Badlands Bilstein failure

[Rebel Bronc]

Last week I found a puddle of clear lubricant in my garage, with a heavy leak trail leading for several hundred feet. Come to find out my passenger side rear shock dumped out. My dealership says this is the first they've seen do this. So now they are in search of a replacement.

'22 Badlands, non sasq, very little off-road use.

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[PWillette]

Unfortunate but not unheard of. Several have had the reservoir detach.

 

[KillerPenz]

Last week I found a puddle of clear lubricant in my garage, with a heavy leak trail leading for several hundred feet. Come to find out my passenger side rear shock dumped out. My dealership says this is the first they've seen do this. So now they are in search of a replacement.

'22 Badlands, non sasq, very little off-road use.

Been there, done that about a month ago. Driver's side rear on a 2021 BaseSquatch, 43k miles at that point. No off roading, minimal towing. Was under the truck last week and noticed what looked like a front shock now leaking.

I'm starting to think these Bilsteins are complete garbage. But being out of warranty I either keep replacing them at $200 a pop, or go for a new system (which is looking to be the better option by the day).

 

[nabronco21]

Yep had the same issue passenger rear for me. My dealer believe it or not replaced it with no questions asked.

 

[Rebel Bronc]

Maybe my dealership salesman will make me a sweet deal on the ‘23 2 door Wildtrak they have. Blend date of early June, so they’ve been sitting on it for a bit.

 

[JD11937]

In the same boat here, rear passenger went out on me with less than 20,000 miles on it. Dealer says they are back ordered on top of it. Only up side is the bronco seems to still be stable and drivable but certainly not ideal.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Last week I found a puddle of clear lubricant in my garage, with a heavy leak trail leading for several hundred feet. Come to find out my passenger side rear shock dumped out. My dealership says this is the first they've seen do this. So now they are in search of a replacement.

'22 Badlands, non sasq, very little off-road use.

Hi there! I would like to take a closer look at your Bronco's leak issues. To get started, could you please send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of the Ford dealer you are working with?

 

[ChrisD]

I had my passenger front blow out a while back and they replaced it under warranty. They were in really short supply, but the dealer found one in Memphis and had it sent out next day because it was causing the Bronco to bounce into adjacent lanes at highway speeds if I hit a bump and smooth roads are illegal where I live.

 

[scotman623]

Had a similar issue.. Went with Eibach 2.0 coil overs all around and couldn’t be happier…

 

[Rebel Bronc]

UPDATE: Shock came in and is being replaced. Thanks FMC and Bob Johnson Ford!

 

[raymondcielo]

26k and the passenger rear bilstein shock reservoir detached. It was going in for the soft top TSB. Also have noise out of my right front suspension area. Making noise when I turn the wheel.

 

[Ray812]

For all the marketing and hype - the Bronco shocks are not up to the job they were designed for and even more damning don’t hold up to normal highway use. Mine, on Badlands, just gave out under 50k miles. Disappointing and not a way to build a cult following.

 

[Rydfree]

I have noticed a clunk sound from the front for about 2 months now. I did look at the suspension behind the wheel/tire when I first noticed it but did not see anything out of order and I did not crawl underneath to check further. I have been battling a case of shingles for the past few weeks so that has kept me from investigating further. Today I carried it 60 miles to my dealer from who I purchased it from to get the oil change and they do an inspection along with it. Everything was checked OK including the section marked suspension/struts etc. After getting back home I crawled under it and noticed the oil and splatter from the front right Bilstein right away. I did not think to mention it to the service writer since this dealer has a separate business next door that strictly does oil changes and alignments. They do not do any type of warranty work as that has to be scheduled thru the actual service center at the dealership. It amazes me that they so called checked the boxes during the inspection that the struts/suspension was ok though. I guess another appt and trip is in order

QUESTION : I installed a front leveling spacer on the bottom of the shock and a set of aftermarket wheels about a month after picking the Bronco up in May '23. I'm still using the factory 33's . Has anyone here done similar and had the shock fail, and did they give any grief about the spacer/wheels as far as covering the shock under warranty?

 

[raymondcielo]

I have noticed a clunk sound from the front for about 2 months now. I did look at the suspension behind the wheel/tire when I first noticed it but did not see anything out of order and I did not crawl underneath to check further. I have been battling a case of shingles for the past few weeks so that has kept me from investigating further. Today I carried it 60 miles to my dealer from who I purchased it from to get the oil change and they do an inspection along with it. Everything was checked OK including the section marked suspension/struts etc. After getting back home I crawled under it and noticed the oil and splatter from the front right Bilstein right away. I did not think to mention it to the service writer since this dealer has a separate business next door that strictly does oil changes and alignments. They do not do any type of warranty work as that has to be scheduled thru the actual service center at the dealership. It amazes me that they so called checked the boxes during the inspection that the struts/suspension was ok though. I guess another appt and trip is in order

QUESTION : I installed a front leveling spacer on the bottom of the shock and a set of aftermarket wheels about a month after picking the Bronco up in May '23. I'm still using the factory 33's . Has anyone here done similar and had the shock fail, and did they give any grief about the spacer/wheels as far as covering the shock under warranty?

I did a lift and the shock reservoir broke 6 months later. Dealer replaced the shock. no issues.

 

[2023bronco]

Hi there! I would like to take a closer look at your Bronco's leak issues. To get started, could you please send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of the Ford dealer you are working with?

If you want to DO SOMETHING, replace ALL of these shocks with a better design.

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