[Updated 7/20] Early Delivered Bronco MIC Top Developing Honeycomb / Snakeskin Pattern

[Bronc-itis]

Textured plastic isn’t made to be waxed. It is porous, and you have wax trapped in the pores highlighting the honeycomb structure under the surface. You haven’t damaged the roof, but you marred the appearance of the roof by waxing it. You will need to consult someone on what product you can safely use to draw that wax out.

https://www.carwashcountry.com/how-to-get-car-wax-off-rubber-or-black-plastic-trim/

Sorry, but that’s bullshit. Waxing the roof isn’t going to compromise the structure. It’s wax for f-sake.

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[indio22]

Ford engineers: "Tops are not ready yet and need fixing."

Ford sales team:

 

[ReimundKrohn]

Sorry, but that’s bullshit. Waxing the roof isn’t going to compromise the structure. It’s wax for f-sake.

What is compromised? That is an assumption based on?? What we know is that we can see substructure. We also know one is not supposed to wax plastic.

 

[Lazerus]

Every third page thers's someone blaming the OP for waxing the top.

What is compromised? That is an assumption based on?? What we know is that we can see substructure. We also know one is not supposed to wax plastic.

The product used claimes to be plastic safe. And, it's a 4x4 hard top! If a bit of wax can cause this, how can one possibly expect it to hold up to serious off road abuse?

The product he used says it’s ok on rubber and plastic trim.

 

[Big Island Bronco ?♂️]

Somebody needs to go dumpster diving at Webasto . Do a little recon and see what’s going on. But all jokes aside Webasto is the reason I am in no hurry to get my 2-door First Edition. Thank GOD I still don’t have a vin#. And for the record if I could I’d take a convertible at this point. I use to know someone who worked at their other facility who from time to time helped out at the MIC top plant in Plymouth. They said from day one it was a clusterfxxk and night and day difference between the two plants. First off, the plant has horrible workflow as if it was a repurposed building and not purposely built, definitely not big enough to add production of the shadow black modular hard top in their opinion. Second, a hostel work environment with bad management, pre-FORD’s involvement. Third, sub par employees were initially hired to work there. These early employees were not used to working in a factory setting and were quick to complain when they realized the quality of work and long hours that was demanded of them. Employee turnover has been a huge problem! FORD has tried to right this sinking ship by raising the pay above Webasto’s initial low offering, bringing in their own management and highly skilled employees along with technical support, and ultimately spending millions of dollars. I personally know this is driving FORD corporate crazy and yet here we are with many of the same quality issues.... In the end I am still beyond happy FORD brought back the Bronco, it’s an amazing vehicle that I will love MIC top aside .

 

[AMK610]

I have purchased many new vehicles over the last 10 years....every dealer has said, wait 6 months.

You really don’t have to wait anymore with modern factory paint processes. And dealers are the last place I get my info from lol

if you get into an accident and have a panel repainted, then yeah you gotta wait. But not even 6 months

 

[jwhitecarolina]

Updated with more info from @PREMiERdrum:

The first of many we'll see of these. It's becoming apparent that many tops were delivered that had their outer laminate layer cast too thin. Commodity intake procedures weren't able to tell because they looked fine. This - along with other laminating issues - are what spurred the additional inspections that held so many units over the last 2 weeks.

FWIW my roof is still 100% fine, and I'm realizing just how lucky I havr been with this build.

A bit more info: Issues with thickness uniformity of the 3 layers is what's behind the lamination issues (and these unsightly "thin" spots). There isn't an easy fix at this point.

Watch this space.



Original post:

I haven't seen any mention or photos of this phenomenon yet. Just today I noticed a honeycomb or snakeskin like pattern starting to appear on most of the rear shell.

Anyone else also experience this? Is it UV related? Reaction with Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax? Something internal?

You can't feel the texture, it's strictly visual.

Interested in hearing some theories...

Ah, man that stinks. Hopefully they will stand behind it and get you a replacement. This was one of my concerns about the MIC top from the beginning. Consequently, I decided to have uncharacteristic patience and ordered my Wildtrak with dual tops/painted hard top. I'm thinking I might actually see it some time before I die..... Good luck!

 

[Bronc-itis]

What is compromised? That is an assumption based on?? What we know is that we can see substructure. We also know one is not supposed to wax plastic.

You made a statement as if the wax was causing the issue. Which I stated was bullshit. Not sure how much clearer I can be.

 

[WhiteMamba]

Well, obviously you didn't wax it. If you want the full effect of the new honeycomb look you gotta wax and buff the shit out of it.

Well, obviously you didn't wax it. If you want the full effect of the new honeycomb look you gotta wax and buff the shit out of it.

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/lxjLXyapeLksW7nkUz" width="480" height="360" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="">via GIPHY</a></p>

 

[Jolo86]

The more I look at this, the more it just looks like the plastic is semitranspatent.
But what do I know, I'm just standing here staring at it in person and not on a 5" phone screen

OP don't listen to all the "experts" talking $h!. They're probably working through some childhood trauma.

 

[timhood]

Oof. Of all things, this is far and away Ford's worst nightmare. Quality issues on a part that is already severely production-constrained and is ordered on 60+% of vehicles. I'm sure there are some Ford guys getting ulcers right now. I wouldn't not want to be the guy who green-lit Webasto as the supplier. That's a career-killer. No matter what the boss or boss' boss says about "we know it's not your fault," you'll never be trusted again.

Seeing this makes me think for the first time that my Day 1 reservation could very likely become a '22 delivery. Lux, tow, 2-door, 2.7 was already an obstacle, but these hard tops may become unicorns.

 

[indio22]

Obviously a LOT of production consistency and QC issues involved in this, but I have another concern that's more about the design and material used.

One of the key points that was played up early on with the MIC top (and remember, that stands for molded-in-color ) was that scratches wouldn't show up because the top was a consistent color throughout.

Now we're seeing that a defect in the manufacturing process is producing an outer layer so thin that it begins to show an internal honeycomb pattern after a few days. Not sure if this is caused by some sort of UV or moisture reactivity or what (which is a big problem in and of itself), but my point is this:

What is a scratch or other physical impact (like hail?) going to do to a top like this?

No way that doesn't punch through the thin outer shell and expose the internal structure. Not only is that going to be very visible (unlike what we were initially told about these tops), but that internal structure is going to easily hold water and moisture.

So I guess my question is this:
Even if the manufacturing and QC issues get sorted out between Webasto and Ford, why should I believe that this top is going to have any sort of useful longevity at all? (And believe me, I want to believe this top will work out.)

A couple weeks ago, I saw and test rode in a 2-door dealer demo with hardtop. (The Wildtrak shown in photo below.) I paid particular attention to the hardtop given the production issues.

I saw no honeycomb showing through the exterior surfaces. I viewed all sides and even climbed up on the rear axle tire to view the top. Pushed on the panels etc. I was viewing at around 6:30pm on a mildly clouding day. Not sure if a different lighting situation would show something else.

Overall the exterior surface seemed solid and the surface treatment even - meaning a consistent slightly textured surface. The only thing I saw on the exterior, were some scratch marks, probably when the dealer earlier had the top removed, and probably was not so careful about where they laid the panels.

And actually I tried rubbing out the scuff marks with my finger, and one of them seemed to be disappearing. I did that because many of us will be having tree branches and other stuff hitting the top, and I wanted to see if the scuff marks were permanent.

Overall to me the hardtop outside surface appeared strong and durable. But who knows over time - that I can't answer. Based on the OP and other photos, the build quality varies between tops.

 

[Oceannomad]

I kind of wish that we'd get more close-ups of customer delivered hard tops so we can compare...although it seems invasive to ask folks for that. I'd get annoyed if I had just accepted delivery of my $50k+ new car and took pictures out of pride and a bunch of folks on a forum started judging my new pride 'n joy (just like I have been doing, sorry OP). I think it's helpful and informative for new owners and at the same time demoralizing.

 

[Lazerus]

I kind of wish that we'd get more close-ups of customer delivered hard tops so we can compare...although it seems invasive to ask folks for that. I'd get annoyed if I had just accepted delivery of my $50k+ new car and took pictures out of pride and a bunch of folks on a forum started judging my new pride 'n joy (just like I have been doing, sorry OP). I think it's helpful and informative for new owners and at the same time demoralizing.

I run a business that deals with thousands of the same end customers every day. Nothing is worse than hearing a new complaint that starts with, 'This has been an issue for years, but I've never said anything until now..."
I always tell my customers "Don't be afraid to tell us about a problem. If I don't know about it, I can't take steps to resolve it."
Because, I assume while they aren't telling us about it, they are telling others. It hurts our reputation to be seen as not resolving the issue - even though we didn't know the issue existed.

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