Are first year models having first year issues... urban legend?

[da_jokker]

I posted in a different thread but if this was truly new (aka all new, unproven components) or even if it was some new factory in Mexico, then maybe there would be something to it.

But any unknows will carry through to the next immediate Model Years, and any known, but brushed under the rug issues will result in lawsuites.

I'm not that worried. My only concerns are what additional colors could I have had (like silver spruce)

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[papsblue]

I had a first year in the US Focus ST. Still the most reliable car I've ever owned. Traded it in for a first year BabyMax Canyon that was cursed.

 

[Wynter]

Had the 2016 Focus RS back in 2016, first year model. A lot of people having head gasket issues where Ford mistakenly installed the Mustang headgasket on the 2.3L. Same engine as the current Bronco. Knock on wood, hopefully they learned their lesson.

 

[j_marinelli]

I had a 2011 Fiesta with the dreaded DCT. Only had one with the transmission in the 100k miles I put on it. TCM went out while I was driving so the car died. Had it towed to Ford and it was fixed. Only other issue I had was my catalytic converter had to be replaced but was also covered under warranty. I loved that car and it got great gas mileage.

I currently have a 2015 Mustang GT. Only Issue I have had with it was the AC compressor went out so it was replaced under warranty.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

I’ve always been told by people wiser than me never to buy a car the first year it comes out. If you do expect to have it bought back numerous times for recalls, etc.

This obviously has me thinking of Re-Launch of the Bronco. Ford in my opinion has not done a great job with the process. Some being it solely their fault, and covid obviously a problem.

I am highly considering pulling my reservation and waiting to see how all this plays out. I’m not early on the list anyway, so I won’t make a difference. I just can’t see spending 50k plus on a vehicle where logic would indicate 1st year models will have 1st year problems.

That’s the risk you take or in my case don’t take when ordering.

Where Ford has NOT done a great job is on the tech end, B&P, accessory list. To our knowledge no problems in R&D or production. I have owned numerous Ford's and they turn out a great vehicle. I have no doubt the Bronco will be the same...GREAT!!! First year issues? I doubt it, I am not concerned. IF there is something, they will fix it and on their dime. Most every production vehicle has some recall and a lot of them get parts from the same supplier. It is usually a part issue (think the air bag issue that effected almost every Brand).

 

[TNcoupe]

I had a 2012 focus i bought in 2011, it was first year for the DCT transmission in the focus. Constantly in the shop that ford had to extend the transmission warranty to 100k miles. That car also had a water pump go out, and power steering failed

I had a 2012 Focus that I bought in April of 2011 that ran flawlessly for the 128k miles that I owned it. No shift shudder, no rev hang, no nothing. Changed the oil in it and beat on it like it owed me money. I sold it to my buddy cheap so he could have a fuel efficient vehicle to make parts supply house runs and a Ford tech talked him into reflashing the TCM. Car hasn't been right since.

Had a 2001 Focus- Ran great for the short time I owned it
2002 SVT Focus- ran flawless no problems
2015 Mustang GT- flawless with a crapload of track miles
2016 Focus ST- lots of autocross time and track time tuned and modded- only problem was I blew turbo piping apart exiting T7 at Road ATL in overboost situation.

I also owned what is know as the worst car to ever come from the big 3- 2006 Dodge Caliber RT AWD- drove it 138k miles with zero problems and still had the factory brakes on it when I traded it.

 

[XCR440]

My vote is yes and no. Powertrain should be sorted, so I don't see issue there, even if it was new, that tends to not be much of an issue, but I acknoledge it can (Powershift auto, 6.0L Diesel).

I do notice sometimes fit and finish isn't as good. 15 F-150 panel gaps are much worse than 16-17 F-150's. 07 Fusions drove (steering/handling) much better than 06's despite being the same car.

I'm not afraid of new models, but agree there can be issues.

The ones I'm afraid of is old models, some of the worst I've seen are the last of a generation trucks. The 2003 7.3L Diesel was a trouble spot for us, nothing different than 2002, but we had tons of issues with them. Also often notice body issues, etc on last of the body styles. I was told this was due to aging castings and equipment that wasn't worth replacing since it was about done anyway. Can't say if this is true, but its logical.

 

[Efthreeoh]

My thoughts are the first-year adage is based on experiences from over 4 decades past. Modern cars are designed, modeled and tested using computer simulation tools. Further, they are manufactured using computer-aided design for tooling, and computer-controlled (CNC) part manufacturing. Quality is achieved using statistical process control in part manufacturing, where the tooling wear (tolerance) is measured during the manufacturing process rather than part fitness for use measured (part dimension tolerances) after the part is made. All such modern manufacturing techniques (now over 25 -35 years in practice) create better products, reduce cost, and aid in first-year quality being vastly improved than cars from 40 years ago.

As others have stated, a majority of the Bronco is based on the Ranger, which has proven components. The outlier is the manual transmission, but it's a Getrag built in China at a company that could easily loose the contract to manufacture it, so I'm banking on the QA to be first-rate out of the box. Both engines have had a lot of refinement time based on hundreds of millions miles of real-world use.

I have a first year BMW, I bought new in 2006, now with 400,000 miles on it. That's a car with a brand new engine design at the time it was introduced in 2005 and a Getrag 6-speed fresh out of the box as well.

 

[fpGT350]

First model year cars I purchased brand new:

1970 SS 396 Chevelle - awesome, no problems
1978 Bronco - awesome, no problems
1984 Corvette - awesome, no problems
1988 XJ6 Jaguar - disaster
1990 ZR1 Corvette - several annoying problems
1996 GTS Viper - awesome, no problems
2002 M3 BMW - disaster
2021 Bronco - God only knows

 

[TNcoupe]

First model year cars I purchased brand new:

1970 SS 396 Chevelle - awesome, no problems
1978 Bronco - awesome, no problems
1984 Corvette - awesome, no problems
1988 XJ6 Jaguar - disaster
1990 ZR1 Corvette - several annoying problems
1996 GTS Viper - awesome, no problems
2002 M3 BMW - disaster
2021 Bronco - God only knows

Was the boat motor in the ZR1 the problem?

 

[Razorback]

Based on all the videos I've seen and watching the Baja 1000, it appears that the Bronco has gone through more testing then any other vehicle I can think of. They've certainly done more than most new vehicles and tested harsher than how 99% of us will use our Broncos.

 

[FerkinBlonco]

If I had to guess, some of the painful points for the 1st year could be related to the hard top and maybe removable doors... noise beyond your average buyers' expectations, water ingress, fitment. These are all things that have been done before, though, so I have to think Ford has taken those examples to heart and the likelihood of issues is low. I'm hoping the hard top performance is on par, if not better than, the yeep.

There's also that new 7MT... but I'd think Ford will have learned from the snafu with the 'stang and this unit will be robust as heck.

 

[fpGT350]

Was the boat motor in the ZR1 the problem?

Electronics, I had to drive the car with a data acquisition device hooked up to the dash until they figured out why there was intermittent power loss. After it was fixed, it ran strong. I eventually flipped the car purchased a second one identical to the first. No problems on the second one.

 

[harpo]

...
But any unknows will carry through to the next immediate Model Years, and any known, but brushed under the rug issues will result in lawsuits.
...

Seriously, if there are any real issues when will they appear and what model year would get changed? You have to think that 21 and 22 will be almost identical from a mechanical POV.

Maybe if a critical issue arises it will be fixed for 23, but if it takes 20,000 to 40,000 miles for real problems to appear would Ford be able to fix it by 23?

Maybe I'm just rationalizing buying a first year but if I was going to wait I'd wait till 24.

 

[Vigor]

I had a 2014 focus with the same great transmission that was always in the shop too so that wasn’t just first year?

I too had a 2014 focus with a lot of recalls. I put that car through shit though. (It was my first car)

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