. I tried to record it for the forum but of course that's a little hard to do effectively while driving. I'm going to guess at it's worst, the flex was easily 2-4" up and down. I could actually hear it in the cab.

 

[FlyBry]

Yes, it moves around a lot at speed, more so with heave winds. Which is why I am considering adding a heat extractor. Stiffen up the hood, reduce the movement, and get the hot air out - https://c2aero.com/heat-extractor-hood-vent/