Driver side interior softop lock very difficult

[eb50]

I picked up my softop 4 door yesterday and noticed the driver side roof lock was not snapped in position. I tried and needed two hands to get it to lock. Alternatively the pass side locks without much effort.

Any ideas? I am guessing it's an alignment issue with the hook lock. Has anyone had this fixed by the dealer?

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[604Bronco]

I'm going to assume your B pillar latch isn't all the way down. You may need to fold it back, drop it a few inches, and ensure it latches properly. Then fold it down and latch it up front.

Edit: This recent post may be connected to your issue, hence my recommendation above: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/4-door-soft-top-not-latching-at-b-pillar.49624/#post-1509816

 

[Moto26]

It’s not unheard of, and we had the same issue when ours was new. My wife couldn’t even latch the driver’s side (she has problematic wrists), and I had to give it a sort of “palm heel strike“ like I was Jackie Chan! Dealer had no ideas. I was thinking of fabricating some kind of tool to lever the thing into place…

But then we started noticing it was getting easier every time we closed the top. Now all it takes is a firm push. Apparently, it just had to break itself in. Give it some time, and see if it gets better after frequent use…

 

[eb50]

It’s not unheard of, and we had the same issue when ours was new. My wife couldn’t even latch the driver’s side (she has problematic wrists), and I had to give it a sort of “palm heel strike“ like I was Jackie Chan! Dealer had no ideas. I was thinking of fabricating some kind of tool to lever the thing into place…

But then we started noticing it was getting easier every time we closed the top. Now all it takes is a firm push. Apparently, it just had to break itself in. Give it some time, and see if it gets better after frequent use…

My concern is the break in probably means some metal/paint that is causing the friction is rubbing off. It moves fine if I'm not trying to latch it, so I'm guessing it's a female latch alignment issue.

 

[Moto26]

My concern is the break in probably means some metal/paint that is causing the friction is rubbing off. It moves fine if I'm not trying to latch it, so I'm guessing it's a female latch alignment issue.

No concerns. The hook that engages the latch has a heavy plastic sleeve on it, so there’s no paint chafing.

I disassembled the whole thing once, to see if there was any adjustment that could be made, and there just isn’t. And it’s always the driver’s side, too, which is weird. There was a whole thread about this months ago. But seriously, just keep playing with it. It will get easier on its own. And it helps to latch the driver’s side first…

 

[BulldogBuck]

Try adjusting the brackets that are about dead center of the 2nd row windows. I've had my Bronco since November and have had it down about 20 times and never had any trouble, but it started doing the exact same thing as yours. I have the JTops mesh top and you have to remove those 2 brackets every time you install and take off the mesh. Well apparently the last time that I did it, I did not have the drivers side bracket in the correct position. The holes are slotted to allow for adjustment and my top requires them to both be in the furthest back position (the pin that comes out the side of the bracket needs to be pushed all the way to the rear of the vehicle). I messed up and had 1 all the way back and the other all the way forward. Took me several days of cussing the soft top before I realized it was my screw up. Took about a minute to slide the bracket back using the included tool kit and problem gone.

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

Mine was the same but got easier with use

 

[eb50]

I adjusted these bolts. Loosened them, got them in place where I could open/close easily, and then tightened. Both sides are the same now

 

[jnew71]

Revisiting this. I notice a whistling on the driver's side. I think I have isolated it to the weather stripping on the soft top above the driver's side windows. When I close the top, the stripping flares out instead of tucking like the passenger side does. If I run my finger along the stripping as I close it, it tucks. It's not a huge deal to do this but if an adjustment fixes, that is optimal.

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