When the Bronco Sport hit showrooms back in early 2021, excitement for all things Ford Bronco was swirling. The promise of rugged capability at a friendly price point while bearing the Bronco nameplate proved attractive to buyers. While based on the same platform as the Ford Escape and Ford Maverick, the Bronco Sport boasted a few exclusive tricks over its platform mates (like G.O.A.T. mode all-wheel drive) that set it apart. But like any vehicle, there have been issues along the way, and the Bronco Sport has its fair share of known problems.
The information presented below was collected from NHTSA.gov complaints, recall information, various Facebook groups and online forums plus experience from covering the industry for the last 15 years.
Serious Suspension Problems: DO NOT DRIVE
On the hierarchy of recall severity, slapping a “DO NOT DRIVE WARNING” on a vehicle is pretty much the pinnacle. According to NHTSA recall 26V-340 certain 2021-2026 Bronco Sports could suffer a separation of the left lower control arm ball joint. Considering the ball joint is what holds the bottom of the steering knuckle, having it come loose means a floppy front wheel and likely a loss of control. Turns out an assembly line error led to the control arm retaining bolt not being secured correctly.
Faced with the conundrum of having a vehicle that may have a severe defect in need of inspection while also being told not to drive it, Ford arranged for affected vehicles to be either inspected at the owner’s location or towed to the dealership. The recall solution was to just secure the ball joint correctly, so at least it was an easy fix.
Not to feel left out, a group of 2021 Bronco Sports also had a rear suspension problem with loose hardware. NHTSA recall 21V-075 was issued to fix a problem with loose or missing bolts associated with the rear suspension module. The fix was for dealerships to tighten down any loose bolts and replace any that had already fallen out, at no charge of course.
External Combustion Issues
Ideally the only combustion happening should be inside the combustion chamber. Unfortunately for more than 300,000 owners of 2021-2024 Bronco Sport models with the three-cylinder 1.5L EcoBoost engine, that was potentially not the case. A batch of bad fuel injectors could crack, leading to a fuel leak near the top of the engine. That’s a hot area with plenty of opportunities for a flammable liquid or gas to find an ignition source.
One frustrated Bronco Sport owner states: “So, do I have to wait for a possible ‘under-the-hood’ fire before my possibly defective fuel injectors qualify for this recall ‘criteria?’ This is a frightening response, and I will never buy another Ford product in my life.“ – NHTSA ID #11705364
While one would expect NHTSA recall 25V-467 to specify that the remedy is to replace the fuel injectors…you would be wrong. Currently the solution is a software update that detects if there is a fuel leak and the addition of a drain tube to keep any wayward fuel away from ignition sources. The software update turns off the fuel pump and reduces engine power to keep down the possibility of igniting leaked fuel. This is not the kind of recall to put off until later, so if your vehicle is affected make a dealership appointment ASAP.
Gasoline isn’t the only flammable liquid under the hood; turns out engine oil burns pretty well too. In this case it is 2021-2022 Bronco Sport owners with the three-cylinder 1.5L EcoBoost engine that need to pay attention. Cracks in the oil separator housing can cause an oil leak. If enough oil leaks out and finds an ignition source, the results are an underhood barbecue. Per NHTSA recall 22V-191 potentially affected vehicles will have the oil separator inspected and replaced if found faulty.
Software Glitches
“Since performing a manufacturer update to the Sync technology system, my touch screen has not functioned properly, including the back up camera. The screen goes black or freezes on the rear view camera even when in drive and moving forward. Each time this happens, the system has to be rebooted.” NHTSA ID #11629720
Backup Camera Fails
For some reason Ford had a run of bad luck with backup cameras the last few years. In this case 2021-2024 Bronco Sport models and a whole bunch of other Ford models fell under NHTSA recall 25V-442 regarding instances where the backup camera doesn’t work as intended. It turns out an issue in the SYNC software can make the infotainment screen go blank, turn black, or just continue showing the backup camera view. Like most modern technology problems the fix is a software update.
Stop-Start Failure
Modern vehicles with stop-start systems are fairly predictable in how they work at red lights or heavy traffic. But what if the engine turns off and just doesn’t fire back up? For more than 400,000 2021-2024 Bronco Sports that was a possibility. According to NHTSA recall 24V-267 an issue with the system tasked with detecting if the 12-volt battery has enough charge to restart the engine wasn’t calibrated correctly. If the 12-volt battery was failing, the stop-start system would still try to do its job, but the engine couldn’t restart. The issue could also cause the engine to stall at low speeds. One Bronco Sport owner had this to say via an official NHTSA complaint:
“Something is happening when I get gas, the vehicle has trouble starting. It often times feels like it’s going to die when it idles. Electrical issues have started to occur where I can’t switch off the air or my lights wont turn off. “ – NHTSA ID #11726646
Remedying the issue consists of an update to the Body Control Module (BCM) and Powertrain Control Module (PCM) by the dealership at no charge.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Ford has managed to carry on the Bronco excitement with the Bronco Sport. Any new model will have teething issues, but some of the problems mentioned above hit across a swath of Ford’s product line. Component sharing is a great way to save money in manufacturing, but it also means when things go wrong the number of vehicles affected can be immense. Anyone looking to buy a 2021-2026 Ford Bronco Sport needs to run the VIN through the NHTSA website to check for any open recalls, then verify that those recalls have been performed.
