Ford admits Bronco hard top was epic fail

[SoCal]

https://jalopnik.com/ford-is-embarrassed-by-the-ford-bronco-hard-top-problem-1847485040

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[aldo98229]

Let me see if I get this: for the first 12 months of delays Ford blamed COVID; then during the first six months of delays this year it switched to blaming chip shortages. Then when that excuse stopped working it started blaming its supplier, Webasto.

Meanwhile, Ford continued hyping Bronco as if everything was honky dory. It wasn’t until photos started to appear online of crumbling tops and thousands of Broncos parked outside the plant that Ford had to own up to the fiasco.

So it seems to me that it isn’t that they are embarrassed about dropping the ball; what they are really embarrassed about is getting caught lying for 18 months.

 

[multicam]

Sounds like Farley can’t.... Hackett.

 

[aldo98229]

Ford must have hired a very expensive PR firm to help them salvage this launch.

The consultants’ first recommendation: own up to your screw up and apologize.

At this point, reservation holders are going to be watching very closely to see (1) if Ford is being genuine or is this just another marketing ploy, and (2) what practical solution to their endless waiting Ford is going to implement.

 

[BuyHold]

Ford keeps saying that the MIC hardtop issues are merely cosmetic but based on some of the things I am reading in the 6G forum I am not sure I believe that. Seem to be several examples of leaks or holes in the Bronco's MIC hardtop...

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/water-leaking-from-a-pillar-airbag-cover-in-heavy-rain.19657/

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/i-see-daylight-through-current-mic-top.21823/

Keep in mind that Ford really hasn't delivered that many Broncos yet and Fall/Winter hasn't come. To make things worse, Ford is storing thousands of these Broncos (dubbed #BadBatchBroncos by the 6G forum themselves) in a recently cleared field in Michigan called Dirt Mountain while these vehicles wait for new hardtops to be manufactured. If it is the case that the Broncos have chronic leaking issues then I can only imagine the damage that will be incurred while these things sit in that field.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/broncos-stored-as-far-as-one-can-see-wayne-mi-🔭.21397/

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Storing on dirt/grass/gravel will lead to significant surface rust on the chassis and suspension. What a shit show.

Looking at pictures in the Jolopnick article, it appears as f Ford decided to use a foam core laminate similar to how some boat hulls are built. The composite laminate is failing and allowing moisture into the foam which is then expanding and causing the “unsatisfactory appearance”.

Jeep uses SMC with no foam. Don’t know why Ford tried to reinvent the wheel here except possibly to save weight and keep an already chunky design from being more so.

 

[aldo98229]

Ford keeps saying that the MIC hardtop issues are merely cosmetic but based on some of the things I am reading in the 6G forum I am not sure I believe that. Seem to be several examples of leaks or holes in the Bronco's MIC hardtop...

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/water-leaking-from-a-pillar-airbag-cover-in-heavy-rain.19657/

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/i-see-daylight-through-current-mic-top.21823/

Keep in mind that Ford really hasn't delivered that many Broncos yet and Fall/Winter hasn't come. To make things worse, Ford is storing thousands of these Broncos (dubbed #BadBatchBroncos by the 6G forum themselves) in a recently cleared field in Michigan called Dirt Mountain while these vehicles wait for new hardtops to be manufactured. If it is the case that the Broncos have chronic leaking issues then I can only imagine the damage that will be incurred while these things sit in that field.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/broncos-stored-as-far-as-one-can-see-wayne-mi-🔭.21397/

Well, Ford has been changing its story every six months. Why would they start being honest now...?

And I agree: thousands of Broncos with leaky tops parked outside in Michigan weather for months ain’t gonna end well.

 

[four low]

Huge Scratch, Dent, Water damage sale ! If the hard tops have leaks, it would have been a good idea to shrink wrap the top, like a boat, for storage. Rodents are going to have a Field Day ( oops) with that storage ..

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Every one of those early hard tops will be sent to the recycle plant or land fill. They will likely have to destroy them first.

My concern, if I had a Bronco, would be that the replacement tops will probably be sent without windows. The each dealer would have to remove the glass from the old hardtop and install it on the new one. Just another potential issue for damage or poor workmanship. There isn't a dealer out there who has a tech that has any experience built up with the new Bronco.

 

[iboostgti335]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[jludave]

My concern, if I had a Bronco, would be that the replacement tops will probably be sent without windows. The each dealer would have to remove the glass from the old hardtop and install it on the new one. Just another potential issue for damage or poor workmanship. There isn't a dealer out there who has a tech that has any experience built up with the new Bronco.

They will be complete tops for the exact reason you said you would be worried about. Ford cannot afford to screw up the replacements. They will not chance a local dealership to fit/install windows.

 

[ODDs]

I doubt this is the last fix they will have for the hardtops.

Usually when something like this happens, there's the first fix that is the fastest and involves the least amount of tooling changes and part interoperability, and then in a couple years will be a fix that involves tooling changes to these parts but still the same design, and then at a midcycle refresh or even a full refresh will be the fix that changes these parts and the parts around them to fix the overall poor design decisions that lead to the problem.

 

[IrishJeeper]

I think they should store the oops parts here. Would get about as much action as it gets any other time.

 

[SilverSurfer]

This is only the start, the Bronco is an epic failure.

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