4 years in, finally see a crack in hardtop!

[mrjking2000]

Well I'm just a couple months shy of 4 years bronco ownership, and I'm finally joining the cracked hard top club.

these are both right at the rear window hinges, caught this while I was putting my starlink on the roof this morning.

guess i'll keep an eye on these and see what happens. looked over the rest of the top and don't see anything anywhere else. wonder if this is a flex point with the hinges?

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[BudgetBronco]

I am convinced there are only two types of Bronco hard top owners:
1) those who have a top that has not cracked YET
2) those that have not looked hard enough to find cracks (they can be very tiny)

It does seem like they tend to crack most along curves like yours, so maybe is is a stress concentration thing

 

[Blue Hen]

I agree with Budget. Four years of ownership I finally have smalls cracks developing. Lower corners of each quarter glass.

 

[BroncoArizonaMike]

Well I'm just a couple months shy of 4 years bronco ownership, and I'm finally joining the cracked hard top club.

these are both right at the rear window hinges, caught this while I was putting my starlink on the roof this morning.

guess i'll keep an eye on these and see what happens. looked over the rest of the top and don't see anything anywhere else. wonder if this is a flex point with the hinges?

Do you park your Bronco outside or do you park it in a garage. Broncos that are parked in a garage last longer without cracking.

 

[geargeek]

At least you don’t have an exploding sunroof
Car Sunroofs Keep ‘Spontaneously’ Exploding—and the Problem Is Getting Worse

 

[Dan-O]

Do you park your Bronco outside or do you park it in a garage. Broncos that are parked in a garage last longer without cracking.

Ummmmm…..mines always been garaged and developed cracks about 2 years in.

 

[DarthLincoln]

Do you park your Bronco outside or do you park it in a garage. Broncos that are parked in a garage last longer without cracking.

What data or evidence, if any, support your claim?

 

[BroncoArizonaMike]

What data or evidence, if any, support your claim?

Living in Southern Arizona shows me what parking a vehicle outdoors in the sun does to it. Clear coat is burned off, plastic and vinyl trim pieces are cracked. Vehicles parked in a garage don’t show those kind of problems.

 

[DarthLincoln]

Living in Southern Arizona shows me what parking a vehicle outdoors in the sun does to it. Clear coat is burned off, plastic and vinyl trim pieces are cracked. Vehicles parked in a garage don’t show those kind of problems.

So speculation, based on parts that are not MIC hardtops and made with different materials.

Many people on this forum over the years have posted MIC hardtop cracking issues even tho their vehicle is parked in a garage.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

I agree. IMO, all these tops are going to eventually crack or delaminate. Since I plan to keep my Bronco forever....I dumped the MIC and purchased an Armadillo top. No more worries and a peace of mind.

 

[Pops]

I am convinced there are only two types of Bronco hard top owners:
1) those who have a top that has not cracked YET
2) those that have not looked hard enough to find cracks (they can be very tiny)

It does seem like they tend to crack most along curves like yours, so maybe is is a stress concentration thing

hey! That’s me!

which point? Yes.

(Both points)

 

[contented]

To me, what one does after the top is out of warranty and we’re on our own is the question. Do they continue to crack, delaminate and ultimately completely fail requiring total replacement or stop short of that and remain usable? Why are they failing? Is the outer shell too thin? Or is the shell delaminating from the substrate. Personally I’m convinced twisting, whether from Moab type driving or crossing the curb gutter into the gas station or doctors offIce over and over again combined with a design or manufacturing defect is the cause.

There’s nothing that I can find on YouTube, here or anywhere else for that matter where someone has cut a top apart and taken a good look.

Our 22 Badlands came w/ a soft top. After several years Ford offered those of us who wanted a hardtop the opportunity to buy one, which we did in June of 2024. A little over two years and 49k miles later with three trips to Moab, ours looks like this. It didn’t crack for the first year. Trips two and three to Moab caused cracking to become progressively worse. We’re well outside of any official recourse. Forgive the packing tape attempt to keep moisture out along side windows

I follow what others are doing here. A few have wrapped. More have LineX’d or something similar. Some have traded. Pros won’t wrap one and I don’t have those skills. I don’t like the LineX look. And trading isn’t something I want to do for a number of reasons.

In short, I think I’m going to do nothing for the time being and see what happens. If need be, I’ll buy a Turn Offroad.

 

[Broncolander]

What data or evidence, if any, support your claim?

“Trust me bro”

 

[ducksface]

'UV does worse than no uv'
Empirical
There is no argument.

Here's yer sign:

 

[Broncolander]

To me, what one does after the top is out of warranty and we’re on our own is the question. Do they continue to crack, delaminate and ultimately completely fail requiring total replacement or stop short of that and remain usable? Why are they failing? Is the outer shell too thin? Or is the shell delaminating from the substrate. Personally I’m convinced twisting, whether from Moab type driving or crossing the curb gutter into the gas station or doctors offIce over and over again combined with a design or manufacturing defect is the cause.

There’s nothing that I can find on YouTube, here or anywhere else for that matter where someone has cut a top apart and taken a good look.

Our 22 Badlands came w/ a soft top. After several years Ford offered those of us who wanted a hardtop the opportunity to buy one, which we did in June of 2024. A little over two years and 49k miles later with three trips to Moab, ours looks like this. It didn’t crack for the first year. Trips two and three to Moab caused cracking to become progressively worse. We’re well outside of any official recourse. Forgive the packing tape attempt to keep moisture out along side windows

I follow what others are doing here. A few have wrapped. More have LineX’d or something similar. Some have traded. Pros won’t wrap one and I don’t have those skills. I don’t like the LineX look. And trading isn’t something I want to do for a number of reasons.

In short, I think I’m going to do nothing for the time being and see what happens. If need be, I’ll buy a Turn Offroad.

You may want to look into Ford recall 26S32 / NHTSA 26V-299 before doing anything to your top.

The recall is specifically for cracking/delamination of the MIC hardtop exterior skin that can progress to pieces of the outer layer detaching.

Your case is a little unusual because your ‘22 originally came with the soft top and you purchased the Ford hardtop in 2024, so I don’t think your VIN will necessarily show the recall. The recall population was determined using production/supplier records for the affected MIC tops.

But looking at what your top is doing, I’d still contact Ford and reference 26S32. I’d specifically ask them to check the part/production information on your hardtop and determine whether the replacement/accessory top itself could be affected, rather than just checking your VIN and saying no recall is showing.

Here’s Ford’s official NHTSA filing describing the defect and affected hardtops:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V299-2713.pdf

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