Warning: Extended Warranty didn't cover MIC Top crack damage

[mpeugeot]

So it cracked when you pushed up on it, after removing all the hardware?

it cracked as I put it back down on the Bronco 3 inches rear of where I lifted it straight up.

So basically, I pushed it straight up just enough to clear the pins, and lowered it to sit on the Bronco, and then it broke without any warning. It was still on the Bronco. I hadn't even disconnected the water and windshield wiper (that's how little I moved it).

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[mpeugeot]

This part is just plastic. Why not just cover it with some epoxy? It will harden even stronger than before.

Exactly what I planned to do in the end, because after reading that Ford was denying claims on tops with similar defects, I didn't expect my claim to be accepted. Repairing it may require some form of laminating metal to the top.

What I didn't expect to hear is that the entire top is not covered in any way under the extended warranty.

 

[mpeugeot]

You modified it and it broke as a result. Why should that be covered by warranty?

Modified what? I lifted it up and placed it down on the Bronco 2-3 inches aft of where I lifted it.

Ya, I do think that a material defect should be covered. The purpose of my post is to warn others that they won't be covered.

You didn't see me saying that my CV joint should be covered when it popped apart as I replaced my suspension... No, I made a mistake, tightened something in the wrong order, and it popped apart. Totally my fault (bad design, but I caused it to separate). There's a big difference.

Maybe 2.7 engine warranties will be denied because the person had the audacity to change the position of the valve by starting the motor. The valve would have never broken if you didn't take it off the valve seat.

 

[mpeugeot]

guess what, the extended warranty doesn’t cover “major exterior body panels” either.

I’m not sure I understand how this happened, (sounds like maybe the weight of the top was resting on an alignment dowel causing a point load instead of spread out over a flat surface?) but I’m sorry that it happened.

if you were “just shy” of 36,000 miles why is the extended warranty even a factor? Did you wait and not take it in until after 36k?

also, I would ask your dealer to create a GCCT financial assistance request case and advocate on your behalf. Since you bought a new vehicle AND an extended warranty from Ford you should have a high value score and are almost certainly eligible for after warranty goodwill assistance.

I was headed back to work the next day and the 365 mile trip put me over 36k. It happened on a Sunday evening. Unfortunately, the military frowns on people who don't report for duty on time. So, I didn't have many options... I didn't expect it to break from something so low impact.

It happened exactly as you described it. Point load. The factory manual says nothing about not being able to support the weight of the hardtop this way.

As someone else said, I never use a torque wrench, and normally I would not have either... except for the fact that the top had already broken and I didn't want any possible warranty to be declined because I didn't use a torque wrench.

 

[mpeugeot]

Rough news. Sorry about your luck but appreciate you bringing this fine print to air. My warranty sez:

"7. WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THIS AGREEMENT:...p) ...convertible top"

Guessing that's all the ground they need (and probably why mic2.0 retros were part of a "customer satisfaction campaign" or whatever they called it)

I definitely do NOT use a torque wrench when reinstalling hard top and I've done it a dozen or more times now. Still not going to use it, but I'll be EXTRA careful from now on- the alignment pins in the same area look well prone to breakage as well.

I think that you would be better off without the guide pins, as these are more to likely cause a failure than running without them.

 

[mpeugeot]

I fail to see how this is fords fault. Also, extended warranties don’t cover every single part of the vehicle, they aren’t bumper to bumper. You should’ve already known what was and wasn’t covered before you bought it.

I was surprised to see that it was not covered. My reason for purchasing the extended warranty at all is that my engine is in the hot zone. So that was my primary motivation for purchasing it. Also, a removable hardtop is not the same as a "convertible top", which is generally thought to be a soft top. However, I am sure that many people might error in the belief that the top might be covered... It is not...

It's defective materials, that's why it is Ford's fault... plan and simple. If they made the body panels out of cracked metal due to work hardening and the panels started splitting at the end of the 1st year, that would be a similar example of defective materials.

Maybe you will get lucky and have something similar happen to your Bronco.

 

[VoltageDrop]

Trim
noun

1. 1.
   additional decoration, typically along the edges of something and in contrasting color or material.
   
   Doesn't sound like the roof would fall under the word "trim" to me.

To be fair, MIC tops do often have many contrasting colors

I LOL at all the shit talkers and blame placers.

This MIC top is a rabid piece of shit.

That flange area posted is only slightly more durable than wet toilet paper.

Mine has a small tear in it also near the guide pin. NO mods, just typical useage as it should have been designed for.


I've always used a pulley system and two people to align the top, but if it is off by the slightest amount, that flange will tear ... EASILY.

Folks, this "hard top" is literally nothing more than plastic coated paper.
I promise you, you can tear one with your fingers if you want, easily.
It is not anything like the hard tops like the old Broncos and K5 Blazers. Those tops are several decades old and are still serviceable.
This MIC top didn't last more than a few weeks before they had to do an "unofficial" recall.
They certainly didn't "redesign" or improve it in the 30 days it took for the replacements.

Yeah, the Webasto tops are the achilles heel of the B6G and @mpeugeot will certainly not be the last person to experience this issue. The 80-96 Bronco tops had alignment pins yet you could set the tops on the garage floor for years with 300 pounds of your kids' crap on top of them and they would still not crack. The top was one of the reasons I sold my 21 and I was really hoping a higher quality modular top would come along in 23 but that remains to be seen.

 

[Laredo]

This is some serious B.S. I have a extended warranty on the my Bronco (150k miles). Last month, I pulled up my hardtop to put in additional weather stripping (rather than complaining about the hideous top in the first place - just shy of 36k miles) and the damn top ended up cracking severely.

(this happened before re-installing the MIC top, but all fasteners were torqued to manufacturers speciation with a torque wrench).

Ya, apparently, that's not even likely to be accepted under the warranty anyway. It was never dropped, never off the Bronco, and only moved a few inches back to add additional weather stripping.

So, knowing that they might refuse to warranty it for being dropped, I still brought it in to the dealer. The dealer, while polite, courteous, and friendly looked to see if it was even a covered item under ESP. It isn't!

F'ing unreal, I have not even had my Bronco 1 year yet, and they are telling me that "trim pieces" are not covered after 36k miles AND that my Ford extended warranty doesn't cover it either.

So, for anyone thinking that Ford will stand behind this obviously defective top unless forced at gun point, they won't.

I hope my motor shells out at 149,975 miles. I want to see Ford eat a bag of sausages.

Also, my Sync 4 system still isn't updating, but they "might" be able to get me in for service in late November. You can get military mental health appointments faster than that. WTF @Ford Motor Company.

Sure am happy I got an extended warranty plan... The basic warranty didn't even last a year (for a non-moving part clearly not affected by mileage) and the extended warranty is apparently useless with regards to the MIC top. It's not a trim piece, it's a major exterior body panel (and clearly defective).

What about the 2.0 replacement you're due ?
Aren't you still on 1.0 ?

 

[Mattwings]

This is some serious B.S. I have a extended warranty on the my Bronco (150k miles). Last month, I pulled up my hardtop to put in additional weather stripping (rather than complaining about the hideous top in the first place - just shy of 36k miles) and the damn top ended up cracking severely.

(this happened before re-installing the MIC top, but all fasteners were torqued to manufacturers speciation with a torque wrench).

Ya, apparently, that's not even likely to be accepted under the warranty anyway. It was never dropped, never off the Bronco, and only moved a few inches back to add additional weather stripping.

So, knowing that they might refuse to warranty it for being dropped, I still brought it in to the dealer. The dealer, while polite, courteous, and friendly looked to see if it was even a covered item under ESP. It isn't!

F'ing unreal, I have not even had my Bronco 1 year yet, and they are telling me that "trim pieces" are not covered after 36k miles AND that my Ford extended warranty doesn't cover it either.

So, for anyone thinking that Ford will stand behind this obviously defective top unless forced at gun point, they won't.

I hope my motor shells out at 149,975 miles. I want to see Ford eat a bag of sausages.

Also, my Sync 4 system still isn't updating, but they "might" be able to get me in for service in late November. You can get military mental health appointments faster than that. WTF @Ford Motor Company.

Sure am happy I got an extended warranty plan... The basic warranty didn't even last a year (for a non-moving part clearly not affected by mileage) and the extended warranty is apparently useless with regards to the MIC top. It's not a trim piece, it's a major exterior body panel (and clearly defective).

I looks to me like the weather-stripping you added left a gap and the top cracked because it was no longer flush against to mounting surface. Warranty would be due to failure of the product, this looks like failure of a modification. Definitely sorry it cracked, but I can see how it would be a difficult warranty claim. You took the top off, you modified how it was mounted, you torqued it down and cracked it. As others mentioned, its probably not a hard repair. Hopefully you find a good solution.

 

[flip]

I think that you would be better off without the guide pins, as these are more to likely cause a failure than running without them.

You are correct about this. They are useful for initial assembly at the factory but after that, just another part that can cause a failure during removal/installation. I took mine off after seeing a couple others here that developed stress cracks in this area.

I would see if the dealer can open a GCCT case and try to get you some assistance with the repair. Not saying it will happen but since you bought it new and have a Ford ESP, your LTV score should be pretty high which means they're more likely to offer some type of help.

 

[mpeugeot]

I looks to me like the weather-stripping you added left a gap and the top cracked because it was no longer flush against to mounting surface. Warranty would be due to failure of the product, this looks like failure of a modification. Definitely sorry it cracked, but I can see how it would be a difficult warranty claim. You took the top off, you modified how it was mounted, you torqued it down and cracked it. As others mentioned, its probably not a hard repair. Hopefully you find a good solution.

No it cracked before I even put the weather stripping on the the vehicle. I lifted the top up, moved it 2 to 3 inches rearward and it cracked as I set it back down. Stop making up "facts" that have nothing to do with the failure. Next you are going to suggest that I used the wrong wax...

The weather stripping by the way was all the way in the front along the B pillars, which in no way could have caused the crack.

 

[mpeugeot]

What about the 2.0 replacement you're due ?
Aren't you still on 1.0 ?

Mine was a dirt mountain "repair" before delivery MIC 1.0+. Held my Bronco for 3 months so I could get a top that met @Ford Motor Company's high standards.

Not that it much matters. I have a Bestop Trektop that is in the garage.

 

[Rayder]

What I'm not understanding from your description of what happened is why there is damage to the flange in the area of the bolt hole on the high of the shear condition, and why the direction of the of the shear condition is opposite of what point loading the flange would cause, but exactly what would be caused by an over torqued fastener. Both of those factors would indicate that it broke from over tightening the fastener. Maybe I'm not understanding what happened correctly?

 

[da_jokker]

I'm still blown away how you got so many miles on that thing already. You must go through vehicles like crazy!

For my, I'm thinking of bedlining the MIC just to give it some structural integrity, maybe even seal the edges so it won't spit.

 

[mpeugeot]

What I'm not understanding from your description of what happened is why there is damage to the flange in the area of the bolt hole on the high of the shear condition, and why the direction of the of the shear condition is opposite of what point loading the flange would cause, but exactly what would be caused by an over torqued fastener. Both of those factors would indicate that it broke from over tightening the fastener. Maybe I'm not understanding what happened correctly?

That fastener was not there when I lifted the top up and the crack just happened to travel through the hole. When I set the top down, the guide pin flexed (the other end where the crack actually started), and the crack traveled to the end of the top. I reinstalled the top after the crack happened and used a torque wrench because I realized that someone would suggest that I over torqued the bolt. That is not what caused the crack, the crack was already there before I reinstalled the top.

The arrow shows where the crack started. The weight of the top on guide pin resulted in the top shearing along the weak area between the two holes.

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