- First Name
- Brad
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2022
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- 1,336
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- 2,066
- Location
- Chandler, AZ
- Vehicle(s)
- 2022 Ford Bronco
- Your Bronco Model
- Outer Banks
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- #1
Ok, so here’s the story…..
Going on one year of ownership now and after a few months in, the light scratch (or so I thought) on my MIC 2.0 hard top under the rear passenger side window actually opened up and became a hairline crack (see first 2 photos). Kept an eye on it and it slightly grew in size and even saw a water droplet come out of it once. I knew it would be covered under warranty, but debated if it was bad enough to get replaced since that was the only issue I had with my hard top. I knew there was a risk of possibly getting a worse replacement top, but figured I’ll just keep taking it back if that’s the case.
So I contacted the dealer, no arguments, and the new top was ordered and arrived in 2 weeks. The install took two days and was completed this Thursday. Dealer told me not to wash it for a couple days since the rear side windows had to be replaced. So when I picked it up, I inspected it hardcore and found no cracks or issues, but the top was very dusty so couldn’t see a whole lot. I felt they did a good job with the replacement and that I got a good quality top.
Fast forward just two days (today) when I go to wash it. Took it to a touchless self serve with the hand sprayer like I always do. No touching or abrasion. I inspect the top now that it’s clean and can see the entire top of it has hairline cracks everywhere (last 6 photos)! It’s literally 1000x worse than my original top. I could see how bad it was outside in the natural light, but it was super amplified once I got it in my dark garage and put my cell phone flashlight on it.
I’m waiting to hear back from the dealer, and assume they’ll just order me another top, but this is SO bad. It almost seems like they gave me someone else’s bad top that was already replaced that they found just sitting in the service boneyard. Shame on Ford.
I know many people with the MIC hard tops say they don’t have cracks, but I encourage all of you to take your cell phone flashlight to your top inside your darker garage. Check it from all angles and all sides and they become VERY apparent.
I’ll continue to update my story as the saga continues. Frustrated to say the least.
7/17/23 UPDATE
Dealer called me first thing this morning after my message over the weekend. They agreed it's bad and are ordering me another top. We also discussed that when the new top comes in they and myself will inspect it thoroughly with a flashlight before it gets installed. They also mentioned that "their best guy" wasn't available to do my replacement install and would have caught this before it was installed, and he'll be the one to do the next replacement install when the new top arrives. I do have to compliment my dealer for treating me well with good customer service.
Also, for those curious, attached are more photos of what the top looks like in direct sunlight. As you can see, it's very easy to overlook all the cracks and how terrible the top really is until you get it under low lighting with a flashlight.
8/14/23 UPDATE
My new top (3rd top) arrived to the dealer in 1 week. They called me when it arrived so I could go inspect it to make sure it was good enough before they proceeded with the install. For those interested, when I went to inspect it, it still had all the shipping labels on it, and the new top was shipped from "Ford Sacramento HCC" out of Manteca, CA.
I inspected it outside in the daylight while it was still in the wooden crate, but was visible enough for me to confirm I did not see any cracks or major issues. So I let the dealer proceed with the install. Install took 1 day, but the dealer called me and said "we noticed a blemish on the back above the rear window, so I'm having my trim dept take a look at it, so it will be another day". I was good with that because I wanted it done right.
So the next day I went to go pick it up and inspect the final product. Myself and my service rep inspected it again and we climbed up to check the top of it to make sure no cracks after they cleaned/wiped it down. My downfall was I was pretty excited to get it back and everything looked good, but I forgot to ask about the "blemish" they mentioned the previous day, nor did my service rep bring it up or point it out. Nothing jumped out at me, so I assumed it was just a mark they cleaned off and that's why I didn't see anything or bring it up.
So I get it home and inspect the top again, and I now notice they actually painted over the blemish! The spot they painted over is a bit rougher from the paint than the rest of the smooth hard top, and the paint has more sparkle in it than the rest of the hard top. To be honest, they did a really good job painting over it, and good to know that's an option for anyone if you get markings. HOWEVER, they should have told me about this and that's not what I signed up for. My issue was a cracked top, and I left with a top that now has paint touch-up on it, which I feel will wear off differently than the rest of the hard top, and eventually re-show the blemish they were speaking of. Also, the blemish they mentioned was not there when I did my initial inspection, because I would have noticed it, so they must have scratched or damaged the back of the hard top at some point during the install or re-attachment of my rear window.
Also, now that my Bronco was in my darker garage, I did the flashlight test on it again and noticed two "wear" spots on the roof (see pics). I wouldn't exactly consider them cracks, but more-so imperfections or slight wear from the shipping package/crate/straps. Something I could live with knowing I'm still under warranty, but now I also have the paint touch-up to deal with that I'm not happy about.
I talked to my dealer about this whole issue, and he said he would get back to me, but it's been a few days and he hasn't yet. So time to follow-up again. Am I making too big of a deal with this, or should I just let it be? The paint is hardly noticeable and I have to point it out to people, but regardless it's a "bandaid" I didn't sign-up for and don't want it to wear off.
8/15/23 UPDATE
My dealer got back to me and said he already ordered me a new top, it showed up, he inspected it, but he rejected it because it had scratches on it and he knew I wouldn't accept it. So he said he now has to order another one. Geez......
It seems the replacement tops they are sending are just all the factory rejects.
My dealer seems to have my back though and said he's going to keep re-ordering until I get a perfect top.
9/24/23 UPDATE
My 4th top (3rd replacement) finally arrived and was installed at the dealer on Friday. Everything went well with the replacement and the dealer was great to work with. I inspected the top before the install and after the install and I feel I finally got a good one! I checked it in all lighting levels and also used my phone flashlight. So I’m finally happy with my top, now just hope it stays this way for a long time. I will certainly be keeping a very close eye on it over the next few months.
10/19/23 UPDATE
10/19/23 UPDATE
I've been further inspecting my new rear clamshell top under different lighting conditions. When in my garage with the garage door open, I'm starting to notice some slight delaminating. When inside a dark parking garage with natural light shining in, the delaminating is TERRIBLE. When in the sun, my top appears almost flawless. Still no cracks, but the delaminating is now becoming apparent. Can others please inspect your tops in different lighting conditions and let me know what you see for delaminating?
If you don’t inspect these tops in different lighting conditions they appear just fine. In the dark with a flashlight you can see the cracks. In a perfect mix of shade/dark with some natural light coming in (like your home garage or a parking garage) you see all the delaminating. In direct sunlight all defects are masked and the top appears fine.
I’m going to bet there are a lot of bad tops out there that haven’t been identified yet because they haven’t been seen in the right lighting. For delam, the best lighting is in a parking garage with some natural light coming in like in my photos. All other lighting conditions and my top seems just fine / damn perfect. This is a mind fuck game and I just want to stop losing sleep over these damn tops being bad.
Going on one year of ownership now and after a few months in, the light scratch (or so I thought) on my MIC 2.0 hard top under the rear passenger side window actually opened up and became a hairline crack (see first 2 photos). Kept an eye on it and it slightly grew in size and even saw a water droplet come out of it once. I knew it would be covered under warranty, but debated if it was bad enough to get replaced since that was the only issue I had with my hard top. I knew there was a risk of possibly getting a worse replacement top, but figured I’ll just keep taking it back if that’s the case.
So I contacted the dealer, no arguments, and the new top was ordered and arrived in 2 weeks. The install took two days and was completed this Thursday. Dealer told me not to wash it for a couple days since the rear side windows had to be replaced. So when I picked it up, I inspected it hardcore and found no cracks or issues, but the top was very dusty so couldn’t see a whole lot. I felt they did a good job with the replacement and that I got a good quality top.
Fast forward just two days (today) when I go to wash it. Took it to a touchless self serve with the hand sprayer like I always do. No touching or abrasion. I inspect the top now that it’s clean and can see the entire top of it has hairline cracks everywhere (last 6 photos)! It’s literally 1000x worse than my original top. I could see how bad it was outside in the natural light, but it was super amplified once I got it in my dark garage and put my cell phone flashlight on it.
I’m waiting to hear back from the dealer, and assume they’ll just order me another top, but this is SO bad. It almost seems like they gave me someone else’s bad top that was already replaced that they found just sitting in the service boneyard. Shame on Ford.
I know many people with the MIC hard tops say they don’t have cracks, but I encourage all of you to take your cell phone flashlight to your top inside your darker garage. Check it from all angles and all sides and they become VERY apparent.
I’ll continue to update my story as the saga continues. Frustrated to say the least.
7/17/23 UPDATE
Dealer called me first thing this morning after my message over the weekend. They agreed it's bad and are ordering me another top. We also discussed that when the new top comes in they and myself will inspect it thoroughly with a flashlight before it gets installed. They also mentioned that "their best guy" wasn't available to do my replacement install and would have caught this before it was installed, and he'll be the one to do the next replacement install when the new top arrives. I do have to compliment my dealer for treating me well with good customer service.
Also, for those curious, attached are more photos of what the top looks like in direct sunlight. As you can see, it's very easy to overlook all the cracks and how terrible the top really is until you get it under low lighting with a flashlight.
8/14/23 UPDATE
My new top (3rd top) arrived to the dealer in 1 week. They called me when it arrived so I could go inspect it to make sure it was good enough before they proceeded with the install. For those interested, when I went to inspect it, it still had all the shipping labels on it, and the new top was shipped from "Ford Sacramento HCC" out of Manteca, CA.
I inspected it outside in the daylight while it was still in the wooden crate, but was visible enough for me to confirm I did not see any cracks or major issues. So I let the dealer proceed with the install. Install took 1 day, but the dealer called me and said "we noticed a blemish on the back above the rear window, so I'm having my trim dept take a look at it, so it will be another day". I was good with that because I wanted it done right.
So the next day I went to go pick it up and inspect the final product. Myself and my service rep inspected it again and we climbed up to check the top of it to make sure no cracks after they cleaned/wiped it down. My downfall was I was pretty excited to get it back and everything looked good, but I forgot to ask about the "blemish" they mentioned the previous day, nor did my service rep bring it up or point it out. Nothing jumped out at me, so I assumed it was just a mark they cleaned off and that's why I didn't see anything or bring it up.
So I get it home and inspect the top again, and I now notice they actually painted over the blemish! The spot they painted over is a bit rougher from the paint than the rest of the smooth hard top, and the paint has more sparkle in it than the rest of the hard top. To be honest, they did a really good job painting over it, and good to know that's an option for anyone if you get markings. HOWEVER, they should have told me about this and that's not what I signed up for. My issue was a cracked top, and I left with a top that now has paint touch-up on it, which I feel will wear off differently than the rest of the hard top, and eventually re-show the blemish they were speaking of. Also, the blemish they mentioned was not there when I did my initial inspection, because I would have noticed it, so they must have scratched or damaged the back of the hard top at some point during the install or re-attachment of my rear window.
Also, now that my Bronco was in my darker garage, I did the flashlight test on it again and noticed two "wear" spots on the roof (see pics). I wouldn't exactly consider them cracks, but more-so imperfections or slight wear from the shipping package/crate/straps. Something I could live with knowing I'm still under warranty, but now I also have the paint touch-up to deal with that I'm not happy about.
I talked to my dealer about this whole issue, and he said he would get back to me, but it's been a few days and he hasn't yet. So time to follow-up again. Am I making too big of a deal with this, or should I just let it be? The paint is hardly noticeable and I have to point it out to people, but regardless it's a "bandaid" I didn't sign-up for and don't want it to wear off.
8/15/23 UPDATE
My dealer got back to me and said he already ordered me a new top, it showed up, he inspected it, but he rejected it because it had scratches on it and he knew I wouldn't accept it. So he said he now has to order another one. Geez......
It seems the replacement tops they are sending are just all the factory rejects.
My dealer seems to have my back though and said he's going to keep re-ordering until I get a perfect top.
9/24/23 UPDATE
My 4th top (3rd replacement) finally arrived and was installed at the dealer on Friday. Everything went well with the replacement and the dealer was great to work with. I inspected the top before the install and after the install and I feel I finally got a good one! I checked it in all lighting levels and also used my phone flashlight. So I’m finally happy with my top, now just hope it stays this way for a long time. I will certainly be keeping a very close eye on it over the next few months.
10/19/23 UPDATE
10/19/23 UPDATE
I've been further inspecting my new rear clamshell top under different lighting conditions. When in my garage with the garage door open, I'm starting to notice some slight delaminating. When inside a dark parking garage with natural light shining in, the delaminating is TERRIBLE. When in the sun, my top appears almost flawless. Still no cracks, but the delaminating is now becoming apparent. Can others please inspect your tops in different lighting conditions and let me know what you see for delaminating?
If you don’t inspect these tops in different lighting conditions they appear just fine. In the dark with a flashlight you can see the cracks. In a perfect mix of shade/dark with some natural light coming in (like your home garage or a parking garage) you see all the delaminating. In direct sunlight all defects are masked and the top appears fine.
I’m going to bet there are a lot of bad tops out there that haven’t been identified yet because they haven’t been seen in the right lighting. For delam, the best lighting is in a parking garage with some natural light coming in like in my photos. All other lighting conditions and my top seems just fine / damn perfect. This is a mind fuck game and I just want to stop losing sleep over these damn tops being bad.
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