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Road trip gone bad; broken windshield, broken window regulator

Weck

Outer Banks
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Took our brand new Outer Banks for a trip to Colorado for some snowboarding. We left central Texas and all was well on the trip up. The Bronco run and drove like a champ. While at Vail, it snowed every morning then the sun would melt it during the afternoon. Refreezing would occur nightly. This is where the trouble started. One morning I went to the truck to get something and while opening the driver’s door the window indexes down. It was frozen and made a cracking sound. I figured it was the ice breaking. I closed the door and the window indexed up. All seamed normal. A few days later we drove to Denver and stopped and a drive through. I lowered the window and it sounded like the whole window shattered. Then it wouldn’t go back up. The glass was fine but the regulator was toast. It was snowing and 4 degrees and no window. We had to get back to Texas, so I got some plastic and tape and made a new window. We drove for 14 very loud hours. Upon getting home I noticed three cracks in the windshield. Looking closer, there was hundreds of pits with tiny cracks forming. I am guessing this is from the sand on the interstate. A quick google search revealed that the Bronco Sports and Rangers all have serious windshield problems. Also, some other owners are reporting broken window regulators when the temp gets below 15 degrees. This is totally unacceptable. The vehicle only has 2000 miles and it can’t even be used in the snow. That is what I bought it for. We are heartbroken that Ford would put this kind of crap on the market. This supposed to be a rough and tough vehicle.

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Kameronatm

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That sounds awful! Have you spoken with the dealer yet?
 

Snacktime

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My biggest concern is the indexing door windows. Luck for me I am no longer dealing with negative Iowa temperatures. However the wear and tear of indexing every time you open the door has to wear a section out.
 
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Weck

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That sounds awful! Have you spoken with the dealer yet?
I called the service manager, I am good friends with him, and he is looking into the window regulator. I haven’t told him about the windshield because I didn’t see the issue until I got home.
 

72BroncoSand

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I like your window mod better than stock. I wouldn't bother fixing it.
 

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AK SNO RIDER

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The angle of these windshields combined with Fords decision to not use gorilla glass means they are gonna break super easy. It's by design and your dealer is not and should not be expected to do anything about your windshield. Especially since you were pretty obviously tailgating the piss out of people to get so thoroughly sandblasted like that.

It sucks but it's something all of us in snowy climates just have to deal with. Mine was broken by 1000 miles, but the rocks came off of oncoming cars, not from sitting in a sand storm.
 

Akinmx

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Windshields crack all the time especially with highway/interstate driving. My concern is the indexing windows. I have broken 2 window regulators over the years trying to roll a window down in icy freezing conditions. I learned my lesson and NEVER try to roll my windows down in that weather anymore. However, the Bronco's window will index down EVERY time you open the darn door! Is there no way to stop it from happening? I suppose remote start will help warm your vehicle up and melt some ice but its still risky.
 

AK SNO RIDER

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Or depending on your local shop, Dynoflex. My PPF guys said they've had really good luck with it in their testing. Woulda had it installed but my damn windshield broke during the 150 mile drive to the shop 🤬
 
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Weck

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The angle of these windshields combined with Fords decision to not use gorilla glass means they are gonna break super easy. It's by design and your dealer is not and should not be expected to do anything about your windshield. Especially since you were pretty obviously tailgating the piss out of people to get so thoroughly sandblasted like that.

It sucks but it's something all of us in snowy climates just have to deal with. Mine was broken by 1000 miles, but the rocks came off of oncoming cars, not from sitting in a sand storm.
What make you think I was tailgating? That is not something I do especially in a snow storm where visibility was extremely bad. Most of the damage is on the passenger side which lead me to believe it happened when passing vehicles. There was damage on the driver side bit somewhat less. I have been vacationIng in Colorado winters every year since 2001 with four different vehicles. Never have I seen a windshield this susceptible to sand. I have never had visible pits like this Bronco window. There are hundreds of pits with missing glass.
 

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Toccoa

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We are heartbroken that Ford would put this kind of crap on the market. This supposed to be a rough and tough vehicle.
It is a rough and tough vehicle. It’s just made with some very delicate parts. :LOL:

Hope you get everything fixed. (y)
 
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Weck

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Windshields crack all the time especially with highway/interstate driving. My concern is the indexing windows. I have broken 2 window regulators over the years trying to roll a window down in icy freezing conditions. I learned my lesson and NEVER try to roll my windows down in that weather anymore. However, the Bronco's window will index down EVERY time you open the darn door! Is there no way to stop it from happening? I suppose remote start will help warm your vehicle up and melt some ice but its still risky.
Indexing of the window seams like a really bad idea to me.
 
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Weck

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the bottom picture the windshield looks like it has specks of dirt on it. Those are actually the sand chips. I cleans the window before taking the picture.
 

cclkramer

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Took our brand new Outer Banks for a trip to Colorado for some snowboarding. We left central Texas and all was well on the trip up. The Bronco run and drove like a champ. While at Vail, it snowed every morning then the sun would melt it during the afternoon. Refreezing would occur nightly. This is where the trouble started. One morning I went to the truck to get something and while opening the driver’s door the window indexes down. It was frozen and made a cracking sound. I figured it was the ice breaking. I closed the door and the window indexed up. All seamed normal. A few days later we drove to Denver and stopped and a drive through. I lowered the window and it sounded like the whole window shattered. Then it wouldn’t go back up. The glass was fine but the regulator was toast. It was snowing and 4 degrees and no window. We had to get back to Texas, so I got some plastic and tape and made a new window. We drove for 14 very loud hours. Upon getting home I noticed three cracks in the windshield. Looking closer, there was hundreds of pits with tiny cracks forming. I am guessing this is from the sand on the interstate. A quick google search revealed that the Bronco Sports and Rangers all have serious windshield problems. Also, some other owners are reporting broken window regulators when the temp gets below 15 degrees. This is totally unacceptable. The vehicle only has 2000 miles and it can’t even be used in the snow. That is what I bought it for. We are heartbroken that Ford would put this kind of crap on the market. This supposed to be a rough and tough vehicle.

E37B6F11-3779-43A3-AFE3-9EBB552ACC64.jpeg


C63F0154-538B-4CD5-8BC1-1E425DB35D1D.jpeg


D4945490-499F-4A91-9616-A98D553AEF23.jpeg


71DF5A84-E441-48EA-B564-1042346B263E.jpeg
I see this frameless window system going to shit in no time. Rubber rotting! Windows flopping around with no support. When the window is rolled down just a tad water gushes in from the top of the soft top roof. Just doesn't seem to be engineered to last. IN MY OWN OPINION. I'm sorry about your truck! Ford should fix your truck! I live in northern Idaho and it gets cold! When it does get cold it gives me the feeling its gonna break when I open the doors. The windows get stuck and you have to pull harder on the doors to open. It feels like junk.
 

da_jokker

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Wranglers are known for their windshields being rock catchers... It's because of the angle and the airflow over the hood/whindshield. That is why jeep started offering gorilla Glass as an option.

my point being that getting windshield chips is probably going to be fairly regular on these types of vehicles.

as for the driver's window...that sucks. You're not the first person that has had issues like this. I get why Ford did it, it was probably driven by the ability to put the doors in the back, But it's a crap design. Other folks that have had windows like this and other Ford vehicles for years have said they hold up. Not sure about the frozen shut thing though.

hell, maybe that's why ford seems to blast So much air out of the defroster... Because they knew this was a problem.
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