Top 5 MUST-HAVE Accessories for the Ford Bronco

[Obeh4ve]

Great post. I've always had a good experience with this site for keys. Land Rover, Ram and Mustang spares have all worked flawlessly. Local locksmith cuts my emergency key blanks and the dealer programs them. I'll be doing the same for our Bronco when we get hands on.
https://myaccount.carandtruckremote...hyear=2023&searchmake=Ford&searchmodel=Bronco
If that model specific page link fails this is the home page; https://www.carandtruckremotes.com/

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[omi205]

Alright... so I was on-call over the Thanksgiving holiday. To pass the time I was shopping for the Bronco, and to get some ideas I was watching some YouTube videos. There are a ton of these "Top X Accessories" videos out there, and most of them missed what I would consider to be the most important accessories for the Bronco. So this is my attempt to fix that.



Number 1 - Owner's Manual

Yes, we live in a world where your vehicle no longer comes with a printed owner's manual—it's all digital now. Let's be honest, the digital owner's manual sucks. And on top that, the Bronco actually has to be functional in order to be able to read it. You should get a user manual that doesn't require a complex system of electronics and a battery to function.

• Paper Copy - Available from Helm Inc: https://www.helminc.com
• Official PDFs - Available from Ford: https://www.ford.com/support/owner-manuals/

The official PDF you can obviously take to any office supply store and get it printed/bound. (Or sneakily print your manual at work on the office laser printer, whatever works.)

Added bonus: You should also get the fuse box stickers from @StickerFab . Main thread here—they're worth it.

Number 2 - Spare Key Fob

Replacement key fobs from your dealership will cost around $300 - $350—not cheap. If you read the owner's manual, you will know you can program a key fob by yourself without help from the dealership as long as you have two existing key fobs. Those key fobs by themselves only cost ~$45. So, buy yourself some cheap insurance and get yourself a third key fob as a spare.

Part No: M2DZ-15K601-x

The "x" at the end will vary based on your exact Bronco's configuration. Your dealer's part counter should be able to look up the part number, or you can plug in your VIN on Ford's Parts site. There are also some very helpful forums members that will likely gladly look up the part number for you. (I'm avoiding tagging them directly so not to bring unsolicited attention their way, but most of the folks who frequent this forum will know who they are.)

Want the physical emergency key too?? You obviously don't need one for the Bronco, but if you want one, it is my understanding that Ford doesn't sell key blanks directly to customers—they try to limit key blanks to licensed locksmiths and the like. Either way, the part number is 164-R8168. Google to your heart's content, they are out there (along with aftermarket versions).

Personally, my local locksmith has blanks readily available, and also has the necessarily equipment to cut those side-cut keys. So I just get my emergency spare cut through him.

Number 3 - Door Storage Pockets

The factory door pockets are garbage. Unless you intend on doing an awesome speaker modification, you should probably replace them.

There are TONS of options available, and many of them are sold by the vendors here on Bronco6G. One of my favorite options is from @Mountains2Metal (Link). The ones I currently have installed are from Bartact.

Number 4 - Torx Set

The Bronco has Torx and Torx Plus screws/bolts everywhere. The tool kit that comes with the Bronco does come with many of the Torx tools you need, but they are definitely missing sizes—most notably the size needed to work on the HD modular bumper. So if you want to work on the Bronco you should probably buy some Torx tools.

The socket set I have is here on Amazon; it is a master set and includes a bunch of tools you will never need on the Bronco. If you wanted to minimize the number of tools you were going to buy, just get the Torx Plus kit. The number of standard Torx bolts most people would interact with are relatively few and far between, and most halfway decent mechanics toolkits come with the necessary Torx sizes you'd need anyway.

(Also... I'm not particularly happy with the Neiko tools—they are starting to rust. So if anyone has alternatives, post 'em.)

Number 5 - Mud Flaps and Floor Mats

If you buy your Bronco new, you'll get 42,000 FordPass points, which in the United States equates to $210. It just so happens that the official Ford floor mats are around that price. You should get them, they're actually pretty solid. LINK

If you happened to order the upgraded floor mats with your Bronco, definitely look into some mud flaps if you care about your paint. The Bronco's tires (especially the Goodyear Territory MTs on the Sasquatch package) are pretty good about throwing rocks. There are LOTS of aftermarket options available for those, and many are much cheaper that the mud flaps Ford offers.

I'm personally not a fan of the way mud flaps look on the Bronco, so I went with the @IAG Performance Mini Mud Flaps. They don't provide quite as much protection as a "normal" mud flap would. But good enough.

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That's it. If you have anything you think is a "must have" and not on my list, post it!! There are likely things I didn't even think about and missed.

have the door bags. love them. going to get the extra keys. great idea.

 

[nwGTS]

That Key Fob idea is perfect. Just bought a third. Super smart. Thank you.

 

[JT58Bronc]

Definitely agree with the floor mats and mud flaps. I went economically with the Weathertech standard floor mats, not the liners and they are great value and so easy to remove and install and look great. I had the cheap carpeted floor mats previously. And I went with the Mabbett front mud flaps. Love them- they look install easily and look great. Stock Goodyears on the Sasquatch do throw a lot of rocks though and got by the mud flaps and caused a lot of rock chips on my doors and rockers on my one and only 1 week adventure. I would recommend some kind of rock protection in addition to mud flaps if you go off road a lot. Running boards probably provide the best protection although I am not a fan.

 

[desibull]

Ooooo that's a good one.

That's actually the very first item I installed on my Bronco—they were installed the day I bought it. Totally forgot about those. Wish I had put that on my list along with the mud flaps and floor mats. Oh well.

I have seen such covers with Molle Panels...they are made of vinyl mostly I guess and perhaps not as tough as the one here but at least useable to hang items. Interested in your thoughts.

 

[HP11]

Just received my remote this afternoon. Page 82 in the manual; took less than a minute to program and confirm its operation. Took longer to clean out the center console to access the backup slot! Thanks for the great tip!!!

 

[jd-ford-hd]

I LOL'd at the remarks on printing stuff.! Regarding the digital/data/electronic/file crashes and my track record with it…I can relate.! I printed off my complete "as built" module data before I started playing with Forscan settings.

 

[H2oguy]

i got essentially same thing tho sold under a different Chinese brand name on Amazon
https://a.co/d/ddCpygI

Added brackets require no drilling and thumb nuts allow quick removal.

I got mine at Amazon for $40 RHB Brand I think. Simple install with additional well made brackets. Yes little stiffer than what I’d like but I don’t do Rock crawling so should be good. They are out of stock but would recommend at this price and quality. Wish they had small mud flap on forward side of rear tires offered, just to fill gap between step and stock fender.

 

[OldMetal]

Why would anyone print a 642 page manual? Just save it to your phone. Word search is much faster than flipping through a printed manual. Thanks for the link.

Those Bartact soft door bags look super nice. I'd rather rest my leg on that than a steel molle.

The www.helminc.com owner's maunals are 5"x7"x 1.5". If you want a paper copy, they don't take up much space.

 

[tourproto]

Just ordered the hardcopy manual (backorder) and 2 additional key fobs and the blade key blanks!

I love my door pockets (Badlands) as I keep spare insulated water bottles on both sides, an LED flashlight and spare napkins. The elasticized net pockets work great for me.

I already had a full Torx kit and put on mudflaps ages ago.

 

[AndGerry]

@RagnarKon Looking in the Ford parts website to try and grab a spare keyfob but can’t seem to find it. Any help on how I can get to it is appreciated. TIA.

 

[CUPRA]

I like the info on the key fob, thanks for that.

As for the floor mats, I originally had the OEM Ford ones, but the rear mats are two piece and flap around with doors off. You can actually lose them as they have been known to fly out when the doors are off. The raised Bronco logo is annoying too if you want to add a cup holder back there. I went with the Lasfit set, they are really nice quality.



Seat back protectors and even cargo sidewalk protectors have been key for us as the rear plastics get scratched so incredibly easy.







Where mud flaps are concerned, they are definitely a must have, absolutely agree with you on that count. I’ve tried a couple of sets including quick release ones, but the Mabett ones have stood the test of time.



A good list you made, I like the user manual on the 12” screen, being able to search quickly for what you need is handy there.

 

[RagnarKon]

@RagnarKon Looking in the Ford parts website to try and grab a spare keyfob but can’t seem to find it. Any help on how I can get to it is appreciated. TIA.

On the Ford Parts website plug in your VIN and the part number for the key fob (15K601). Should pop right up if it's in stock.

 

[AndGerry]

On the Ford Parts website plug in your VIN and the part number for the key fob (15K601). Should pop right up if it's in stock.

Thanks for the help. I checked the website and think the fobs aren’t in stock because the only fobs that show up are 601B & 601C and don’t look like the Bronco fobs.

 

[RagnarKon]

Thanks for the help. I checked the website and think the fobs aren’t in stock because the only fobs that show up are 601B & 601C and don’t look like the Bronco fobs.

Mmmmmm.... something is screwy in Ford's database right now.

I see my key fob, but as soon as I plug in my VIN it acts as though it doesn't work with my vehicle—even though it does.

I'll poke at it tomorrow, but something is definitely not operating right at the moment. Maybe a human error thing? Not sure.

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