First new Ford...Probably the last Ford

[Toccoa]

This.
Maybe this is what I was thinking all along. It's certainly true more often than not.

It's been my experience as well. The fact that my 20+ year old Isuzu has better build quality and is more pleasant to operate than my Bronco is a constant annoyance. I think of the Ford Bronco as an old British roadster. Pleasant to drive and look at. Annoying to operate and own.

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[Toccoa]

The current administration's trade advisor Pete Navarro said earlier today Ford is not really an American company. So apparently with our Broncos we are all now foreign car owners.

 

[Sunday Money]

I can post a picture when I install the canvas liner. It's just for the trunk area made by canvasback. wanted something I could remove and clean because of muddy dogs and avoid gouges in the side plastic when transporting gear. I might hate it but, wanted to try something prior before letting it get banged up.

Cool, Canvasback is great! You threw me off with "custom made" (custom meaning you had to select a color/pattern). In the mean time, can you post photos of your other two big issues:

1. custom made canvas liners
2. bolts that look like they were installed with the wrong socket or sloppy use of the socket
3. random little paint chips I spot all over

 

[Valhalla]

You had a Volkswagen but are complaining about the build quality of your Bronco? Not to say the Broncos are perfect but unless you traded them in while still under warranty VWs are notoriously not great vehicles.

Aww c'mon guy.... through Chattanooga a bone!!!

 

[rgraphic]

Troll

Cool, Canvasback is great! You threw me off with "custom made" (custom meaning you had to select a color or swatch). In the mean time, can you post photos of your other two big issues:

1. custom made canvas liners
2. bolts that look like they were installed with the wrong socket or sloppy use of the socket
3. random little paint chips I spot all over

You can get custom colors/patterns! haha (Not that the ones they offer look good). I got black. But they are made to order. even has a vented cut out for the sub.

Will do. I touched up many of the small paint chips (and they were pretty small) so you can barely see them anymore. But they were just odd so I thought I would note. I'll see if there's any I didn't touch up yet and try to get a light on the bolts behind the spare mount and post. Those are the ones that look like they were installed using the wrong tool.

 

[Valhalla]

Another totally disagree comment, 3 VWs back to back, 1 TDI that I sold back and 2 GTIs and then the Bronco. Quality was amazing on all of them and no issues with any outside of the whole Dieselgate thing (but amazing mpg).

aww not dieselgate again...

 

[11811]

Considering how many of these Ford was pushing down the assembly line in the second half of 2024 I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. I look at my Bronco and think of the people on the assembly line bolting and snapping all these parts together day after day and am surprised that more mistakes aren't made. Especially considering how complicated cars are today. Sure wouldn't want to do that job for 30+ years. We quickly forget about the really poor quality cars the big 3 used to make years ago. Ones that you were thrilled with if you could zero the odometer at 100,000 miles or keep more than 5 years before holes rusted through the quarter panels.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

I’ll reserve judgement until I see one in person, but from some of the videos I’ve seen, the new 4Runner uses a lot of hard plastics as well along with the new Land Cruiser. Especially the lower trim levels, and those are two vehicles I strongly considered.

When I was considering the Bronco, I held off in order to see the Land Cruiser at the LA Auto Show. It was starting at $58K, which sounded very reasonable, as the earlier LCs were beasts and nice builds. Seeing the new one made me order the Bronco without hesitation. Interior materials felt much cheaper—in a no man’s land, trying to lux on a budget. At least the Bronc is just going for utilitarian. Sadly, vehicle QC is probably just going down across the board, even in Germany. No one’s building cars to last 20 years anymore. High quality is a bad business model I guess.

 

[rgraphic]

When I was considering the Bronco, I held off in order to see the Land Cruiser at the LA Auto Show. It was starting at $58K, which sounded very reasonable, as the earlier LCs were beasts and nice builds. Seeing the new one made my order the Bronco without hesitation. Interior materials felt much cheaper—in a no man’s land, trying to lux on a budget. At least the Bronc is just going for utilitarian. Sadly, vehicle QC is probably just going down across the board, even in Germany. No one’s building cars to last 20 years anymore. High quality is a bad business model I guess.

You might

When I was considering the Bronco, I held off in order to see the Land Cruiser at the LA Auto Show. It was starting at $58K, which sounded very reasonable, as the earlier LCs were beasts and nice builds. Seeing the new one made me order the Bronco without hesitation. Interior materials felt much cheaper—in a no man’s land, trying to lux on a budget. At least the Bronc is just going for utilitarian. Sadly, vehicle QC is probably just going down across the board, even in Germany. No one’s building cars to last 20 years anymore. High quality is a bad business model I guess.

I think you might be right. Even on a larger scale with just about anything being manufactured now. Im barely 40 and I'm starting to see each year the quality of everything declining rapidly. Planned obsolescence is at its peak it seems. Maybe cars will end up being on the same replacement cycle as cell phones.

 

[Sunday Money]

You can get custom colors/patterns! haha (Not that the ones they offer look good). I got black. But they are made to order. even has a vented cut out for the sub.

Will do. I touched up many of the small paint chips (and they were pretty small) so you can barely see them anymore. But they were just odd so I thought I would note. I'll see if there's any I didn't touch up yet and try to get a light on the bolts behind the spare mount and post. Those are the ones that look like they were installed using the wrong tool.

Awesome! PLEASE post photos of some of the paint chip spots that you corrected that you can barely see anymore.

If you can barely see them, the photos will provide a lot more detail!

 

[voxel]

I’ll reserve judgement until I see one in person, but from some of the videos I’ve seen, the new 4Runner uses a lot of hard plastics as well along with the new Land Cruiser. Especially the lower trim levels, and those are two vehicles I strongly considered.

I test drove the new LC ($70K mid trim with HUD, etc) at an event recently. The interior isn't worth that price. It's somewhere between a plastic Bronco and Nappa-leather Wrangler. I have to say I test drove a $73K loaded Wrangler and that interior + audio + etc was much nicer than the LC. The LC felt like a RAV4 interior-wise. None of the above are as nice as the non-offroad SUVs like the Telluride, Grand Cherokee, etc. that are more for family hauling.

 

[rgraphic]

I test drove the new LC ($70K mid trim with HUD, etc) at an event recently. The interior isn't worth that price. It's somewhere between a plastic Bronco and Nappa-leather Wrangler. I have to say I test drove a $73K loaded Wrangler and that interior + audio + etc was much nicer than the LC. The LC felt like a RAV4 interior-wise. None of the above are as nice as the non-offroad SUVs like the Telluride, Grand Cherokee, etc. that are more for family hauling.

Good to know about the LC. It was the first thing that came to mind when spotting all the imperfections on the bronco and thought maybe I should have waited for that.

 

[B22-2023]

I love driving my Bronco, but when friends ask about it, my first statement is always “Well, it ~is~ a Ford” - and that isn’t a negative or a positive thing, it’s just a fact. And everyone has their own opinion about that.

I remember these bumper stickers being big on Long Island and Upstate back in the ‘80s, almost put one on my ‘77 Gen 1. Maybe time to bring it back as a laugh, OP put it on the VW.

 

[Aknobronco]

I picked up my 2dr 2024 Big Bend a couple months ago. I thought I saw enough YouTube videos and browsed the forums. I wish I would have read more of these forums in hindsight and relied far less on the YouTube excitement videos. The last ford I had was a 91 probe in high school back around 2001. Since then I have owned Honda, Jeep, Toyota, Subaru, and a couple VWs. Overall they all had some minor quirks or annoyances but nothing prepared me for this Bronco. The last 3 cars I owned were brand new. A Crosstrek, GTI and Tiguan. All looked so nice from the dealership. They ran well and just about everything looked like it hadn't been touched or used yet.

This is just not the case for the bronco, but I'll start with the good.

It is very fun to drive. I even enjoy the engine noise. The steering is perfect. The design of the dash and infotainment is perfect. The overall look and design of the vehicle is fantastic. I love that it has a t-top element that is simple to take down and store. Driving without it is a dream and scratches a bit of that open air itch I've had since selling my motorcycle. The marine grade seats and their design are just right. The seat heaters too! They get to therapeutic levels of hot. And it has a built in subwoofer. Again so many things designed so well!

Another thing I knew going in was that the speakers suck. And they do. But I accepted that going in. I switched them all out with kickers and made some tweaks to the eq, etc and it's actually decent now...As long as you keep it under 40ish mph. You're basically on an airplane going over 70 noise wise.

Now for my issues with this thing.
I hate the quality and construction of just about everything.
It feels like every day I spot something that just isn't quite right to varying degrees or feels cheap. Everyone has mentioned the plastic inside that is highly prone to scratches. I knew that going in and got some custom made canvas liners for the back plastic, but what I wasn't prepared for was the following..

This is the big one and it has driven me crazy since I noticed it. The top was manufactured in a way that the drivers side sticks out further (isn't flush with the rest of the body)and on the passenger side it is flush and looks correct. It's like they do zero alignment or measurement checks to these things when they leave the factory. I've seen body gap inconsistencies all over but nothing like this. So far no cracks but it does have some of the wavy sheen look I have seen in others. Very light honeycombing pattern as well.

Then I noticed the Drivers side door doesn't close without extra force needed and it just doesn't feel quite right. There's only two doors...and this can't be done right?? The glass annoyingly vibrates when it does latch. (Passenger side operates perfectly)

Then I noticed (and might be related to the above) the hard rubber corner in the front part of of the drivers door (that also channels the glass) has already wore through the rubber weather strip on the receiving side of the door jamb exposing aluminum underneath. My guess is the mold used to make it isn't as accurate in shape as the one used on the passenger side. it has to bend in a weird fashion to close completely. I have seen at least one person post pictures of the same wear shortly after purchase.

There is obviously tons of rubber gaskets and trim in a vehicle like this. Why do they all feel like they will fall apart in a year!? I've seen many vehicles from other manufactures that the rubber weatherstripping and gaskets feel strong and durable. This just doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

Back to the MIC top, im terrified to even clean it, due to people going through 2..3..4?? different replacement tops. I should be able to use detailing products built for plastic trim or sealed paint. Just tell me which it is Ford...or better yet, recommend a product!

Why is there so much surface rust on the underside of a new vehicle? I would expect this much after driving a few midwest winters but im in WA and this thing is 2 months old.

Why am I noticing bolts that look like they were installed with the wrong socket or sloppy use of the socket. The bolts that attach the spare mount are painted but look like crap due to sloppy install. I know they are hidden for the most part, but thats no excuse.

Speaking of paint, there are random little paint chips I spot all over. Mainly near edges. Some I cant even make sense of how it happened.

I also notice areas where I cant tell if a gasket is slightly out of place or not because most things all look a little off or unrefined.

Again, all of the plastic across the vehicle feels incredibly cheap and squeaks or bends with very little pressure. Numerous times im second guessing if all the clips were installed right from the factory. "why does this piece move like this, but the other side does not" is a frequent question. It's like the vehicle has a good and evil side. pretty much everything on the passenger side aligns and looks right but the driver has all sorts of issues with fit and alignment.

I understand this isn't an Audi or Lexus, and maybe im just not used to Ford or what those owners expect quality wise, but I guess im just tired of finding these build quality easter eggs daily with my brand new vehicle. I know the argument its designed to be dirty and get scratches etc but I should be the one that makes that happen. It shouldn't be built like crap because its "going to get dirty and busted up eventually anyway".

I want to emphasize, I do in general love the vehicle from a driving and design standpoint. I dont want this to sound like I hate everything about it. I just dont understand how so many QC details are let through.

Sorry your expectations are high for Ford bronco compared with non-convertible SUVs. This is a lifestyle SUV, not meant to be nick pick here and there.There will always have gaps...

Especially now with Jim Farley in charged of Ford, the quality has been in sharper declining rate since cov19.

Perhaps bronco does not suit what you looking for... Sound like Lexus is a safer bet for you!

 

[rgraphic]

Sorry your expectations are high for Ford bronco compared with non-convertible SUVs. This is a lifestyle SUV, not meant to be nick pick here and there.There will always have gaps...

Especially now with Jim Farley in charged of Ford, the quality has been in sharper declining rate since cov19.

Perhaps bronco does not suit what you looking for... Sound like Lexus is a safer bet for you!

Fair point but I do love driving it. I dont think I would have created the post if just the assembly and qc was done well enough. I can live with the plastics, road noice, cheap sound system. I didn't buy it for luxury. I think the biggest issues is seeing the trim wear away in less then two months and my top having a large gap on one side I can see daylight from inside.

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