Hardtop Latch Comes Loose

[ChristyP]

Too add…. When I attended the Moab Bronco Offrodeo in June, I asked the driving instructor if she’s heard of the roof unlatching problem. She said she hasn’t but she recommended using “lock tight”?.. I don’t know if that will work or not.
Question for the group in this thread: Do you think “lock tight” will fix it?

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[Bobio]

The right rear passenger latch (right above the door) has been unlatching since I bought my bronco 8 months ago. I took it to a ford dealership in May for the rear quarter glass recall and to have them fix the latch issue. They couldn’t figure out why it’s unlatching and they decided to replace the latch. It didn’t fix the root cause. To this day, mine is still unlatching.

A representative from ford motor company responded to my initial post on this forum about that asking for my VIN number as well. I thought for sure the Ford representative was going to actually give me a solution to the problem. All he said was to take it to the dealership again….

They said the same to me.

 

[Wathoff24]

Too add…. When I attended the Moab Bronco Offrodeo in June, I asked the driving instructor if she’s heard of the roof unlatching problem. She said she hasn’t but she recommended using “lock tight”?.. I don’t know if that will work or not.
Question for the group in this thread: Do you think “lock tight” will fix it?

Loctite sounds a little permanent. For me the issue is the rotating lock from the mid panel to the rear panel on the passenger side. The actual screw holding the lock in place is super tight. Even the rotating lock is very tight when moving to the locked position. It just seems to bump it’s way unlocked. It’s weird.

 

[Fordified1]

Too add…. When I attended the Moab Bronco Offrodeo in June, I asked the driving instructor if she’s heard of the roof unlatching problem. She said she hasn’t but she recommended using “lock tight”?.. I don’t know if that will work or not.
Question for the group in this thread: Do you think “lock tight” will fix it?

lol Loctite is thread glue for bolts and nuts. Instructor isn’t too mechanically inclined apparently or didn’t understand the issue.

 

[Red Sox 4Life]

Yep, my 2024 Wildtrak does the same thing, except it is both latches that come loose from the mid roof panel to the rear. It's very annoying, but apparently there isn't a fix.

 

[JP2]

My kids noticed that both driver and passenger side rear latches were un latched on our drive yesterday. They were both freaking out like they could have died 🫣
2022 badlands 5k miles garage kept.

 

[j_marinelli]

My driverside middle latch did this when I first got it but noticed it stopped once I swapped out the latch bushings. My guess was it was loose prior and when I put the bushings on and retighten it, it snugged up.

 

[Wathoff24]

I have a '22 Wildtrak Sasquatch with a hardtop. A while back, I noticed the roof pieces were uneven height from the passenger side middle to rear section. When I looked inside, the latch was unlatched. Ok, I thought, maybe I forgot to latch it the last time I had it off. I secured the latch and off I went. A few weeks later, I notice the same thing, uneven height on the mating pieces. Sure enough, the latch is loose again.

This has happened on a fairly regular basis now. Has anyone else have this happen? the latch feels tight when engaged, but it seems to work it's way loose over time. Any ideas?

Yep, exact same location happens all the time. The latch is tight like you mention, but somehow it constantly works its way loose. It started after the first time I removed the entire top. Perhaps there’s some play after putting the back top section back on.

 

[Wathoff24]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I’m having the same issue

yesterday when I put the mid section back on after a few days, I realized that it is really easy to not align it exactly, I mean like a few millimeters. This time I latched (the big latch) from the drivers side first. This seems to have reduced the daily unlatching problem to some extent.

 

[Bradly]

I'm having the same issue with the rear middle section that keeps getting loose just driving down the road. It's leaked 3 different times and soaked a ton of things including expensive electronics in my trunk. This issue is really infuriating. It seems to be getting worse. Is there a way to fix it so it's harder to open so it doesn't keep unlatching?

 

[Mlarv]

On my 2 door I had a latch that was loose. I loosened the plate it slides over and used a playing card as a shim under it. This fixed the loose latch in my case.

 

[ChristyP]

Mine is more of a band-aide fix. I bought a roll of heavy duty Velcro strips from Amazon. Cut a piece off to the length that I needed and wrapped it around the lever and hardtop flat piece to hold it in place. It’s been holding in place for a couple months.

 

[Red Sox 4Life]

I’m having the same problem with my 2023 Bronco Wildtrak hardtop roof. The right, rear passenger side, (right above the passenger door) keeps unlatching while driving. I took it to my bronco dealer and all they did was replace the latch. It didn’t fix the issue and it’s still unlatching this day. We’re taking my bronco off-roading in the fall and I would hate to lose my hardtop or have to keep stopping to check it. Attached screenshot of what it looks like after arriving at my destination, it’s already unlatched. If there’s a solution for this, please let me know.

thank you!

Yep, mine does that on BOTH sides. I literally have to relatch it every time I drive it. Did Ford ever find a solution for you? I'm ready to put some electrical tape around the latch and see if it stays secure. It's annoying as hell.

 

[ChristyP]

Back in May, the dealer installed a new lever but it didn’t fix the issue. Currently, I have a band-aide fix using heavy duty Velcro wrapped around the lever and the hardtop flat piece holding it together. The lever hasn’t moved since wrapping it with Velcro. I’ll probably try a different dealership to see if they can fix it. I’m not confident they will.

 

[zoober]

Thought I was hearing a bit more wind noise behind my head while driving.
while reading this, popped into the garage, and lo and behold… all three latches were in same position as the pic.
will keep looking in the future to see if this is reoccurring. Newish (2400 mile) OBX.
Love this place if for nothing other than the heads up. Thanks!

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