20K Bronco Raptor report card A-

[raptorusmaximus]

Well, it been a little over a year and 20k miles since I took delivery. here' the good, the bad and the annoying
Overall the my BR has been completely reliable. I had some build issues I had to take care of right off..
- torn boot on the right front axle off the delivery truck, dealer replaced it.
- some weird piece of plastic sticking out of the vent cover on the hood. After the dealer threatened me with a new hood I took an exacto knife and cut it off myself
- the phone charger never worked right, dealer tried a flash per TSB to no avail. I replaced it myself with an aftermarket one.
There are a couple of annoying things I've posted about before:
- the fact everything defaults after shut down ( personally I suspect they were thinking it was going to be a rental )
- the GREEN seat belt warning that stays on for a full minute....telling me that I DID NOT forget to buckle.... I haven't figured out that one.....someone was smoking something when they decided to do that....
- the hyper aggressive downshifting in sport/baja mode.. ( have have paddles if I need to do that!! ) I do drive often in sport mode because there is a noticeable increase in power. I'm sure this is tuning not just increased throttle.
- the sound system is not worthy of such an expensive vehicle......ford should do better
- I am worried about long term maintenance costs... I would have preferred a naturally aspirated V8 that would go 300k
- unpainted spots in the engine bay
Other than that it's been a joy to drive
- Very comfortable
- love the capability
- the doors are easy to take off... I drove top-less and door-less all summer
- I've gotten used to the stares...
Mods:
- DV8 light bar for the mod bumper
- Auxbeam 4" lights I wanted a smaller form factor that still throws tons of light. These exceeded my expectations - 4 yellow mix of spot and wide and 4 white wide beam the spots are mounted on ditch light brackets
- I removed the large rear third light so I could actually see whats behind me..... replace it with a light inside the spare
- replaced rear speakers with kenwoods
- Ford rock guard for the front of the hood.... not an exact fit but it's close enough and work great no rock dingers yet
- I painted the beauty rings Orange.... easy, cleaned, carefully spray painted and clear coat.... they look great
- replaced the phone charger with one that works.
- UPR billet oil drain plug
- bestop bimmini top... it's not very good, flaps horribly no matter how tight. I plan on getting something better next spring
- orange front shackles
- Forescan mods: turn off double honk
- Raptor side emblems ( ford deleted these after I placed the order)
Next mods:
- engine tune ( not sure what one yet...)
- catch can

That kinda sums it up, I would give it an A+ if it wasn't for the annoyances listed above and that I had a bunch of stuff to fix right off the truck.....would I recommend the BR?? Oh yea.....

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[FRANK-72/23]

Agree A++ Love mine-

 

[Ninjak]

Very nice. Enjoy your vehicle! I do agree there are some annoyances, but I love my Bronco overall and the way the modularity works with it. The downside, YOU KEEP SPENDING MONEY!

Overall, I am happy with my Bronco, and I do plan to keep it for a bit.

 

[vrtical]

Absolute A++. I am now 11 months in and 8500 trouble free miles. I got a good one and an exceptional top. The only issues I have had have been self inflicted damage, but that is why we bought it to be able to off road. Its really a nice vehicle to drive given its size.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Did you notice a difference with the bug guard? I believe the Ford listing for it said it’s not recommended for Raptor. Don’t know why.

Bugs are so bad in the summer where I am at. I can have a clean windshield for about 15 minutes before 200 bugs are splat back on the windshield.

Well, it been a little over a year and 20k miles since I took delivery. here' the good, the bad and the annoying
Overall the my BR has been completely reliable. I had some build issues I had to take care of right off..
- torn boot on the right front axle off the delivery truck, dealer replaced it.
- some weird piece of plastic sticking out of the vent cover on the hood. After the dealer threatened me with a new hood I took an exacto knife and cut it off myself
- the phone charger never worked right, dealer tried a flash per TSB to no avail. I replaced it myself with an aftermarket one.
There are a couple of annoying things I've posted about before:
- the fact everything defaults after shut down ( personally I suspect they were thinking it was going to be a rental )
- the GREEN seat belt warning that stays on for a full minute....telling me that I DID NOT forget to buckle.... I haven't figured out that one.....someone was smoking something when they decided to do that....
- the hyper aggressive downshifting in sport/baja mode.. ( have have paddles if I need to do that!! ) I do drive often in sport mode because there is a noticeable increase in power. I'm sure this is tuning not just increased throttle.
- the sound system is not worthy of such an expensive vehicle......ford should do better
- I am worried about long term maintenance costs... I would have preferred a naturally aspirated V8 that would go 300k
- unpainted spots in the engine bay
Other than that it's been a joy to drive
- Very comfortable
- love the capability
- the doors are easy to take off... I drove top-less and door-less all summer
- I've gotten used to the stares...
Mods:
- DV8 light bar for the mod bumper
- Auxbeam 4" lights I wanted a smaller form factor that still throws tons of light. These exceeded my expectations - 4 yellow mix of spot and wide and 4 white wide beam the spots are mounted on ditch light brackets
- I removed the large rear third light so I could actually see whats behind me..... replace it with a light inside the spare
- replaced rear speakers with kenwoods
- Ford rock guard for the front of the hood.... not an exact fit but it's close enough and work great no rock dingers yet
- I painted the beauty rings Orange.... easy, cleaned, carefully spray painted and clear coat.... they look great
- replaced the phone charger with one that works.
- UPR billet oil drain plug
- bestop bimmini top... it's not very good, flaps horribly no matter how tight. I plan on getting something better next spring
- orange front shackles
- Forescan mods: turn off double honk
- Raptor side emblems ( ford deleted these after I placed the order)
Next mods:
- engine tune ( not sure what one yet...)
- catch can

That kinda sums it up, I would give it an A+ if it wasn't for the annoyances listed above and that I had a bunch of stuff to fix right off the truck.....would I recommend the BR?? Oh yea.....

 

[MidnightSpecial]

Ive been really enjoying the Bronco Raptor. Its a ton of fun to drive. Thinking about picking up a cheap commuter car so that I can keep the miles off of it. The Bronco is the first car in 10 years Ive actually wanted to keep for the long haul haha.

 

[bloominguez]

- the hyper aggressive downshifting in sport/baja mode.. ( have have paddles if I need to do that!! ) I do drive often in sport mode because there is a noticeable increase in power. I'm sure this is tuning not just increased throttle.

Do you really think Sport mode increases power?? How are you sure?
https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/a33472816/what-does-sport-mode-do/

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that Sport Mode merely changes the throttle mapping (and shift points), making you *think* the vehicle is more responsive. Just like Eco mode doesn't reduce power, it just makes the throttle less responsive. We've seen this in various threads showing that the mode you're in doesn't affect gas mileage--which wouldn't be the case if the power level did actually change. We just compensate by pushing the pedal less (or more, if in Eco).

You may think the tuning is different, but I suspect the shifting you don't seem to like deserves the credit. Gotta keep the turbocharged engine in the boost. The aggressive downshifting is a main feature of Sport mode, not an annoyance. It's probably why you *think* the tuning is different.

Solution: Don't use Sport mode, just press the gas pedal farther in normal mode.
Advanced solution (unfortunately not available in a Raptor): Get a manual transmission, choose the gear you're in yourself, regardless of how you set throttle sensitivity (via mode setting).

 

[vrtical]

Solution: Don't use Sport mode, just press the gas pedal farther in normal mode.
Advanced solution (unfortunately not available in a Raptor): Get a manual transmission, choose the gear you're in yourself, regardless of how you set throttle sensitivity (via mode setting).

Given we have paddle shifters, you can put it in M and boom your're in control of shifting.

 

[raptorusmaximus]

Did you notice a difference with the bug guard? I believe the Ford listing for it said it’s not recommended for Raptor. Don’t know why.

Bugs are so bad in the summer where I am at. I can have a clean windshield for about 15 minutes before 200 bugs are splat back on the windshield.

well, 21 K and no chips.... it's not a perfect fit but it's close enough

 

[raptorusmaximus]

Do you really think Sport mode increases power?? How are you sure?
https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/a33472816/what-does-sport-mode-do/

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that Sport Mode merely changes the throttle mapping (and shift points), making you *think* the vehicle is more responsive. Just like Eco mode doesn't reduce power, it just makes the throttle less responsive. We've seen this in various threads showing that the mode you're in doesn't affect gas mileage--which wouldn't be the case if the power level did actually change. We just compensate by pushing the pedal less (or more, if in Eco).

You may think the tuning is different, but I suspect the shifting you don't seem to like deserves the credit. Gotta keep the turbocharged engine in the boost. The aggressive downshifting is a main feature of Sport mode, not an annoyance. It's probably why you *think* the tuning is different.

Solution: Don't use Sport mode, just press the gas pedal farther in normal mode.
Advanced solution (unfortunately not available in a Raptor): Get a manual transmission, choose the gear you're in yourself, regardless of how you set throttle sensitivity (via mode setting).

Every manufacturer approaches this differently, the BR sport mode is very different than my wife's Porsche, than my buddies Corvette etc.... ( Neither of those has the hyper aggressive downshifting either)
I've experimented with this extensively for the last year, in many different situations...... A good example is a freeway on-ramp near my house: I set up the R button on the wheel for sport mode..... accelerate up the ramp and hit the button and it noticeably pulls harder and doesn't downshift. I've tried to recreate this in normal mode and I can't, it will downshift every time. That's not just shift points..... If you look at the owners manual it states engine tuning is part of sport mode. I firmly believe it's more than pedal mapping too.... I have a pedal commander on my f-150 raptor and this feels different too.
Do some experimenting yourself..... post what you think.....

 

[wanna1]

I love mine. It's 6 months old and has over 22,000 miles. No problems and lots of mods.
I like it much more than the regular Bronco.

 

[the314boss]

Well, it been a little over a year and 20k miles since I took delivery. here' the good, the bad and the annoying
Overall the my BR has been completely reliable. I had some build issues I had to take care of right off..
- torn boot on the right front axle off the delivery truck, dealer replaced it.
- some weird piece of plastic sticking out of the vent cover on the hood. After the dealer threatened me with a new hood I took an exacto knife and cut it off myself
- the phone charger never worked right, dealer tried a flash per TSB to no avail. I replaced it myself with an aftermarket one.
There are a couple of annoying things I've posted about before:
- the fact everything defaults after shut down ( personally I suspect they were thinking it was going to be a rental )
- the GREEN seat belt warning that stays on for a full minute....telling me that I DID NOT forget to buckle.... I haven't figured out that one.....someone was smoking something when they decided to do that....
- the hyper aggressive downshifting in sport/baja mode.. ( have have paddles if I need to do that!! ) I do drive often in sport mode because there is a noticeable increase in power. I'm sure this is tuning not just increased throttle.
- the sound system is not worthy of such an expensive vehicle......ford should do better
- I am worried about long term maintenance costs... I would have preferred a naturally aspirated V8 that would go 300k
- unpainted spots in the engine bay
Other than that it's been a joy to drive
- Very comfortable
- love the capability
- the doors are easy to take off... I drove top-less and door-less all summer
- I've gotten used to the stares...
Mods:
- DV8 light bar for the mod bumper
- Auxbeam 4" lights I wanted a smaller form factor that still throws tons of light. These exceeded my expectations - 4 yellow mix of spot and wide and 4 white wide beam the spots are mounted on ditch light brackets
- I removed the large rear third light so I could actually see whats behind me..... replace it with a light inside the spare
- replaced rear speakers with kenwoods
- Ford rock guard for the front of the hood.... not an exact fit but it's close enough and work great no rock dingers yet
- I painted the beauty rings Orange.... easy, cleaned, carefully spray painted and clear coat.... they look great
- replaced the phone charger with one that works.
- UPR billet oil drain plug
- bestop bimmini top... it's not very good, flaps horribly no matter how tight. I plan on getting something better next spring
- orange front shackles
- Forescan mods: turn off double honk
- Raptor side emblems ( ford deleted these after I placed the order)
Next mods:
- engine tune ( not sure what one yet...)
- catch can

That kinda sums it up, I would give it an A+ if it wasn't for the annoyances listed above and that I had a bunch of stuff to fix right off the truck.....would I recommend the BR?? Oh yea.....

appreciate the report; only 1K miles on mine and i am a fan! definitely some small things that raise my eyebrows when considering what "should be" on/in a vehicle of this category, but lovin' it nonetheless.

question: my phone charge mat is doing the phone warmer thing and not really charging the phone worth a hoot... what kit did you use to replace?

 

[raptorusmaximus]

appreciate the report; only 1K miles on mine and i am a fan! definitely some small things that raise my eyebrows when considering what "should be" on/in a vehicle of this category, but lovin' it nonetheless.

question: my phone charge mat is doing the phone warmer thing and not really charging the phone worth a hoot... what kit did you use to replace?

I got mine from 21 off road, but there's quite a few people selling them now. search the forum, lots of good info.

 

[roatanbronco]

Can anyone suggest power electric running boards for the BR? I tried to have the AMP XL installed on mine and my installer found out after mounting, they couldn't make the electrical connection.
AMP says they haven't made a fix yet for the Raptor. The Go Rhino supposedly works but I
understand they operate using stick on magnets and have a tendency to fall off or move out of alignment over time.

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