Sponsored

Romeo

Badlands
Member
First Name
Frankie
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
20
Reaction score
102
Location
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Vehicle(s)
WRX
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
My 2021 2-Door Bronco's hardtop cracked in the cold this weekend. Posting for visibility and to see if others had the same issue. For context it was -11 degrees here (-28 with windchill) this weekend. Here is a link to an article about what happened to me: https://www.thedrive.com/news/ford-bronco-owner-says-sub-zero-temps-ruined-his-trucks-hardtop

The owner of the vehicle, who prefers to be identified only by his first name, Frankie, states he went outside to his truck on Sunday morning following the bitter temperatures on Friday and Saturday. That's when he noticed the damage to his two-door Badlands' roof. Like us, he's seen plastic Bronco tops with minor cracks online but not "anything this bad."
I reached out to Ford for comment, and a spokesperson responded: "We test to -40 degrees and have never seen this condition before. The customer should visit his local dealer so a replacement top can be ordered free of charge."
Frankie said his local dealer was initially hesitant to approve a warranty claim because they deemed it a cosmetic issue. However, Ford reached out to him directly saying they'll get involved if needed.
"I had someone from Ford’s SUV team call me and tell me that if it gets denied as a warranty claim to call her back and Ford may provide financial assistance, but she doesn’t foresee it being denied by the warranty department," Frankie added.
In the meantime, Frankie's first priority is to keep his roof dry. He says he took the truck to the dealer primarily to get it under a roof. He currently does not have access to covered parking, and he's clearly worried about what rain or snow might do to the top. "I have to leave it in my driveway, I have nowhere else to put it," he told me.
Updated: Frankie reached out as our story was published to say the dealer ordered a new roof for his Bronco. What’s more, they’re storing it for him and giving him a loaner until it’s road-ready.
More info:

Fair enough. Can you clarify a couple of points in the article at it is not clear on a few details:

Was the warranty initially denied by your dealer? Not hesitantly approved, but denied?
Did your dealer reverse their decision after Ford corporate got involved?
Did you contact Ford corporate first or did they reach out to you?
Was any cracking or other defects noticed in the area of failure prior to complete failure?

Any further information you can provide will be helpful to the community on what to look for and how to proceed should they find themselves in the same predicament.
It wasn’t denied, but it wasn’t approved either. They referred to it as a cosmetic issue, took photos, and sent it to Ford’s warranty department for approval. I separately contacted ford first after taking it to the dealer by dm’ing them here on bronco6g to try to speed up the process. No other cracking or defects noticed prior to the failure.


Ford Bronco My Bronco MIC hardtop cracked in cold (-11 degrees) 32ABB29F-88FB-47F5-822B-34E5CB2E758B


Ford Bronco My Bronco MIC hardtop cracked in cold (-11 degrees) bronco-roof-damage-lead-A


Ford Bronco My Bronco MIC hardtop cracked in cold (-11 degrees) bronco-roof-damage-inline-B


Ford Bronco My Bronco MIC hardtop cracked in cold (-11 degrees) bronco-roof-damage-inline-C


Ford Bronco My Bronco MIC hardtop cracked in cold (-11 degrees) bronco-roof-damage-inline-D
Sponsored

 

Compta38

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
3,702
Reaction score
11,386
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
Ford Fusion
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
These tops are so bad...I'm betting many get replaced before warranties expire. I'm hoping by the time I need a replacement there is an aftermarket solution that doesn't cost a kidney.
 

Sponsored
OP
OP
Romeo

Romeo

Badlands
Member
First Name
Frankie
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
20
Reaction score
102
Location
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Vehicle(s)
WRX
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Damn. Ever had leaks in it. Almost looks like water forced it to expand or so cold it pulled apart when the skin contracted.
I haven’t noticed any water inside the vehicle prior to the cracking. It does look like water expanding contributed to how bad it got.
 

Ksjrb03

First Edition
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
4,206
Reaction score
11,104
Location
Tx
Vehicle(s)
F250
Your Bronco Model
First Edition
Clubs
 
There has to be more involved than just a cold snap. There are Broncos that live in sub zero temps without this happening. Like the one I rented in Colorado, temps never climbed over zero the 5 days I had it. There were a shit ton of Broncos up there.

The MIC has huge quality issues, this is surely a manufacturing defect that was going to delam sooner or later.
 

BlueBronco

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2020
Threads
19
Messages
5,743
Reaction score
20,373
Location
DFW
Vehicle(s)
'16 F150 KR - '21 BL - 23' OBX
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
At this risk of sounding like a Ford apologist, one isolated incident, that is being warrantied, amongst over 100k hard topped Broncos on the streets hardly seems to be worthy of a news article.

Yes, the owner should post about it here and bring it to peoples attention and start a timeline incase more start to fail in similar fashion, I get that. But to publish an internet magazine news articles seems a bit premature and an obvious attempt at clicks on Mr. Holderiths part. Which is also evidenced by two simultaneous postings and linking to the same article by another Mass resident. Seems a bit forced.
 

Sponsored

Jdc

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Jon
Joined
Feb 14, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
1,364
Reaction score
3,539
Location
Massachusetts
Vehicle(s)
Bronco Badlands
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
It was -40 with the wind chill around here recently and my top has held up. Most likely a defective top which wouldn't be news given the history of these tops
 
OP
OP
Romeo

Romeo

Badlands
Member
First Name
Frankie
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
20
Reaction score
102
Location
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Vehicle(s)
WRX
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
At this risk of sounding like a Ford apologist, one isolated incident, that is being warrantied, amongst over 100k hard topped Broncos on the streets hardly seems to be worthy of a news article.

Yes, the owner should post about it here and bring it to peoples attention and start a timeline incase more start to fail in similar fashion, I get that. But to publish an internet magazine news articles seems a bit premature and an obvious attempt at clicks on Mr. Holderiths part. Which is also evidenced by two simultaneous postings and linking to the same article by another Mass resident. Seems a bit forced.
I texted the article to the other member that posted it, he didn’t know I already posted it. Didnt realize the expert on what qualifies as news was online.
 

internationlriders

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Josh
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Threads
8
Messages
319
Reaction score
546
Location
Alberta Canada
Vehicle(s)
2021 Bronco Badlands
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
So I can attest to both that this top has been good in cold weather (down to -45 C) and also not as good in the heat. My hardtop has a few delamination bubbles in the top of the clamshell after last summers heat wave, not very noticeable and no leaks or anything, but I did already bring it in for the proverbial warranty coverage while it's available. Who knows how long it will be till I see a new hard top installed though. đŸ€·â€â™‚ïž
 

Ksjrb03

First Edition
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
4,206
Reaction score
11,104
Location
Tx
Vehicle(s)
F250
Your Bronco Model
First Edition
Clubs
 
I texted the article to the other member that posted it, he didn’t know I already posted it. Didnt realize the expert on what qualifies as news was online.
Glad your dealer got you a new top approved and is taking care of you. While it seems nuts and is frustrating, I understand why they were initially hesitant that they could get you a new one under warranty. There was a long period where Ford was denying all warranty claims on the hardtop, my dealer refused to even submit a claim for my cracking around the windows. They said Ford had denied every claim they sent in for mismatched color, cracking, leaking, noise, etc. Sounds like they have changed their tune a bit recently, at least for the cracking. That said, that top is just a bit beyond cracking 😂
Sponsored

 
 


Top