DETROIT – The feds investigate a potentially serious safety issue in the Ford Bronco on Monday (June 6) afternoon.
Forty-eight drivers say the SUV’s engine has failed while they were driving, and now thousands of other vehicles may have the same problem.
The Ford Bronco was one of the hottest and most anticipated vehicles in a generation. People stood in line, and it sold out.
But now, in the early stages, we’re seeing some of these vehicles having serious trouble under the hood.
“Complete disbelief,” said Kelly Luther of Rose Township.
Luther waited a year to get her first brand new vehicle. Last September, just two and a half months after taking delivery of her Badlands Edition Ford Bronco, She went grocery shopping.
“I made a turn, and it just died without warning, no lights, no indicators or anything,” Luther said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is calling it a catastrophic engine failure related to a faulty valve within 2.7 liter eco-boost engines.
Luther’s dealer agreed.
“The phone call said I needed a completely new engine,” Luther said. “I was blown away.”
Luther said she’d not even driven 2,500 miles.
“It was just kind of like, ‘hey, here’s a $50,000 vehicle you still have to pay for, and it’s in service for 50 days, and I didn’t have anything to drive.’”
Ford Motor Company did replace the engine under warranty.
Luther said She’d just returned from the Upper Peninsula, and although she says she would like to return again during the summer, she says she won’t.
“Every time that the auto start/stop feature is on, my heart skips a beat thinking like it’s died again, but yeah, it’s a concern,” Luther said.
Ford said in a statement: We are aware of a select number of engines with this concern, and we are investigating. If any customers are experiencing issues, they will be covered under the vehicle’s 5-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. We will cooperate with the NHTSA as we always do.”
Seen in the video player above is the National Highway Traffic Administration Office of Defects Investigation. It’s in the beginning stages, but several letters have asked the agency to look further into the problem.
Luther says she and her kids love her Bronco, but they are leery of the major quality issue.