📣 Ford announces MIC hardtop solution (program 21B49): unscheduled orders will get MY2022, delivered & built Broncos will have tops replaced

[R11]

Wait... Ford is just NOW talking about a new design and new tooling....?
Have they just sat on their hands for the last 5 months, hoping the problem would fix itself?? I'm totally taken aback...
How long before they even have a new, tested and proofed roof in production?
VINless peeps will definitely get a MY22, but all those with a VIN (with held, parked trucks) will be getting a MY21 in 2022. I hate to say it, but that sucks to be in that group.
LOT rot will certainly be a concern.

Without revealing much, I can at least say someone with knowledge of the situation told me there was an entirely new process and new supplier for the basic hard top at least as early as around 30 days ago, but yeah, it seems this should have been ironed out a year ago at least.

Sorry to all those waiting. Stay patient if you can, but I understand the frustration.

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[Gamecock]

Hey, you have every right to be a dick. This has been a mess.

The design issue is the unfinished edges. Initially, these were to be treated and sealed but it was never successful. The "coating" applied at the plant lasted for about a week, if that. The other issues plaguing the MIC top - thickness of outer ply, uniformity of material thickness, and forming issues within the clamshell - were perhaps made more challenging by the tooling but not necessarily impossible. This new design and tooling should aid in ALL these factors.

As for the 8/2 "full speed" production, that was the plan. Heels were firmly dug in on the engineering of the top and all fingers were pointed towards Plymouth. There was hope that the "best" of the roof units being delivered to MAP could at least be used to complete FE and stranded builds, but as more and more units were evaluated, it became clear that it was a bigger liability to release more of these out into the wild than to just scrap the thing and start over.

Like I said last night, this move HURTS... especially the "bad batch" crew of 2,200+ builds stuck at MAP, but it's absolutely the best way to address it at this juncture. A LOT of these headaches could have been alleviated by pulling the plug when the first issues became apparent, but that's not where we are.

So, is there any info on how many Soft Tops they can produce, or are planning to produce per week through the rest of the year? Thanks for all the info.

 

[FATHORSE]

Well I did get what i asked for, Now in LIMBO until October. I want the product i'm paying for. Not a riddled with issued bloated priced problem after problem all terrain vehicle. I am glad ford finally decided to pull the band aid off! Yes, I am mad, but glad mad. lol

 

[Kos]

I am 99'd but this will push me back as well. All the 21 backlogs will need to be produced. Its possible I may not see my Bronco for another year. I need to do some maths.

I would expect that once you take the "99" off the order you'd be slotted in what would of been your place in line with all the other unscheduled builds had you not applied it to your order.

 

[goodnterribles]

I know this is probably a long shot, but is there any possible talk of offering customers of the stranded bad batch Broncos the chance to switch out to a soft top? I would think that would help clear at least some of the backlog in the lot.

 

[LIKEABOSS]

This is unacceptable. Ship built customer orders and handle replacement tops through the dealership since this is cosmetic. Any dealer stock can sit at the plant and shipped at a later date. Ford would rather our Broncos sit for months continuing to upset order holders instead of absorbing shipping costs for a new top.

 

[SirDapperDom]

The thing that confuses me is with the 100k Ford points if I take a 2021 (ha) or 2022 (ha, ha) delivery. With a painted hardtop I'm not getting mine until 2023...so I miss out on those points through no fault of my own?

 

[navi]

Great. Ford is denying water leak issue. They’re saying it’s just an “unsatisfactory appearance”

that pic shows what getting leaked on from where?

 

[bdub2you]

So because I'm scheduled for production I can't change to a soft top, but because of the issue I'm not really scheduled for production and will get an email telling me I'm screwed sometime in October. NIce!

 

[Bronco615]

I think this is God's way of telling me that I was never meant to own a Ford. I suspect that my MY 2023 will be 2024.

Back to Toyota...

At least you are getting something reliable with Toyota

 

[bytheway]

Selfishly I’m sad that people can switch to soft tops now. Was hoping it would be locked in and I got ahead of the curve. My build probably pushes me to 22 even as a first day res with soft top. Plus my dealer is almost out of allocations.

 

[FATHORSE]

So those of with VINs but no build date? What does this mean???

Your in Purgatory until October. That is the guesstimated timeframe its probably going to take to go through all those broncos sitting out in that field. They will either then put us out of our memory, or the all mighty machine will be cranked back on and you will get a new build date. Is what im guessing.

 

[BroncoDymond88]

I would think they would want to clear that lot at MAP first. The ones already delivered require more coordination, logistics…

The ones already delivered are a liability issue and makes the brand look crappy in public.

 

[Science4Lyfe]

So we really expect a rushed new design to be any better than something they’ve been working on for a lot longer? At this point ditch all hard tops and ship everything with soft tops.

The way things are going they are going to redesign and it’s still going to be bad. Make the tough call Ford and ship everything with a soft top.

 

[imatexan3]

So now what I'm curious about is with so many 21MY being pushed to 22MY, how is this going to affect those of us that will be putting in our orders in September for a 22MY. Seems like we'd be lucky to actually get a 22MY in 2022 with so many 21MY now being pushed into 2022.

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