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

[Brongo]

I gotta be honest, I was expecting much worse news.

Me too. "Your Bronco is delayed until 2022 and Mike Levine is having sex with your wife".

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[smoot618]

Exactly. Glad to have mine for almost a month now, but given the situation of everyone waiting on a hard top, only very slightly disappointed to miss out on the hardtop prep package - especially since I never realized that wasn't included to begin with. Does that count as a humble brag?

Were you a day 1 res? Gauging my chances since I switched earlier this year

 

[Broncowskiii]

Updated by Administrator with full FAQ and Customer Satisfaction Program info.

Full Order Holder FAQ:

Awareness Communication - Upcoming Customer Satisfaction Program 21B49
(Certain 2021 Model Year Bronco Equipped with a Hard Top Roof Roof Panel Delamination)

Some extra info from @PREMiERdrum



All new tooling and an altered design. It became quite clear that even when manufactured exactly to spec that the design was flawed.

The timeline here is optimistic, but the right move nonetheless.


No. MIC hardtop production for unscheduled First Edition builds will resume late this year with the updated hardtop design. I wouldn't expect this until probably November, as the new tooling still needs to be completed, installed, and tested before production of the new hard tops can begin. Once that happens, they have committed to building new MIC hardtops for all units that have already been delivered, then the "bad batch" Broncos trapped at MAP, THEN for production of new units.



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.



- A few hundred.

- Yes.



The design will look very much the same (and be the same color, to those of you asking). Main points to address in the update:

- Rolled /finished edges where there were formerly raw cuts.
- Thicker, more uniform outer layer of material.
- Improved injection process to fix forming issues in the clamshell.

Also, I've seen several people asking why they can't just get their truck now with a bad roof and replace it later. Two huge problems will prevent that from happening:
- Ford doesn't want any more "bad" units running around beyond the few hundred already out there.
- They want no part of shipping any more of these things than they already have to. Freight is going be enormous on them and there is a substantial risk of damage while shipping. I doubt they have a packaging and logistics plan for them but I can imagine it's going to be incredibly costly.


Note:

Lots of people are assuming this means a new supplier, but I don't have any confirmation of that. From what I can tell, this new tooling for the MIC hardtops is being designed and paid for by Ford and will be installed at the Plymouth plant for Webasto to produce.

The MOD tops coming in 23 are from a new supplier that has yet to be publicly identified.

Just send me my dang first edition and a new hard top later! I don’t care!!!! My goodness….. by time you get it it looses all of its luster in light of the hype of the 2022’s! What a bummer!

 

[phocion]

Ford ignoring the MIC water leak issue worries me.

Yes, I still worry about this being what the CIA calls a "limited hangout", like all of Ford's previous customer communications. Ross says the timeline is optimistic. Why is Ford still trying to paint a rosy picture here? Give it to us straight, then if things get better, they get credit for overdelivering.

Remember when we were all supposed to get build estimates in May?

The steady trickle of increasingly bad news is like watching the rain seep through your MIC top. It's bad as it is, but you're especially frightened of it getting even worse down the line.

 

[Flagstaff]

The price might go up for the immediate future but not really for the long run. It wouldn't be stupid to cancel, and I wouldn't blame anyone for doing so. They are going to be delivering these MY21 FEs in 2022 like it's somehow an acceptable solution. Spoiler alert- it's not. That alone kills resale.

By the time these become collectible, gas powered vehicles will be outlawed and unlawful to drive on the autonomous only roads..

 

[The Dmv]

The wait grows very long for real now my friends. But even if I could get a flacid top for my 2d, I wouldn’t.

 

[Unit91]

Ross, roughly how many bad hardtops have been delivered ?
Also by " bad batch" I assume you mean every MIC top built through today , on hold at MAP.

- A few hundred.

- Yes.

Isn't it a few thousand? If you account to for all the MIC delivered?

 

[golferB813]

but stay pumped!

How can't you with the sweet hotwheels they sent us?!?!?!?

 

[Science4Lyfe]

Ok… For everyone wildly throwing around comments and opinions on this with no basis let me give you my thoughts on this…

First, I’m a former process engineer with an automotive supplier who worked with all the manufacturers. In an 18 month period I brought on a new facility expansion with 35 work centers and 22 new vehicles including the first generation Ford Edge. I have some insights/experience in this.

1) Webasto did not get the normal ramp up period a supplier gets. COVID cut into it when their facility was delayed. Many issues would of been worked out before Build #1 if this had been normal times.

2) Everyone assuming Ford just decided this week to redesign the tops, I highly doubt this. For an issue this size, I’m sure Ford and Webasto have been working multiple contingencies. I’ll even wager that the new top has already been produced in a normal production environment on the production equipment (ie not a prototype under ideal conditions). This leads me to my next point…

3) The timeline given sounds about right for getting the new tooling in place. Not redesign/testing/production ramp up . Might even be using the same tooling with modification. Also, the molds in this application wear out with time, they are constantly being reworked/refurbished/repaired. New tooling in this case is not a big deal.

4) Give the people involved with this a break. I’m betting they have been working non-stop, 80 hrs weeks and are beyond exhausted. When I did this work it was not uncommon for me to come home at the end of the day, lay down in the middle of the living room floor and fall asleep. You don’t know what this is like and frankly, most of you aren’t up to handling it.

So Ford, Webasto and the engineers have had months to scale up the current hard top, yes in a shortened time frame. If all it takes is a “few tweaks” to existing tooling, why wasn’t this addressed in the many months beforehand? If they were so confident in producing launch tops beforehand, what makes you think they could have fully evaluated a true contingent fix for their issues? Sorry but with all the excuses being thrown around I am highly skeptical that they have solved issues, even if they believe they have solved the issues. Inherent design flaws aren’t easily worked around, for obvious reasons.

 

[smoot618]

soft top gang just got pushed up in the queue

What do you mean if you don't mind?
I feel so many hard top orders are going to switch to soft top making it worse for us....

Fingers crossed I'm wrong, but hey, Ford. AmIRight....

 

[Kenlutzintero]

So what does this mean for soft top orders . I changed my hard top to a soft top when ford first announced if we do that then they would be built in September with the kit to install a hard top. Anyone know ?

 

[AK SNO RIDER]

By the time these become collectible, gas powered vehicles will be outlawed and unlawful to drive on the autonomous only roads..

Yup, I'm really not sure why anyone thinks these FEs will be worth anything. The only thing special about them is how hard we're getting fucked, and that doesn't exactly increase value

 

[Techun]

You don’t know what this is like and frankly, most of you aren’t up to handling it.

Oh come on

 

[First Edition Sport 51]

I’m officially recommending Ford offer all current builds the following for new owners:
1. Large Funnel
2. Large Bucket
3. Sunscreen
4. Hard top color matched duct tape
5. Scream pillow
6. Calming oil
7. Drink coupons

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