My Bronco MIC hardtop cracked in cold (-11 degrees)

[Hey Buddy]

You will be getting noticed, as I just saw this on MSN as well as here!

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[Snacktime]

Nothing to see here folks, its so bad it actually funny. I see this picture going viral with internet memes.

 

[brianbrn]

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."​

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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."​

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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.​

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"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.​

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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.​

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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.​

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More info:


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.

The temps in the NE this last week will show if this is a problem systemically. I bet there is a pretty good sample size that were tested in the record setting -100 wind chills. I saw a video of their testing of the Bronco in the -40 degree freezer. It's pretty impressive how they test them.

 

[Romeo]

interesting !

How did TheDrive get involved ?

Maybe they saw it here ?
Wow now on MSN also

I tweeted about it and they dm’d me

 

[BlueBronco]

What I find hard to understand is what made the OP go and climb his bumper to look at that very spot after the freeze to look for damage. In my opinion you can not see this damage from a standing position, too high up and not at edge of top to see from below. Did he see it from a advantage point higher like a 2nd story home window or the like.

Not hard to understand at all as you don't know OP's living set-up. For example, my garage is under my main living area that has 2 large picture windows that overlook my driveway and beyond. Thus, I end up looking at the roof of my wifes BL and my F150 on a daily basis. Had this happened to us we would have noticed immediately as well.

Ford parts department told me when I went Monday to drop off my Bronco for top replacement for cracking under warranty that the tops are made and tested in Italy and Wuhan China. Then shipped to Detroit's supply warehouse.

That some grade-A "my dealer said..." bs right there. I actually lol'd at that one. The tops are made outside of Detroit by Webasto.

 

[Tex]

I'm glad this was circled, wouldn't have been able to spot it otherwise.
What would we do without internet car magazines pointing these things out to us?

 

[rocko107]

I worry about what happens when these issues manifest themselves right after your warranties are up. How much is a replacement top going to cost. I've been on the fence regarding MIC vs. Soft top, and have been leaning towards the soft top though there seems to be teething issues there as well, mostly with broken clips on the rear side panels.

 

[I3lackRose]

Is this a MIC 2.0? Or 1.0?

 

[labattbluebronco]

It's a shame that with 30 years of advancement in technology and manufacturing, the new hardtops seem to be inferior to the one on my 1994 Bronco. Aren't things supposed to be "improved" with time and experience?

 

[swooshdave]

Ford parts department told me when I went Monday to drop off my Bronco for top replacement for cracking under warranty that the tops are made and tested in Italy and Wuhan China.

It's too early in the morning to have to read this nonsense. Wuhan? Really?

 

[Grumpy]

It's too early in the morning to have to read this nonsense. Wuhan? Really?

Yes, I couldn't believe it either. Unbelievable to phantom.

 

[j_marinelli]

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:


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.

Man sorry to see that.

 

[Grumpy]

Not hard to understand at all as you don't know OP's living set-up. For example, my garage is under my main living area that has 2 large picture windows that overlook my driveway and beyond. Thus, I end up looking at the roof of my wifes BL and my F150 on a daily basis. Had this happened to us we would have noticed immediately as well.
That some grade-A "my dealer said..." bs right there. I actually lol'd at that one. The tops are made outside of Detroit by Webasto.

Point one yours, I did in fact mention an advantage point like a home window.

Second point- I couldn't believe it either when both parts personnel repeated the same thing about the 2 locations of being produced. Italy and Of all places Wuhan China. I couldn't dispute it as I have no knowledge otherwise.

 

[lakesinai]

That’s not a crack that is a delam probably a flaw. Looks like they let the gel coating cure to long before applying the fabric

There is no gel coat on these tops. The exterior is the plastic sheet. But a delamination due to process seems like a good guess.

 

[Ksjrb03]

What I find hard to understand is what made the OP go and climb his bumper to look at that very spot after the freeze to look for damage. In my opinion you can not see this damage from a standing position, too high up and not at edge of top to see from below. Did he see it from a advantage point higher like a 2nd story home window or the like. Kinda makes me think something else happened previous to overnight temps that had him climbing his bumper to see. Having an article published online is kinda extreme unless knowing something else caused it, but freezing temp exasperated the issue. Kinda forcing Ford's hand per say! Don't really care one way or the other, just sequences of events are suspicious to me.

Ford parts department told me when I went Monday to drop off my Bronco for top replacement for cracking under warranty that the tops are made and tested in Italy and Wuhan China. Then shipped to Detroit's supply warehouse. But the overall numbers of MIC tops being replaced under warranty is marginally small compared to total manufacturing and sales numbers. Their is an active TSB for the MIC, but based on the narrow margin for replacement, there is no reason for a recall.

Everything your dealer told you was false. Webasto still produces the MIC in greater Detroit. The location in Europe is where their R&D center is, that produced their first prototypes in a lab setting. Some of the early tops did come from there, but not for quite a while. And the tooling for the tops did in fact come from Wuhan, but not the tops.

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