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

[maxmxa]

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.

Not an urban legend...
Just do some research on the engines with the single or dual turbos and the 10 speed transmission right here on engine discussions. (or Google). You'll find many issues with premature turbo failures (some below 50K miles) and transmission shifting issues.
I have not seen anything either on this site, Bronco Nation or anywhere else that says these issues have been resolved by Ford. These are VERY expensive repair jobs.

I would suspect these issues will carry over to Bronco since it's the same design with no improvements.

There are also potential issues with water leaks with the new top design (yet to be proven by real owners).

So, these are the obvious ones I can think of right now, but there are always hidden bugs that will mostly show during the 1st year of real ownership for a completely redesigned vehicle.

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[TNcoupe]

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.

Flipped as in I made a profit in selling it or flipped as in holy crap Im flying through the air this isnt good?

 

[fpGT350]

Flipped as in I made a profit in selling it or flipped as in holy crap Im flying through the air this isnt good?

Profit

 

[Used2jeep]

I was an Audi mechanic for 35 years, first year run vehicles made me bank, many times. Also consider it’s a first run plant, during COVID, and all the suppliers have to deal with that as well.

First run plant? That plant has been doing Rangers for a while has it not?

 

[level3looper]

I made the worst mistake of buying a last year model. I bought one of the last Oldsmobiles - (Intrigue). Among many major issues, within the first week it crapped out while I was on the highway. I'm pretty sure nobody at the plant cared anymore about what they were doing.

Other new car issues:

Honda:
The back-end dropped on to the tires while driving because the underbody corroded through. They had not considered the salt and such they put on the roads in the Northeast.

Ford:
Back window wiper blade motor failed.

edit: The issues I described were about 30 years ago...

 

[Zindius]

The 1997 C5 Corvette, the first year models of the C5 production, were riddled with electrical problems, among others.

 

[toystwo]

Bottom line there are two big sources for reliability information — Consumer Reports and JD Powers. CR says first year models do exhibit more problems than subsequent years. JD says that first year models of recent years do not have more issues ON AVERAGE (which is a pretty important qualifier). People love to argue about the methods of each. I think both are good/useful but it is important to consider where bias may lie with both and the shortcomings of their methodologies.

Individual anecdotal testimonies are useless in answering this question.

I skimmed the 3 linked articles, all from sources that IMO do a fairly poor job of reporting. That skimming did nothing to change my opinion.

 

[Thane]

Any vehicle platform will have reported problems. Outside of major systemic deficiencies the reaction of the individual owners experiencing the same flaw can be very different.
Enthusiasts typically make good and pass quickly. Others, not so much, and they tailspin into a pit of misery.

First year is a party! ... if not just get a different car.

 

[da_jokker]

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.

Exactly... if you are worried about First Year, then you would need to wait until about the 3-5th year releases when they do their "Updates".

Yeah it can be a bit unsettling to know you are a Guinea pig... but people aren't realizing that EVERYONE in the first 1-3 years are the Guinea Pigs

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