A bad luck Bronco?

[BigBend530]

Purchased a brand new '22 Big Bend Sasquatch 2.7l on 2/4 (Sat). Had 47 miles on it during test drive. On the 3 hr drive home from purchase at night it cut out on power twice for around 5 to 10 seconds about 20 miles apart and finally died on a narrow 2 lane highway about 20 minutes later at under 200 miles on the dash. After several attempts it refired and drove home with SES light on. Drove it to local dealer on 2/6 AM. Told it was battery junction box. None available for order so local dealer ordered one from across the country. Part arrived on 2/14 and didn't fix issue. Told likely PCM. After my 3rd call to Customer Relations around 2/16 they approved PCM replacement but none available. Ford then closed my repair case this last week unknown to the service dept. I called Customer Relations again on 2/23 and after them talking with service dept they said PCM should arrive by 3/3.

Then there is the key issue. Selling dealership couldn't find my 2nd key when purchased vehicle. I got message key was found on 2/6 and being mailed on 2/7. After several calls and texts since, dealership is no longer responding or following up. Service manager called them and spoke to sales manager since both keys are needed for PATS reset. Ford Customer Relations called selling dealership as well and spoke to different manager. Still nothing.

I love the Bronco. Loved it a lot more the 1st hour of the drive home before it started cutting out and nearly leaving me stranded on a rural highway but I'm nearing a point of asking myself if this just won't be the right one for me.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

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[Layman]

My thoughts are that while this is unfortunate, you are overreacting. Maybe find a different dealer. Sounds like you have a couple that are not the best. The local guy doesn't care because you bought the car from the dealer 3 hours away, so he is not going to go out of his way for you.

This is not a question of luck. This is a question of finding a competent dealer.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[0ne]

This is not a question of luck. This is a question of finding a competent dealer.

Big market or small market doesn’t seem to matter, staffing and workloads make luck a better bet than competence.

 

[BigBend530]

My thoughts are that while this is unfortunate, you are overreacting. Maybe find a different dealer. Sounds like you have a couple that are not the best. The local guy doesn't care because you bought the car from the dealer 3 hours away, so he is not going to go out of his way for you.

This is not a question of luck. This is a question of finding a competent dealer.

Just my 2 cents.

Thank you for your thoughts. I do hope that I am just overreacting. Just wanting to be prepared if the PCM doesn't fix it as well. It's frustrating that Ford approves significant repairs for parts that aren't available and you have to be a super squeaky wheel to get them to help providing said part(s) to get your vehicle fixed especially in these circumstances.

The local dealership has actually been very helpful. I had previously talked to them several times on dealer trades to get vehicles and understood the dealer I found the Bronco at was too far for that. They immediately put me in a new car as a loaner and placed an order for the PCM before approval so they would already be on the waiting list. I do understand that they don't want to eat the "cost" of a 2nd key and the effort of programming it due to the negligence of the selling dealership. I am optimistic that Ford will include that as part of the repair since the selling dealership is unresponsive and providing poor service in resolving that issue.

 

[BigBend530]

Do you still have the window sticker ?
What was the Blend date ?
State where first delivered ?

Blend 320220914
CA

 

[KABQ]

Check your terminals and grounds, including the bolts in the fuse box under the hood on the driver's side. Many Broncos on here have been waylaid with similar random shut downs by loose connections. Dealers don't seem to have caught on to this simple issue yet.

 

[BigBend530]

Check your terminals and grounds, including the bolts in the fuse box under the hood on the driver's side. Many Broncos on here have been waylaid with similar random shut downs by loose connections. Dealers don't seem to have caught on to this simple issue yet.

Thanks to this site I read on here about checking the bolts that attach the battery junction box to the fuse block. I checked them before i drove it down to local dealer the first time to get looked at. I didn't check the battery terminal bolts.

The fuel pump relay and high-pressure injector relay are both nonservicable and built into the BJB. All the fault codes were for voltage to fuel pump and injectors. Grounds and input power to PCM were checked (pins and circuits) and all checked out. Appears PCM is not continuous providing power to the BJB.

 

[KABQ]

Thanks to this site I read on here about checking the bolts that attach the battery junction box to the fuse block. I checked them before i drove it down to local dealer the first time to get looked at. I didn't check the battery terminal bolts.

The fuel pump relay and high-pressure injector relay are both nonservicable and built into the BJB. All the fault codes were for voltage to fuel pump and injectors. Grounds and input power to PCM were checked (pins and circuits) and all checked out. Appears PCM is not continuous providing power to the BJB.

I'd check the terminals as well. These things seem to be extremely sensitive to output voltage fluctuations which seems to lead to very strange and unpredictable gremlins. Unfortunately they also seem to be prone to module failures, but checking the terminals has been a quick fix for many.

 

[ScottyC]

I was poking around under the hood of my 2022 BD and found the negative terminal on the battery was loose. No issues for me, but I thought it was odd.

 

[BigBend530]

Okay, it rolled down the prod'n line mid-Sept, more than 5-months ago. With that and the missing key you sorta wonder where it's been, shuffling around ?

btw, you're not over-reacting in my book. Having a brand-new engine die multiple times on the way home is ridiculous. If it wasn't caught by MAP quality, then should've been caught by dealer PDI. And still wondering where it's been the last few months.

Bronco is also battery hog, can cause elec problems. Am sure you already checked it for weak battery.

Our test drive was only a couple of miles. It wasn't our first test drive of the day (different dealer). I do wish the Ford online database would keep track of all fault code history and not just start when it's listed as sold. The local service manager even said a similar thing. This "we don't know where the 2nd key" adds another layer to the what was going on from the time of delivery to sale question.

Battery voltage according to the gauges was good (even next morning after drive home) but didn't manually check the voltage.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and help with things to check. I've got 5 days till the PCM is replaced or me calling Ford again so we will see how things go.

 

[BigHoof]

Thank you for your thoughts. I do hope that I am just overreacting. Just wanting to be prepared if the PCM doesn't fix it as well. It's frustrating that Ford approves significant repairs for parts that aren't available and you have to be a super squeaky wheel to get them to help providing said part(s) to get your vehicle fixed especially in these circumstances.

I don't think you are overacting at all. Hours from home, brand new vehicle breaking down. Name me one other forum that has has as many "towed the first day" posts as this one. There seems to be some serious quality issues at Ford. Luckily your drive was able to be resumed but many others were not as lucky. Seems hit or miss if you are going to get a good one or not.

 

[BigBend530]

Wanted to share an update. PCM arrived about 1pm yesterday and service manager was taking it for a road test by 2:30. Have put a little over 100 miles on it and everything seems to be operating as expected so far. Got the mail yesterday after bringing the Bronco home from its month in the shop and the 2nd original key was in the mail from the selling dealership. It was a great end to a few very stressful weeks.

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