This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The car completely died with no warning and no electrical systems available at a stop sign. I had to waive traffic around since emergency flashers didn't work. Tried to jump with a jumping station, and a truck with an older battery which didn't work. Only minor clicking and electrical systems turned on. Had to use a car with a brand new battery in order to get car started to drive home <1mi.
As I was driving with my wife on our way back home, my vehicle flashed every warning light, and my dashboard went dark. I was going about 40-?"45 mph, the engine was still running, and we made it home, which was only less than 2 miles from my house. As I was driving on my way home, the media console had this message: "vehicle network communication error, " but once home, I could not get the SUV to shift into park, and it suddenly shut off on it's own. My 2021 Bronco Sport is still under Ford's manufacturer warranty. I requested a tow from the Ford app to have it delivered to Hacienda Ford Service of Edinburg, Texas, and a payment of $201.09 was required to dispatch a tow service. A couple of days later, I got a call that my SUV was ready, the battery might of been in a low state of charge, and there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The dealership service manager claimed on the phone to have never heard of a "vehicle network communication error." I even took pictures of the error message on my phone, but the dealership had no desire to even take a look at the video or pictures of the vehicle network communication error message. If it happens again, at least I know how to temporarily fix the vehicle's malfunction. The tow truck driver disconnected the battery for 15 minutes and was able to get the vehicle to start and shift it back to park. So I ended up paying $201.09 to have the privilege for Hacienda Ford Service to tell me my battery might of been at a low state of charge while I was driving.
Battery malfunctioned while en route, entire system went dead while on the road, entire computer system had to be replaced. Fixed by dealer at my expense, dealer/ford verifed the batteries had been coming in dead left and right. no warnings, no symptoms etc, just dies.
- Indialantic, FL, USA
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On February 5, 2024, the engine of a Bronco Sport shut off while driving and the dashboard lights began flashing with multiple warnings and notifications. The car would not restart and the gear shift was locked, preventing the driver from moving the vehicle out of the road during rush hour traffic. A tow truck was called, but after 30 minutes, the driver was able to restart the car and canceled the tow truck. The car was taken to the dealership on February 6, 2024, but the cause of the incident has not been diagnosed. On February 4, 2024, the driver attempted to start the engine, but the dashboard lights began flashing with multiple warnings and notifications and the engine would not start. The driver called a tow service, who jump-started the battery and informed the driver that the battery was not completely dead. The driver also discovered that the power steering had failed. The car was taken to the dealership on February 5, 2024, where it was diagnosed as a battery cable issue. The cable was replaced and the power steering was fixed. Dealership indicated that two repairs were unrelated. On December 8, 2023, the driver drove the car approximately 20 miles home, but upon exiting the car, the dashboard lights began flashing with multiple warnings and notifications and the engine would not start. The driver had to disconnect the battery cables to turn the car off completely. The driver called a tow service on December 9, 2023, who advised trying to jump-start the car. After charging the battery for 30 minutes, the car started and stopped without issue. On July 6, 2023, the customer noticed that the car was slow to start and received a warning on the dash indicating a "powertrain malfunction." The car was taken to the dealership on July 7, 2023, where it was diagnosed as having a faulty battery, which was replaced.
The incident first happened while on my way to work. After driving about 2 miles I came to stopped at a stoplight. My car completely shut off and the engine died. When trying to restart the car, I got multiple battery failure messages, and it appeared that the battery died somehow. There were absolutely no warnings beforehand. I was also unable to successfully get the vehicle into neutral because even after pulling the shifter override, I could not disengage the electric parking break. I had to get the car towed to the dealership from the middle of a busy road. The car spent 2 weeks at the first dealership. They were unable to diagnose the issue, and ultimately did nothing, stating that the battery was passing all tests so they could not replace it. 2.5 months later, my batter died again without warning (luckily this time in my driveway). I-??ve taken it to a different dealership this time (after filing a complaint with Ford). This dealership again is telling me that the battery is passing tests so they can-??t replace it, and that they have no idea why it failed (twice now!) Something is clearly wrong with the car -?" batteries/engines do not just die in the middle of driving for no reason. But so far Ford has refused to put the effort into figuring out why this is happening.
Our Bronco will be driving and all of a sudden the "Battery Charging System Service Now" warning comes on and then if you keep driving it will show "System off to save Battery" "Please turn ignition off or start vehicle".. And the major problem is the engine is still of and we were in a turn lane in the middle of and intersection so when we stopped the car turned off and we were almost hit my a semi that was going 60mph. Once I got out I put a jump pack on it and it started right up and all the lights went off but then today it happened it again!
While at stop light, engine shut off (auto start-stop). Wouldn't restart, car would not move, automatically went into park, wouldn't go into neutral to be moved, and was stuck. Had to manually release the vehicle into neutral to be moved. Battery was completely dead, replacement solved the issue. Battery was less than 2 years old. Approx. 50k miles.
I am currently on my Third battery. Prior to getting this third car battery, there was numerous electrical issues randomly occurring. I read that there is a current investigation going on with Bronco Sports just stopping, could it be batteries failing and not being g detected?? Just wanted you to know. The first time I had dealership replace battery, they said it tested "fine" I had to insist something be done, which led them to try replacing the original battery. Since it's happened before the dealership just replaces the batteries and then stuff works normally. Can't recall dates off hand, but at home I have paperwork with dates.
[XXX] Vehicle would not start(not even crank) while parked in the garage. Could not jump start, had to be dragged out of garage(could not put in neutral) and hauled on rollback to Blaise Alexander Ford Lewisburg, Pa. Dealership kept for 4 days and charged battery and could not replicate the problem. [XXX] Vehicle while driving message of Vehicle Connection Error came up on screen and then all gauges blacked out, turned off of road and died, could not restart, could not jump start and would not crank. Again had to be drug onto rollback (could not put in neutral) and towed to Blaise Alexander Ford Lewisburg, pa, kept for 6 days and tested battery, could not charge it and replaced it at our cost. Vehicle was at 35,098miles. They could not replicate the problem. Do not feel safe driving this vehicle if it shuts down randomly at times. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Low coolant and smell of something hiring while driving on highway states away from home visiting family. Pulled over and no coolant in reservoir. No warning lights on dash either. Was determined by Ford Dealership on 11/27/2023 that my water pump was failing, couldn't tell me why no low coolant light came on dash. Water pump was replaced 01/02/2024 under warranty.
Touch screen and dash blackout while driving. They just go completely dark. Someone-??s it restarts and comes back on but if it-??s dark outside I can-??t see how fast I-??m going.
No dashboard activation upon entering the vehicle this morning nor would the vehicle start. After a dozen attempts to start the vehicle with no response whatsoever, the vehicle finally started (green start button blinked, but no dashboard activity on any screen). Promptly attempted to put the vehicle in reverse but it immediately died. Would not start again. Online troubleshooting led us to detach/reattach the negative battery cable, which seemed to resolve the issue. No apparent battery or cable issues upon user inspection. Drove the vehicle yesterday without issue or warning to indicate an issue might arise. Have not had this issue previously.
Slowing down at a red light, getting into a left hand turning lane there was a "thud" sound and then the car completely shut off. Nothing worked, screens went blank, no hazards, no lights. We were stuck in the middle of the road with no way to even get the car out of the way. Every once in a while the green would come on or an alarm would go off but quickly went back to black. Tow truck was able to jump it to get it on the truck but half way through the ride the engine died once more. There was no warning at all. If this would have happened on the highway, it would have been catastrophic. After learning about this happening to others and hearing that it may happen again, I will not feel safe in this car moving forward: car is a 2021 Bronco Sport, 52,000 miles. Please do something!!!
Vehicle experienced catastrophic power failure while I was driving. Without warning, the vehicle shut down completely. The engine stopped, the brakes engaged, the dash went black. There was no way to communicate with the vehicle -- no way to engage emergency flashers or even to push it to the side of the road (because the brakes were locked). There was a loud "pulse" sound coming through the speakers -- "thump...thump...thump..." which continued for 5 - 10 minutes. A police officer who stopped to assist noted the rear tail lights were strobing. The "P" on the transmission shifter flashed continually. Over the next 30 minutes, the infotainment screen rebooted twice, but went to black within seconds. The instrument panel rebooted once, but also went black after a few seconds. The car was towed to Kings Ford in Mason/Deerfield Township OH. The service tech reported the only issue was a dead battery which he replaced. That issue has not reoccurred in my Bronco Sport. On the Bronco Sport Forum, [XXX] reported an identical event in Feb. 2023 happened to her vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was on my way to work and as I approached a 4-way intersection, the auto-stop feature on the vehicle shut the engine off. The vehicle's instrument panel started blinking then went completely black. The vehicle became completely disabled... the hazard lights were only functioning intermittently. I tried to re-start the vehicle without success and was not able to shift to neutral. The vehicle was in the middle of the road, so I called a tow to carry it to the dealership. The dealership was able to replicate the issue and blamed it on a 'dead-cell' battery. The dealership even said that the vehicle did the same thing to them once their booster pack was removed, so a simple jump from another vehicle would not have temporarily solved the issue. Before the incident, the vehicle gave absolutely NO warning or indication that the battery levels were low. I cannot believe that with all of the modern vehicle technology available, Ford did not develop a 'low-battery' warning light for their vehicles. I expect Ford to pay for every tow needed in the future due to a dead battery that completely disables the vehicle in the middle of the street.
While driving today, this car abruptly stopped in the middle of the road. it would not restart and it was puttering over and over and popping for no reason it was resulted in me being stranded in the middle of a busy arterial for three hours. I called roadside assistance to jumpstart the vehicle and within three minutes it did the same thing is shut down at the corner. I was able to get into a parking lot and assess the issue and I actually had them jumpstart once again. I sat for 15 minutes and drove to an auto shop. They stated that there was no issue with the starter battery or alternator. However, there was a PCM code that popped up, which was related to the computer system of the vehicle. This was a very scary occurrence and I cannot believe that Car just randomly stops in the middle of the road while driving. My brother who owns his car drives over the highway every other day between two cities and I cannot imagine what will happen if they shut down on the highway.
Engine alternator failed at approximately 50,000 miles. The bearing failed and the pulley ultimately sheared off. We own 5 of these vehicles and 3 of the 5 have had this issue. The water pump also failed.
My 2021 Bronco failed our family on Friday. The Bronco failed to start upon pressing the start and brake pedal. The main console panel started flashing then cycling through all kinds of failure alerts. There was a series loud noises from the engine, the headlights flashed off and on for over 3 minutes and then the engine started smoking. The doors would not open and we were stuck inside while the engine was smoking. That smoke came through the air vents as well. Finally, I was able to get my door open though couldn-??t open my son-??s rear passenger side door from the outside. He was stuck inside for what seemed like forever. He was able to open it finally and I carried him inside. My son-??s legs are paralyzed and he does not walk. My main concern was getting him to a safe place as I was scared to death that the engine was going to explode in that moment. The engine smoke started to ease up however the electrical burning smell was overwhelming. This all took place in my garage. The trunk would not unlock and my key fob would not engage with the vehicle at all during this time. The trunk hatch lock finally disengaged and I was finally able to get his wheelchair out. Everything failed. I could not get the Bronco into neutral at any point. The Bronco is currently at my local Ford dealer where I was told I have to wait a week before it can even be looked at. I was told "it's just the battery...." There is NO way my experience was "just the battery." As of 10/10/2023 no one from corporate or the dealer has reached out to me. Once I got to the dealer (Jarret Gordon Ford Davenport), they were so dismissive of me. The service advisor never even asked if my son or myself were OK.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Gastonia, NC, USA