No, no. It stores the pressure inside so that when you open the doors again they blow open with so much force they blow off the hinges.You'll pop the hardtop right off.
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This!Cover it with some cardboard and tape and you'll find out.
I'm suspicious of that. A lot of dumb things were said on Jeep Forum.Found this info on jeepforum.
“The vents are there for if you have a hardtop and the airbags deploy. They vent the air pressure out of the Jeep, otherwise windows could blow from airbag deployment. On the older years the vents were built into the hardtop on the sides.”
I would like to know why the Jeep engineers always had a vent either in the hardtop or the tailgate.I'm suspicious of that. A lot of dumb things were said on Jeep Forum.
Opening and closing the doors with some low threshold of effort makes the most sense to me.I would like to know why the Jeep engineers always had a vent either in the hardtop or the tailgate.
I do know the doors close different with hardtop vs soft top vs no top.
Mention was also made of the efficiency of the A/C function
Eardrums blow out way before glass does... The tailgate vent is likely to prevent lawsuits of hearing loss after someone installed a new snug fitting soft top, then get in an accident that deploys bags. Doors are harder to close with a soft top so likely the pressure builds up fast.Opening and closing the doors with some low threshold of effort makes the most sense to me.
Airbags deploy with explosive force. Cabin pressure likely has little effect on their performance. And who really cares if the windows blow out in an accident bad enough up deploy the airbags.
AC works better in a closed environment. Vents to the outside don't help that.
TJs are a pretty drafty vehicle even under the best of circumstances.
Just crack a window before you shut the doorsI know the tailgate vent is functional to relieve the vacuum created when shutting the doors. How cumbersome is shutting the doors if you delete the vent?
I always drive with the windows down, But good point.Found this info on jeepforum.
“The vents are there for if you have a hardtop and the airbags deploy. They vent the air pressure out of the Jeep, otherwise windows could blow from airbag deployment. On the older years the vents were built into the hardtop on the sides.”
Perceptible by weevilsClearly, they prevent the creation of a comparative vacuum outside the jeep.
okay, experiment time... seal off your vents with cardboard and gorilla tape, close door like normal.... mind blown.If you look at almost any modern production vehicle, they all have vents in the rear. They're usually concealed by the rear bumper fascia on a car or SUV or the bed on a pickup.
I don't think air is incompressible enough to have any impact on the way the doors open and close, but it probably is incomoressible enough that I doubt a vent would play much of a role in releasing the pressure during an airbag deployment.
However, I'd absolutely buy the HVAC thing. No impact on recirc but if you're in one of the modes that brings in air through the cowl, the air inside is gonna have to go somewhere or the fan will end up pressurizing the interior and airflow will suffer dramatically.