Ford claims flat towing our 4 mo. old Bronco destroyed the transmission (not covering under warranty)

[Lisa Aiudi]

So I purchased a brand new bronco for the purpose of towing it behind my RV. We've used it this summer with no problems. Labor Day weekend we traveled 300 miles to Petoskey MI and we could not get the bronco out of neutral tow-it wouldnt go forward or reverse. Rented a car. Towed it back home to dealership. Its 4 months old and I purchased the extended (preferred) warranty. The transmission is shot and they say its because we did something wrong and it isnt covered under warranty. $10,000. Also, the warranty said Id get a rental payment when its in service but they say because its my fault, they cant do that either. So, I called Ford Corporate. Insane. So now I have a 4 month old new bronco bought for the purpose of towing behind the RV and I have to pay $10,000 plus car rental fees.
So, Im really not going to tow it again. ANYONE WANT TO BUY A BRONCO? I wouldn,t. I have read in here that this has happened to others.
Lisa

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[Az_Squatch_Bronco]

So I purchased a brand new bronco for the purpose of towing it behind my RV. We've used it this summer with no problems. Labor Day weekend we traveled 300 miles to Petoskey MI and we could not get the bronco out of neutral tow-it wouldnt go forward or reverse. Rented a car. Towed it back home to dealership. Its 4 months old and I purchased the extended (preferred) warranty. The transmission is shot and they say its because we did something wrong and it isnt covered under warranty. $10,000. Also, the warranty said Id get a rental payment when its in service but they say because its my fault, they cant do that either. So, I called Ford Corporate. Insane. So now I have a 4 month old new bronco bought for the purpose of towing behind the RV and I have to pay $10,000 plus car rental fees.
So, Im really not going to tow it again. ANYONE WANT TO BUY A BRONCO? I wouldn,t. I have read in here that this has happened to others.
Lisa

What did they say you did wrong. There is a section in your owners manual that describes the process to flat tow.

Things happen, I know Jeep owners that have made errors flat towing as well.

 

[Overcooked]

If it’s anything like my audi, it can’t be towed for an extended period of time without car running. Because the transmission and diffs need active fluid being pumped through from being overheated. So if Ford found your Bronco’s transmission was overheated or something like that, it’s reasonable for them to deny the warranty claim.

 

[kodiakisland]

They can do a diagnostic to see if you placed it in neutral tow correctly. What did they say specifically you did wrong in the process?

 

[KDWright5407]

I remember reading this almost verbatim not that long ago. Too lazy to look it up, tho.

 

[AK SNO RIDER]

What did they say you did wrong. There is a section in your owners manual that describes the process to flat tow.

Things happen, I know Jeep owners that have made errors flat towing as well.

The first time someone posted about this problem I thought the same as you.

But there's been so many posts here identical to this I'm starting to think there's a software issue causing these things to say they're in flat tow when they're not.

TBH I've never understood flat towing when a trailer seems so much easier, safer and doesn't put miles on the tow vehicle.

 

[Brian’sBronco]

The first time someone posted about this problem I thought the same as you.

But there's been so many posts here identical to this I'm starting to think there's a software issue causing these things to say they're in flat tow when they're not.

TBH I've never understood flat towing when a trailer seems so much easier, safer and doesn't put miles on the tow vehicle.

Flat towing is necessary 99% of the time because there very few campgrounds that will have room for the RV, trailer, and car. Not having a physical gear shift to put the transfer case into neutral is one of the things that made me hesitant of trading my Jeep for the Bronco.

 

[mpeugeot]

The number of failures points at Ford... For either a failure prone process or an underlying issue in the flat tow mode.

 

[Az_Squatch_Bronco]

You must work for Ford

Soo you didn't read the manual

Iam thinking since your not saying what Ford determined was wrong, this is just sour grapes.

 

[Az_Squatch_Bronco]

I have seen all kinds of posts like this on various forums and various brands...out of the hundreds of thousands sold it must be a small percentage otherwise it would be a recall.

 

[Az_Squatch_Bronco]

The first time someone posted about this problem I thought the same as you.

But there's been so many posts here identical to this I'm starting to think there's a software issue causing these things to say they're in flat tow when they're not.

TBH I've never understood flat towing when a trailer seems so much easier, safer and doesn't put miles on the tow vehicle.

So Ford denies all claims?

 

[da_jokker]

There have been multiple thread of people having issues with flat towing Broncos..from neutral to brakes.

I don't think these are really flat-towable. Maybe everyone should film themselves putting their vehicle in flat tow mode as proof for the class action

 

[da_jokker]

Flat towing is necessary 99% of the time because there very few campgrounds that will have room for the RV, trailer, and car. Not having a physical gear shift to put the transfer case into neutral is one of the things that made me hesitant of trading my Jeep for the Bronco.

Is that what it is? I'm looking into getting into the RV life in a couple years, and also cannot understand why people would want to tow their cars instead of putting them on a trailer.

Wonder if a dolly would work so you could at least put the rear wheels up ( maybe even remove drive shafts)

 

[Rydfree]

There have been multiple thread of people having issues with flat towing Broncos..from neutral to brakes.

I don't think these are really flat-towable. Maybe everyone should film themselves putting their vehicle in flat tow mode as proof for the class action

Unless you filmed the whole trip it could be claimed it was taken out of flat tow and in again somewhere along the route. The computer logs everything so I'm sure they can tell if a step was missed or if it was indeed in flat tow mode. Now could a software bug take it out of flat tow somewhere along the way ? Hmmmm. I have a hard time trusting the electronic gimmicks when my cell phone reboots itself at random

 

[Brian’sBronco]

Is that what it is? I'm looking into getting into the RV life in a couple years, and also cannot understand why people would want to tow their cars instead of putting them on a trailer.

Wonder if a dolly would work so you could at least put the rear wheels up ( maybe even remove drive shafts)

You can use a dolly with probably most FWD cars but not sure about RWD because it would be the same as flat towing. Also when towing with a dolly the front always has to be on the dolly because the car would never track straight. They do make some devices for disconnecting the driveshaft but not sure how popular or reliable.

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