Curious....what are the Jeep tops made of? ThanksFucking dealership service departments...
My wife bought a 2023 Wrangler yesterday. I had three prior to my Bronco, but there was a good year and a half gap between when I sold my 2020 and when my Bronco arrived. I forgot how solid and quiet Jeep hard tops are - it's a night and day difference. I don't know how Ford f'd theirs up so bad, but it's laughable that what they gave us is the best they can do.
Hi there, I'd be happy to look into your Bronco concerns on my end. Will you send us a message with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into things on my end.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.
I think someone who looked at a bashed up MIC panel saw some fiberglass in the cross-section. So perhaps the real deficiency is the coating applied when each of the panels is molded. Makes me think that with correct surface prepping, the MIC could be made far more durable with a rubberized aftermarket coating. Something like bedliner without the little granules that give the bed traction.
-40 Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Pretty close but it doesn't show the jar of Vasoline at the end.Ford Warranty Process (Rube Goldberg):
They’re fiberglass-ish, too, but they’re much more dense than Bronco tops. The freedom panels (front two removable sections) are smaller, but feel heavier than their Bronco counterparts.
Ah, -14 F isn't that cold. But then the joke doesn't work.
They are SMC specifically. High compression sheet molding compound. They do have fiberglass in them but not in the same sense as a traditional woven sheet/polyester resin layup like on a Corvette for example. I believe the mythical Mod top is SMC too. We have to remember the mic was supposed to be a Budget hardtop option, a slight step above a softop. I don't think Ford ever intended it to be this bad obviously, but the direct comparison to the wrangler hardtop in cost/performance would be the mod top.
ford knew demand was high for these vehicles cuts had to be made to get production going. Ford will just let the dealers deal with the customers complaints until the warranty period is over
