Frustrating Technology

[Neps]

While I enjoy our Bronco, the technological aspects of it have been nothing short of disappointing.

After waiting for almost 4 years, being pushed four times, and finally being delayed by the strike we took delivery in December of '23. On the second day (second engine start) of ownership the center display went black, waited weeks for the part to become available. Then the dealership couldn't program the module as Ford had to develop a program to make it work, finally after 27 days the fix was done.

We continued to have occasional glitches with Carplay and the center display, but we made it to month five without any systems failures, then the next gremlin showed up. Front right parking sensor stopped working, not a huge deal but still frustrating. More frustrating than the sensor going out is the number and frequency of warnings received and acknowledgements required, 3 at startup and more every time something is close to the front bumper.
Life is busy and we had other priorities, so the Bronco didn't make it to the dealership to have the sensor looked at until an oil change was due in August @4K. In a few days I received an estimate for repair for over $1,000 to replace the front inner sensor. The dealer said the sensor had been impacted and it was the cause of the problem, so not warrantied. I found that odd in that I had previously looked for any apparent damage, loose wires, etc. and found none. I asked the service writer why it would cost so much to pop off a cover and replace a sensor, as the estimate had labor to remove the entire bumper. I was told "well that's the book time" nothing we can do about that, so I said I'd replace it myself.
Drove home frustrated and reviewed the pictures of the damage to the sensor the dealer had included in the emailed estimate. Went out to look at the sensor and couldn't find any damage to either right side sensor, then I saw it- the left inner sensor had a mark across the front- looks like a straight line scratch. But the sensors on the left side work and I took it in the have the right side fixed?

Anyone that has removed the cover from the capable bumper can tell you it takes about two minutes to remove it the first time, less after you know where the clips are. I ordered the sensor specified on the repair order ($35) and it arrived from Ford in a week or so. Removed the cover and I had the wrong sensor, I needed the sensor with the 90 connector. Finally found the correct part number after visiting 3 dealers and ordered it, two days later the order was cancelled because the part is on backorder. Attempted to find another source for the sensor with no luck, and everytime I put my vin in the systems tell me the part I need doesn't fit my Bronco. Called Ford and they were no help, we can only go by the vin "if the part doesn't fit you must not be installing it correctly, take it to your dealer". Apparently after the strike ended my Bronco was built with whatever they had on-hand because what is came with doesn't match the BOM associated with the vin?

In the two months that I've been waiting for the correct part to return to stock two more electronic gremlins have shown up, "parking brake malfunction service immediately" and "pre-collision systems failure", in addition to the other sensor warnings the dash is beginning to look alot like Christmas at startup. We're now acknowledging 3 to 5 warnings at every start.

Anyone have a spare sensor with the 90 degree connector available?

I'm a pretty staunch Ford guy, four in the stable now, but the shine is starting to tarnish pretty quickly.

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[CitrusBronco]

This sounds like a mess to deal with. A bad dealer sure can make things worse. Hopefully when you take it in they will redeem themselves, they should fix that sensor since it’s not even the one they claim is damaged. Best of luck.

 

[RoLyMa27]

While I enjoy our Bronco, the technological aspects of it have been nothing short of disappointing.

After waiting for almost 4 years, being pushed four times, and finally being delayed by the strike we took delivery in December of '23. On the second day (second engine start) of ownership the center display went black, waited weeks for the part to become available. Then the dealership couldn't program the module as Ford had to develop a program to make it work, finally after 27 days the fix was done.

We continued to have occasional glitches with Carplay and the center display, but we made it to month five without any systems failures, then the next gremlin showed up. Front right parking sensor stopped working, not a huge deal but still frustrating. More frustrating than the sensor going out is the number and frequency of warnings received and acknowledgements required, 3 at startup and more every time something is close to the front bumper.
Life is busy and we had other priorities, so the Bronco didn't make it to the dealership to have the sensor looked at until an oil change was due in August @4K. In a few days I received an estimate for repair for over $1,000 to replace the front inner sensor. The dealer said the sensor had been impacted and it was the cause of the problem, so not warrantied. I found that odd in that I had previously looked for any apparent damage, loose wires, etc. and found none. I asked the service writer why it would cost so much to pop off a cover and replace a sensor, as the estimate had labor to remove the entire bumper. I was told "well that's the book time" nothing we can do about that, so I said I'd replace it myself.
Drove home frustrated and reviewed the pictures of the damage to the sensor the dealer had included in the emailed estimate. Went out to look at the sensor and couldn't find any damage to either right side sensor, then I saw it- the left inner sensor had a mark across the front- looks like a straight line scratch. But the sensors on the left side work and I took it in the have the right side fixed?

Anyone that has removed the cover from the capable bumper can tell you it takes about two minutes to remove it the first time, less after you know where the clips are. I ordered the sensor specified on the repair order ($35) and it arrived from Ford in a week or so. Removed the cover and I had the wrong sensor, I needed the sensor with the 90 connector. Finally found the correct part number after visiting 3 dealers and ordered it, two days later the order was cancelled because the part is on backorder. Attempted to find another source for the sensor with no luck, and everytime I put my vin in the systems tell me the part I need doesn't fit my Bronco. Called Ford and they were no help, we can only go by the vin "if the part doesn't fit you must not be installing it correctly, take it to your dealer". Apparently after the strike ended my Bronco was built with whatever they had on-hand because what is came with doesn't match the BOM associated with the vin?

In the two months that I've been waiting for the correct part to return to stock two more electronic gremlins have shown up, "parking brake malfunction service immediately" and "pre-collision systems failure", in addition to the other sensor warnings the dash is beginning to look alot like Christmas at startup. We're now acknowledging 3 to 5 warnings at every start.

Anyone have a spare sensor with the 90 degree connector available?

I'm a pretty staunch Ford guy, four in the stable now, but the shine is starting to tarnish pretty quickly.

Maybe @flip can help you out.

 

[flip]

While I enjoy our Bronco, the technological aspects of it have been nothing short of disappointing.

After waiting for almost 4 years, being pushed four times, and finally being delayed by the strike we took delivery in December of '23. On the second day (second engine start) of ownership the center display went black, waited weeks for the part to become available. Then the dealership couldn't program the module as Ford had to develop a program to make it work, finally after 27 days the fix was done.

We continued to have occasional glitches with Carplay and the center display, but we made it to month five without any systems failures, then the next gremlin showed up. Front right parking sensor stopped working, not a huge deal but still frustrating. More frustrating than the sensor going out is the number and frequency of warnings received and acknowledgements required, 3 at startup and more every time something is close to the front bumper.
Life is busy and we had other priorities, so the Bronco didn't make it to the dealership to have the sensor looked at until an oil change was due in August @4K. In a few days I received an estimate for repair for over $1,000 to replace the front inner sensor. The dealer said the sensor had been impacted and it was the cause of the problem, so not warrantied. I found that odd in that I had previously looked for any apparent damage, loose wires, etc. and found none. I asked the service writer why it would cost so much to pop off a cover and replace a sensor, as the estimate had labor to remove the entire bumper. I was told "well that's the book time" nothing we can do about that, so I said I'd replace it myself.
Drove home frustrated and reviewed the pictures of the damage to the sensor the dealer had included in the emailed estimate. Went out to look at the sensor and couldn't find any damage to either right side sensor, then I saw it- the left inner sensor had a mark across the front- looks like a straight line scratch. But the sensors on the left side work and I took it in the have the right side fixed?

Anyone that has removed the cover from the capable bumper can tell you it takes about two minutes to remove it the first time, less after you know where the clips are. I ordered the sensor specified on the repair order ($35) and it arrived from Ford in a week or so. Removed the cover and I had the wrong sensor, I needed the sensor with the 90 connector. Finally found the correct part number after visiting 3 dealers and ordered it, two days later the order was cancelled because the part is on backorder. Attempted to find another source for the sensor with no luck, and everytime I put my vin in the systems tell me the part I need doesn't fit my Bronco. Called Ford and they were no help, we can only go by the vin "if the part doesn't fit you must not be installing it correctly, take it to your dealer". Apparently after the strike ended my Bronco was built with whatever they had on-hand because what is came with doesn't match the BOM associated with the vin?

In the two months that I've been waiting for the correct part to return to stock two more electronic gremlins have shown up, "parking brake malfunction service immediately" and "pre-collision systems failure", in addition to the other sensor warnings the dash is beginning to look alot like Christmas at startup. We're now acknowledging 3 to 5 warnings at every start.

Anyone have a spare sensor with the 90 degree connector available?

I'm a pretty staunch Ford guy, four in the stable now, but the shine is starting to tarnish pretty quickly.

Send me a DM with your VIN and the part number you need and I'll see what I can do.

 

[wjtinfwb]

While I enjoy our Bronco, the technological aspects of it have been nothing short of disappointing.

After waiting for almost 4 years, being pushed four times, and finally being delayed by the strike we took delivery in December of '23. On the second day (second engine start) of ownership the center display went black, waited weeks for the part to become available. Then the dealership couldn't program the module as Ford had to develop a program to make it work, finally after 27 days the fix was done.

We continued to have occasional glitches with Carplay and the center display, but we made it to month five without any systems failures, then the next gremlin showed up. Front right parking sensor stopped working, not a huge deal but still frustrating. More frustrating than the sensor going out is the number and frequency of warnings received and acknowledgements required, 3 at startup and more every time something is close to the front bumper.
Life is busy and we had other priorities, so the Bronco didn't make it to the dealership to have the sensor looked at until an oil change was due in August @4K. In a few days I received an estimate for repair for over $1,000 to replace the front inner sensor. The dealer said the sensor had been impacted and it was the cause of the problem, so not warrantied. I found that odd in that I had previously looked for any apparent damage, loose wires, etc. and found none. I asked the service writer why it would cost so much to pop off a cover and replace a sensor, as the estimate had labor to remove the entire bumper. I was told "well that's the book time" nothing we can do about that, so I said I'd replace it myself.
Drove home frustrated and reviewed the pictures of the damage to the sensor the dealer had included in the emailed estimate. Went out to look at the sensor and couldn't find any damage to either right side sensor, then I saw it- the left inner sensor had a mark across the front- looks like a straight line scratch. But the sensors on the left side work and I took it in the have the right side fixed?

Anyone that has removed the cover from the capable bumper can tell you it takes about two minutes to remove it the first time, less after you know where the clips are. I ordered the sensor specified on the repair order ($35) and it arrived from Ford in a week or so. Removed the cover and I had the wrong sensor, I needed the sensor with the 90 connector. Finally found the correct part number after visiting 3 dealers and ordered it, two days later the order was cancelled because the part is on backorder. Attempted to find another source for the sensor with no luck, and everytime I put my vin in the systems tell me the part I need doesn't fit my Bronco. Called Ford and they were no help, we can only go by the vin "if the part doesn't fit you must not be installing it correctly, take it to your dealer". Apparently after the strike ended my Bronco was built with whatever they had on-hand because what is came with doesn't match the BOM associated with the vin?

In the two months that I've been waiting for the correct part to return to stock two more electronic gremlins have shown up, "parking brake malfunction service immediately" and "pre-collision systems failure", in addition to the other sensor warnings the dash is beginning to look alot like Christmas at startup. We're now acknowledging 3 to 5 warnings at every start.

Anyone have a spare sensor with the 90 degree connector available?

I'm a pretty staunch Ford guy, four in the stable now, but the shine is starting to tarnish pretty quickly.

That's absurd, but seems par for the course for many Ford dealer service departments. I had one tech argue with me about the oil they were pouring into my Focus ST. It calls for 5w-30, and says so right on the filler cap. The tech was pouring from sealed bottles of 5w-20 Semi-Synthetic, despite my request for full-synthetic. I stopped him and he stated "all Focus models use 5w-20". Not if their ST's with the 2.0 Turbo. I made them drain it all out, replace the new filter and get the correct full-syn 5w30. Incompetent is too generous a word. I don't have a sensor, my BigBend does without a lot of the safety nannies, and for once I'm glad I could not afford the more lavishly equipped models.

 

[PWillette]

Anyone have a spare sensor with the 90 degree connector available?

I may have one available. I basically did a front parking sensor delete when installing my winch bumper, will check when I get home.

 

[Dral97]

Mine has gremlins for sure, but you seem to have gotten more than your fair share. I get the parking brake one once or twice a year. I just ignore it. Once or twice a year while I'm driving, my center screen goes black like it's doing some sort of update. It says something about a low battery charge or something too. I ignore that one as well.

Neither seem to impact anything. However, I don't get all the start up things like you get.

 

[Sherminiator]

Even though my buying experience i had with my dealership with my Bronco became an infamous article, their service department has been pretty much second to none between my wife and I taking our cars there to get work done on them...the prices are fair and the work is done right the first time.

 

[Bikeric]

I went through the same issue when I was fixing my wreck salvaged Bronco back in 2022. Those sensors were $80-$125 back then, so $35 doesn't sound bad to me. I'll check when I get home if I have a NOS 90deg sensor on the shelf because I actually moved those envelopes around last weekend when I was mowing the back yard and needed a place to set my beer

 

[indio22]

I don't use Carplay or have the optional sensors etc that seem to cause problems for some owners. But I'd suggest if/when your vehicle is functioning well, consider opting out of the software updates. Leave well enough alone, I've never done an update since purchase over a year ago.

 

[Neps]

Thanks everyone who had to read thru my long winded post.

The part number I'm searching for looks like this-

sensor parking aid system - front
Bumper - Steel - Paint To Match. Primed.
Part #: NU5Z15K859MB

Usage: Paint To Match, Primed, 07/10/2023, Bronco 2021-, With Front Parking Aid, Front Bumper - Steel
Section:Parking Distance Control

Item is currently on back order. Contact Your Dealer to check on part availability.

 

[Tricky Mike]

Thanks everyone who had to read thru my long winded post.

The part number I'm searching for looks like this-

sensor parking aid system - front
Bumper - Steel - Paint To Match. Primed.
Part #: NU5Z15K859MB

Usage: Paint To Match, Primed, 07/10/2023, Bronco 2021-, With Front Parking Aid, Front Bumper - Steel
Section:Parking Distance Control

Item is currently on back order. Contact Your Dealer to check on part availability.

I just learned about the different shapes yesterday, I put a plastic rear bumper on and had to hog out the plastic to get my sensors to fit.

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