Soft top misery

[Kevin Scarbel]

Maybe a technician here can enlighten me, I know I've heard people say the soft top is complex and difficult to work on but is this rocket science? Also how unacceptable is this service?

Timeline of Events

• Beginning of 2024: Purchased a second-hand Bronco with 15k miles, well-maintained.
• Soft Top Issues Identified shortly after :
  • Leaks, doesn't lock or fold properly.
  • Bad weatherstripping.
  • Fraying and rear window pins snapping off.
• Small-Town Ford Dealer Experience:
  • Took the Bronco to a local dealer.
  • Got jerked around for over 6 months while they "figured out" if they could replace the top.
  • No resolution; moved on to a larger town dealer.
• Big-Town Ford Dealer Experience:
  • Dealer agreed to replace the top but insisted on completing all TSBs first before they culd do anything.
  • Took the vehicle in twice for photos and preliminary TSB work.
  • On the third visit, the soft top was replaced, but the job wasn't finished due to additional parts needing to be ordered.
• After picking up the car I notice:
  • Rear Windows: All three severely scratched, likely from mishandling during service.
  • Rear Roll Bars: Scratched extensively on both sides.
  • Interior Condition: Tools and metal/plastic shavings left inside the car. Shoe prints on the seats, etc (cleaned/vacuumed before the photos)
  • Wire clamps and wire: Wires left exposed and loose, pry marks everywhere.
  • New Soft Top:
    • Poor installation with looseness in the front.
    • Water pooling on the top.
    • Excessive flapping when driving.

I drove back home for the holidays otherwise id just drive to the dealer now but in the meantime I'm extremely frustrated. Is this just standard nowadays? Am I being unreasonable to expect a professional installation without further damage to the car? It seems everywhere I go this soft top thing is either unheard of or they act like it would be easier to just build a new car.

When you called Ford corporate customer service, what did they say?

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[Sitruc_btb]

Yikes. That's a piss poor job all around. Tech must have a bad case of DGAF that day.
It's absolutely not unreasonable to expect professional work from a dealership. If a car left our dealer in that shape, you bet the manager or director would be up our ass about it.

Sorry the soft top has given you issues. It sure seems like a nightmare to work on, with latches and cables and such, but its function is great. Hope you can get it sorted out. Any other dealers in the area?

 

[Severum17]

Appointment with the Service Manager. They need to see that. I worked at a Bowtie dealer for 40 years and a good Service Manager would want to see that and hopefully help you out.

 

[helifino16]

Looks like one of those "Not gonna waste a certified technician's time figuring this out, go get that new tech and we'll let him play with this for a few days" situation. What a mess.

 

[USMCAg]

You may just be better off getting the paint and scratches fixed and handling the top yourself.

 

[FatsWaller]

Same here with hard top. Had it replaced, scratched glass and roll bars. Fix one thing, break another.

Did they fix all the things they damaged?

Water pools on all soft tops to some extent. Everything else dealer screwed up

No I know this to some extent because I had a soft top for 10 months prior but that spot in the photo is rediculous. Hard to see I guess from that angle but that specific area is not taught and it’s glued or tensioned much less in that specific area, so if I have a window down, that portion is so loose it’s flapping hard and thumping the front panel loudly. It’s not correct.

You may just be better off getting the paint and scratches fixed and handling the top yourself.

honestly I think this is what I’m going to opt for if/when they fix all the other issues they’ve now caused. Clearly they have no idea how to install this thing, I’ve noticed some more issues since the original post like drilled out rivets and screws that aren’t replaced at all.

 

[Bugkillah]

Did they fix all the things they damaged?



I was glad the delaminated top was replaced. Scratched glass and paint I’ll deal with. Heck, I scratch more than that on the trails.

 

[CarlSpackler]

Did they fix all the things they damaged?



No I know this to some extent because I had a soft top for 10 months prior but that spot in the photo is rediculous. Hard to see I guess from that angle but that specific area is not taught and it’s glued or tensioned much less in that specific area, so if I have a window down, that portion is so loose it’s flapping hard and thumping the front panel loudly. It’s not correct.



honestly I think this is what I’m going to opt for if/when they fix all the other issues they’ve now caused. Clearly they have no idea how to install this thing, I’ve noticed some more issues since the original post like drilled out rivets and screws that aren’t replaced at all.

I'm supposed to have this same TSB done and now I'm second guessing it.

 

[FatsWaller]

I was glad the delaminated top was replaced. Scratched glass and paint I’ll deal with. Heck, I scratch more than that on the trails.

ya no, I’m easygoing and understanding but not that much. Just because I may scratch and damage my car while on the trails doesn’t mean it’s ok for them to do so. At the end of the day it’s an almost 60k vehicle. Having the top not only done incorrectly but also damaging my vehicle… in multiple areas, and then not disclosing it is completely unacceptable. My vehicle should be coming back to me in better condition after the fix… not worse.

 

[FatsWaller]

I'm supposed to have this same TSB done and now I'm second guessing it.

I would certainly ensure they have experience with replacing the top because it’s very evident the tech here never has or is just negligent. The more I look, the more shoddy repair work I find.

 

[jaroddf89]

Yea definitely should make an appointment and a strongly worded email to the service manager, and if that doesn't work then the GM. They usually don't want the GM or Ford to find out stuff like this and definitely don't want this hitting news outlets or publicity so they should (hopefully) work with you before it gets to that point.

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