About ready to give up and lemon law my bronco

[BadlandsA51]

Another option is to buy the extended warranty with a $0 deductible for say 7 years, 100K miles and keep it. The $2k for the warranty is less than the differential to buy another new Bronco. But it also depends on how long you keep your vehicles. 7 years may not be enough coverage for you.

Just based on parts costs, I wouldn’t buy any new vehicle without the longest extended warranty available, and I always recommend the factory warranty. A lot of the aftermarket companies will use used parts. I don’t want a junkyard engine put in my newer vehicle.

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[Zach@Granger]

Hi All,

I've had so much bad luck with the bronco. A while ago I posted about a rear main seal leak and them taking over two months to fix it. Well I took people's advice and brought it to a new dealership. The new dealership (or I guess the FSE[Field Service Engineer] that the legal team sent out to inspect it) decided a new long engine assembly would be a quick fix. I get the car back, and by the time I get home, there's oil visible on the bottom of the bell housing again. Not only that, but now I have an engine light on and blinking intermittently. So I take it back a 3rd time and the FSE says the oil pan may need a new gasket? Not exactly sure if he actually did anything, apparently they lifted it and ran it for 30 mins on rollers or something. Anyways get it back and everything seems fine for a few days. Now I am seeing more oil on bell housing, albeit less than before (no drip, just a stain of oil, but if I wipe it off, it'll come back after driving an hour or so) AND when I give it a good amount of gas i.e. merging onto interstate, the engine light occasionally blinks and I received a notification from Ford pass saying a misfire was detected and I need to take it in ASAP.

I'm at my wits end, I have 11K miles on the 2023 2.7L Bronco, I'm approved for a buyback already via lemon law, but I can't afford to recreate the car since they no longer offer the base/2.7/sasquatch combo. Right now, optimistically, I'm hoping the tiny oil seep is ignorable, and the new engine may just need a simple fix like a part wasn't installed perfectly. Pessimistically, I think they have tried 4 times to fix an oil leak and not only failed but have now given me engine issues and I need to get out of this vehicle before the lemon law buyback option expires. Interested what you all think?

That's a rough situation. There are some buy back vehicles that end up going to auction and live long trouble free lives after the initial issue is finally resolved. That doesn't mean your issues now are any less inconvenient.

Hopefully the issue gets fixed and as other have said, having an extended warranty wouldn't be a bad idea, Especially in this case.

 

[BabyBLUE]

If it stayed on for a while after flashing it was still seeing a Type B misfire which means the cylinder is hit and miss. It won’t kill the cylinder or derate power for a Type B, it just turns the CEL on. It kills the cylinder for a Type A to protect the catalytic converter. The misfires won’t hurt anything unless you drive for a long time with them. There will be a DTC specifying which cylinder is missing so a technician can zero in on it. Good chance it’s a spark plug with a cracked insulator that fires out the side down to the head instead of firing the gap in the cylinder under heavy load. That’s relatively common in forced induction engines, they work the ignition system pretty hard under boost. If not a plug or coil, the other likely cause would be a direct injector, they are used under boost and one of them might not be getting the correct amount of fuel to the cylinder under load. Either way, it’s not a terribly hard diag or repair.

Thanks. I just had another type A this morning. I'll be taking it in based on what you've said about it being relatively easy to diag/repair.

For everyone's information, if you do go through ford legal, the dealership has very little part in it. The FSE shows up and does an inspection and tells them what to do. So I looked up job requirements to be a ford FSE and it doesn't seem like they are required to be experts by any means. I thought they would be. I think I was getting taken care of better by the mechanics and service coordinators at the second dealership themselves, they seemed to earnestly be trying to help me at the very least. Not only that, but the dealership gets very little information from the FSE and it becomes a game of telephone from fse to lawyer to you, not ideal.

Will definitely splurge ~2K for that extended warranty.

Best,
Austin

 

[EKOBX]

Hi All,

I've had so much bad luck with the bronco. A while ago I posted about a rear main seal leak and them taking over two months to fix it. Well I took people's advice and brought it to a new dealership. The new dealership (or I guess the FSE[Field Service Engineer] that the legal team sent out to inspect it) decided a new long engine assembly would be a quick fix. I get the car back, and by the time I get home, there's oil visible on the bottom of the bell housing again. Not only that, but now I have an engine light on and blinking intermittently. So I take it back a 3rd time and the FSE says the oil pan may need a new gasket? Not exactly sure if he actually did anything, apparently they lifted it and ran it for 30 mins on rollers or something. Anyways get it back and everything seems fine for a few days. Now I am seeing more oil on bell housing, albeit less than before (no drip, just a stain of oil, but if I wipe it off, it'll come back after driving an hour or so) AND when I give it a good amount of gas i.e. merging onto interstate, the engine light occasionally blinks and I received a notification from Ford pass saying a misfire was detected and I need to take it in ASAP.

I'm at my wits end, I have 11K miles on the 2023 2.7L Bronco, I'm approved for a buyback already via lemon law, but I can't afford to recreate the car since they no longer offer the base/2.7/sasquatch combo. Right now, optimistically, I'm hoping the tiny oil seep is ignorable, and the new engine may just need a simple fix like a part wasn't installed perfectly. Pessimistically, I think they have tried 4 times to fix an oil leak and not only failed but have now given me engine issues and I need to get out of this vehicle before the lemon law buyback option expires. Interested what you all think?

When we had to lemon law our Toyota Sienna several years ago, we found there is negotiating room. We liked our Sienna other than the issues we had and it was perfect for our family. They offered to buy back or replace. I held firm on replacing with a van that was at or above the same level. They had changed how features were set up so we ended up with a much nicer van - dual auto doors, heated seats, video system and more features - and had zero out of pocket. That van lasted a good 7 years before we moved onto our next car. If you don’t want another Bronco you should hold firm to a buy back that would have purchased you a new Bronco at the same level or above. Keep all your records and timelines to discuss with Ford. When you have all that information they know you’re prepared and won’t likely back down.

 

[BadlandsA51]

Thanks. I just had another type A this morning. I'll be taking it in based on what you've said about it being relatively easy to diag/repair.

For everyone's information, if you do go through ford legal, the dealership has very little part in it. The FSE shows up and does an inspection and tells them what to do. So I looked up job requirements to be a ford FSE and it doesn't seem like they are required to be experts by any means. I thought they would be. I think I was getting taken care of better by the mechanics and service coordinators at the second dealership themselves, they seemed to earnestly be trying to help me at the very least. Not only that, but the dealership gets very little information from the FSE and it becomes a game of telephone from fse to lawyer to you, not ideal.

Will definitely splurge ~2K for that extended warranty.

Best,
Austin

As a retired Ford FSE I can speak to requirements for the job. It requires a bachelor’s degree, usually in automotive engineering or technology. There are exceptions to an automotive degree based on background or experience, but the exceptions are not common. Nobody is an absolute expert on today’s cars bumper to bumper, there’s just too much, but FSEs have support from specialists in Dearborn when needed. As with any job, there’s no substitute for experience.

 

[tourproto]

Thanks. I just had another type A this morning. I'll be taking it in based on what you've said about it being relatively easy to diag/repair.

For everyone's information, if you do go through ford legal, the dealership has very little part in it. The FSE shows up and does an inspection and tells them what to do. So I looked up job requirements to be a ford FSE and it doesn't seem like they are required to be experts by any means. I thought they would be. I think I was getting taken care of better by the mechanics and service coordinators at the second dealership themselves, they seemed to earnestly be trying to help me at the very least. Not only that, but the dealership gets very little information from the FSE and it becomes a game of telephone from fse to lawyer to you, not ideal.

Will definitely splurge ~2K for that extended warranty.

Best,
Austin

So here is what I paid for my extended warranty with $0 deductible for 8 years and 100k miles

I don't remember what the "points redeemed" meant. I think I used my Ford Pass points to defray the cost.

To me just worth it for the peace of mind. I fully expect my infotainment to die before 8 years are up. I already have to reboot it about once a week.

Also taking my windows in for the 2nd time. They stop automatically dropping when the door is opened. Both rear windows are doing it. I have to lower and raise the windows once we get moving to get both windows to seal. The techs said the windows weren't properly seated the first time. I wonder what they are going to say this time.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Bronco, but I fully expect it to have irritating quality issues its entire life because it is a Ford. My wife's Explorer was the same way.

 

[Ant0ni0S]

Hi All,

I've had so much bad luck with the bronco. A while ago I posted about a rear main seal leak and them taking over two months to fix it. Well I took people's advice and brought it to a new dealership. The new dealership (or I guess the FSE[Field Service Engineer] that the legal team sent out to inspect it) decided a new long engine assembly would be a quick fix. I get the car back, and by the time I get home, there's oil visible on the bottom of the bell housing again. Not only that, but now I have an engine light on and blinking intermittently. So I take it back a 3rd time and the FSE says the oil pan may need a new gasket? Not exactly sure if he actually did anything, apparently they lifted it and ran it for 30 mins on rollers or something. Anyways get it back and everything seems fine for a few days. Now I am seeing more oil on bell housing, albeit less than before (no drip, just a stain of oil, but if I wipe it off, it'll come back after driving an hour or so) AND when I give it a good amount of gas i.e. merging onto interstate, the engine light occasionally blinks and I received a notification from Ford pass saying a misfire was detected and I need to take it in ASAP.

I'm at my wits end, I have 11K miles on the 2023 2.7L Bronco, I'm approved for a buyback already via lemon law, but I can't afford to recreate the car since they no longer offer the base/2.7/sasquatch combo. Right now, optimistically, I'm hoping the tiny oil seep is ignorable, and the new engine may just need a simple fix like a part wasn't installed perfectly. Pessimistically, I think they have tried 4 times to fix an oil leak and not only failed but have now given me engine issues and I need to get out of this vehicle before the lemon law buyback option expires. Interested what you all think?

How do you apply for lemon law. I really need to.

 

[NirWheels]

I know how you feel. My Bronco Base Manual was 2 months in for Transfer case and module, and entire wiring harness. The dealer begged me to lemon it so they won’t have to deal with it anymore, but they couldn’t promise a manual delivery even in 2025. Got it a month ago and so far it’s good. As long as they provide me a loaner I’ll keep fixing it as needed.

 

[Patrickgault]

Dump it...My 2022, 2 door 2.7 has been a great vehicle. Maybe consider buying slightly used to help limit the cost. In my opinion the 2022 model is the sweet spot.

 

[Jace 21583]

Just dropped my 21 badlands off and they suspect rear main seal too. 30 hours of shop time and likely won't get to it until January. 24000 miles. My 18 raptor got a new long block at 40k. Maybe it's time to stop buying Ford's

 

[PatH]

Hi All,

I've had so much bad luck with the bronco. A while ago I posted about a rear main seal leak and them taking over two months to fix it. Well I took people's advice and brought it to a new dealership. The new dealership (or I guess the FSE[Field Service Engineer] that the legal team sent out to inspect it) decided a new long engine assembly would be a quick fix. I get the car back, and by the time I get home, there's oil visible on the bottom of the bell housing again. Not only that, but now I have an engine light on and blinking intermittently. So I take it back a 3rd time and the FSE says the oil pan may need a new gasket? Not exactly sure if he actually did anything, apparently they lifted it and ran it for 30 mins on rollers or something. Anyways get it back and everything seems fine for a few days. Now I am seeing more oil on bell housing, albeit less than before (no drip, just a stain of oil, but if I wipe it off, it'll come back after driving an hour or so) AND when I give it a good amount of gas i.e. merging onto interstate, the engine light occasionally blinks and I received a notification from Ford pass saying a misfire was detected and I need to take it in ASAP.

I'm at my wits end, I have 11K miles on the 2023 2.7L Bronco, I'm approved for a buyback already via lemon law, but I can't afford to recreate the car since they no longer offer the base/2.7/sasquatch combo. Right now, optimistically, I'm hoping the tiny oil seep is ignorable, and the new engine may just need a simple fix like a part wasn't installed perfectly. Pessimistically, I think they have tried 4 times to fix an oil leak and not only failed but have now given me engine issues and I need to get out of this vehicle before the lemon law buyback option expires. Interested what you all think?

About a year ago, I had a lemon law buy-back in Missouri for a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. Lincoln/Ford will low-ball you with the first offer. My original offer was less than what Carvana was offering. I threatened legal action via email (never contacted a lawyer, but was about too), and my offer went up $12k within a few hours.

Lincoln/Ford does offer a $2,500 credit if your purchase another vehicle through them.

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