Give It a Rest: Does the Ford Bronco Need a Gap in Production?
The Ford Bronco has been back on the market since 2021. It’s a popular option and shows no signs of slowing down. However, it’s hard to consider this one of the best midsize SUVs because it has struggled in the quality department. Sure, some people have a stress-free experience with their Ford SUV, but each model year has had significant problems.
Should Ford take a few years off from producing the Bronco in order to iron out the issues?
The Ford Bronco isn’t one of the best midsize SUVs for reliability
There are many reasons to love the Ford Bronco. It has a great look, it’s customizable, and it’s one of the best midsize SUVs for off-roading. However, each model year has had significant complaints from buyers and less-than-stellar ratings across the board. For example, J.D. Power gave the 2024 Ford Bronco a 75 out of 100 for reliability. Yes, this is an ‘average’ score, but one would assume the automaker would try and improve the vehicle.
Unfortunately, the 2024 Ford Bronco isn’t the only one with a relativity low score. Neither model the marketing research firm has evaluated has gotten above average for quality & reliability. In fact, the vehicle’s overall score has never been 80 or above, which is pretty bad for a vehicle as popular as the Bronco. For context, the only ‘great’ rating it has is for resale value.
The Bronco has a number of significant issues
The thing about the Bronco is that plenty of reports illustrate how problematic of a vehicle it is. For example, the 2021 Ford Bronco even has an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The investigation came about because there were several reports of the models with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine experiencing severe engine failure. This issue could have negatively impacted over 25,000 SUVs. Reportedly, the engine failure came from faulty intake valves.
The 2023 Ford Bronco also has several issues that carried over from previous models. Perhaps most notably, there was another investigation launched in October of 2023. Once again, there were numerous reports of models with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine experiencing engine failure. The data from the investigation includes 328 customer complaints, 487 warranty claims, and over 800 engine exchanges.
Of course, the 2023 Ford Bronco also has other issues. There are reports of transmission problems, random leaks, and noises from various areas of the vehicle. This model has six recalls, with the most significant being related to transmission issues, powertrain, and steering.
Still, many people stand by their Bronco as no two vehicles are the same. However, perhaps it needs a gap in production until Ford can iron out the kinks.
