Rugged Ridge Max Terrain Fender Flares

Parent Company: Omix-ADA
Company: Rugged Ridge
Retail: Quadratec

I get a lot of questions about the fender flares on my Jeep. They are Rugged Ridge Max Terrain fender flares, sold by Quadratec. They sit a couple inches higher and they stick out 1″ farther than the stock fender flares. This is great when you run 35″ or higher tires.

I like that they’re made of plastic, so while they might scratch in June when I’m scraping up against boulders and trees at Moab and Rubicon, they’ll bounce back. Metal will scrape up but they won’t bounce back, so you’ve got a more serious problem.

So why am I posting about them? Well, I found several issues with the front fender flares that I think folks should know about before spending $599 on the full set. The rear fender flares are fine, no complaints.

First, the Daylight Running Lights (DLRs) don’t come with wiring instructions, which is an issue given the number of Jeep model and lighting variations. I have a Sport S which does not come with DLRs, while other models or variations might. So when these DLRs are installed, there is one male and two female wires, without a clue what to do with them.

I called Quadratech, and after waiting over a month, they finally got the manufacturer to send me a replacement set of DLRs. Those failed too, since they were the same DLRs, with the same issues. So I called again and have been waiting for a response for a few months…I continue to wait.

Second, the DLRs are not sealed properly. After a few weeks they started to get filled with water droplets. The DLR function eventually failed on both. The signal light function still works, the yellow light flashes fine when I’m turning. But the DRLs are dead.

Second, the DLRs don’t align with the fender, as you can see above (mine) and below (screenshot from their video).

Third, probably the most important, is that the front fenders pull away from the body. This is because they were designed to ignore the two two clip holes that are positioned by the Jeep’s side vents. So the back side of the front fender flares are not mounted securely. I get that the fender flare sits much higher than the holes were meant to accommodate, but why use all the clips but those two by the Jeep’s side vents?

Rugged Ridge would do well to address the above issues. Until they do, I wouldn’t recommend these front fender flares to anyone. The rear fender flares are fine.