FORD Bronco Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls β NHTSA Data
Comparing used FORD Bronco options? We analyzed 6 model years (2021β2026) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
Model-year trends show patterns. Run a VIN check for the exact FORD Bronco you plan to buy.
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the FORD Bronco has 943 owner complaints and 92 safety recalls across model years 2021β2026. The most reported issue area is VISIBILITY/WIPER. 2022 drew the most complaints; 2026 drew the fewest.
- Make
- FORD
- Model
- Bronco
- Model years analyzed
- 2021β2026 (6 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 943
- Safety recall campaigns
- 92
- Crash-related complaints
- 36
- Fire-related complaints
- 13
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2022 (335 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2026 (5 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- VISIBILITY/WIPER
- Reliability signal
- Poor
FORD Bronco: Which Years to Avoid & Which to Buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used β lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record β lower risk starting points.
β NHTSA NCAP Crash Test Ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
What the Complaint Data Suggests
PoorThe FORD BRONCO has 943 NHTSA complaints and 92 recalls on record. 36 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 943 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 92 federal recall campaigns
- 36 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
π NHTSA Safety Recalls
92 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
Safety Recall
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Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2021β2026. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
π§ Most-Reported Problem Areas
Based on component keywords extracted from all 943 NHTSA complaints.
π NHTSA Complaint Reports
943 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Bronco. The contact recieved notice of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V268000 (Seats). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken in to a dealer where the failed the inspection and she was notified that the bolt could come loose. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure where she was notified that they did not have the part available at this time. The failure mileage was approximately 9,004.
The Sta-bar continues to disconnect. Had been in shop 5xs for same issue 2 weeks each time with hopes that they fixed it. Within 500miles after leaving shop it does it again and warning flashes to seek maintenance immediately. There is no obvious reason of why. It will donit when it's dry, when it's raining or snowing. It happens when I first turn car on or it could happen going 70mph on highway. Started within the first 1000 miles on car and has continued, currently at 18000miles. Car feels unsteady on every bump and ripple and with high winds when it occurs. It happens more times then I can count now, tired of paying high monthly payment for it to sit in shop.
My MIC roof cracked, and I only have 6700 miles on the vehicle. I am now reading that my roof could blow off.
The molded in color hardtops are bad on these Ford Broncoβs. I wanted to report it because mine started cracking, fading, delaminating, and leaking after the vehicle was only 3 months old. They are very defective. Ford warranty replaced mine after a full year of me going back and forth to the dealer to argue about it. It was a long process that I never expected on a brand new vehicle. Iβm already starting to see the honeycomb material on my warranty replacement top. I know people who are on their 4th and 5th replacement tops. Also, the road noise is bad with these tops as well. Mine as been warranty replaced now, but it was a rough experience over all and I have zero confidence that the replacement top is of better quality. In fact, the customer service representative at Ford stated more than likely this replacement hardtop would go bad at some point just like the original. They said it was the exact same top with no improvement.
ERROR WITH STABILTIY BAR DO NOT DRIVE OVER 20 MPH. NO KEYS DETECTED IN VEHICLE. VEHICLE IS NOW BACK AT THE DEALER FOR THE 4TH TIME FOR THE SAME REPAIR.
Back piece of hardtop cracked on each side, front three pieces had honeycombing and ripples down each side that you could see and feel. The dealership warrantied them out , but my front three pieces still have issues. The dealerships also told me if this happens outside of my 3yr/36,000mi warranty that they will not fix the issue even though parts typically have a 2 yr warranty on them after being replaced. But, this isn't a normal part, this is my roof/hardtop. This is a safety concern. I never received any lights, messages, or symptoms that I know of. There could have been leaking water in the back part of my Bronco. The safety of others and myself were put at risk because, there were cracks in my roof and what if it cracked all the way through and broke off?
I was idling (foot on the brake) at a coffee drive thru when I started to smell smoke and suddenly a women ran up and told me my passenger side front tire was on fire.
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle would unexpectedly lunge forward and hesitate, with no warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that a loud, abnormal rattling noise was coming from the soft top area of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, it was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission software needed to be reprogrammed. The dealer also stated that the soft top failure is a known issue with the vehicle. The vehicle was reprogrammed, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, a fire originated near the dashboard area without warning. The occupants inside the vehicle first noticed an abnormal smoke odor inside the vehicle. Shortly afterwards, the contact and passengerβs eyes started burning and their throats became irritated. The driver opened and then closed the windows and then safely pulled over. The heated seats were turned off during the failure. The passenger then observed flames coming from the passengerβs side air vent. The contact and passenger exited the vehicle with the engine still running. The windows blew out from the intense heat of the fire. The air bags did not deploy but started melting. The Fire Department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported. A Police report was not filed, but the Police were directing traffic. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a claim was opened. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the insurance company for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 11,685.
When turning right the left turn signal is triggered automatically 60-75% of the time. This mis direction signal has potential to cause confusion to surrounding drivers thus creating a potential driving hazard. The whole purpose of the turn signal is to declare driving intent to other drivers.
The following systems and features have been repeatedly failing in my vehicle, posing a safety hazard: 1) The side view mirrors change orientation automatically while driving. 2) The blind spot warning is inconsistent and is not trustworthy. 3) The infotainment display turns off erratically while crossing critical intersections where I am supposed to turn. This is extremely distracting and poses a severe safety risk. 4) The infotainment systemβs audio volume, audio source and car play connection turns off randomly. This is extremely distracting and poses a severe accident risk. 5) The air conditioning strength and temperature changes automatically with the fan blowing extremely cold or extremely hot air. 6) The windshield wiper automatic speeds are mis-calibrated and gradation between the various levels is non-linear and erratic. This forces the driver to frequently adjust the wiper speed while driving, posing a distraction and accident risk. 7) The automatic high beam feature doesnβt work, or works erratically. This ambiguity causes distraction and dangerous night time driving situations. 8) With manual operation of high and low beams, there is a significant delay while switching from one to another, posing risk while night time driving. 9) The windshield cleaning feature with dispersal of the fluid works erratically. It works some of the time and doesnβt work other times. This ambiguity poses a severe risk while driving due to unclear windshield. 10) The tire pressure sensor displays inaccurate inflation pressure at times. This ambiguity can be catastrophic given the vehicle size and Californiaβs mountain road driving under slick and snowy conditions. 11) The GPS directions displayed on phone and infotainment system are inaccurate and inconsistent, causing massive confusion while exiting. This is a new vehicle from 2024 and has been inspected and serviced at the dealership diligently. I have video evidence for some of the problems.
Reservoir detached from right rear shock. Known problem. Recall 25V025. Dealer will not honor recall.
Regarding this recall notice 26S09/26V124 This camein the mail Friday, 3 days to late to prevent a accident. On that previous Tuesday, while backing out of the garage in full sunshine I backed straight into my wife's vehicle parked to the side. No warning sensors, no alarms. Progressive insurance is handling the claims, but I am still going to be out of pocket my 500 dollars deductible plus rental car charges. I can provide all information you might require, but I certainly feel this safety recall led up yi this incident.
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that the infotainment system was intermittently inoperable, causing the rear-view camera image to become inoperable while reversing. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while his wife was reversing on one occasion, causing the vehicle to strike a fence. The fence posts were damaged, and the spare tire mounted at the rear of the vehicle sustained cosmetic damage. The contact's wife had not sustained any injuries. No Police report was filed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V124000 (Back Over Prevention); and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure was associated with the recall; however, the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was contacted and informed that the vehicle was safe to drive. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.
On or about Feb10 2026 near [XXX] heading North I experienced an commanded accelerator input. I was stopping for a light on a section of the road where I always lose connection with the apple carplay in the vehicle. I suspect that there is an illegal radio jammer being used. On this particular occasion the traffic stopped at this location where I typically lose the connection from the phone to the infotainment system and the infotainment system resets. However this time the throttle advanced to almost full throttle without any input on the accelerator as my foot was on the brake in order to slow. I had to use full application of the brake in order to keep from hitting the car in front of me. Just as I started to shift the transmission to neutral the accelerator went back to idle. The event lasted about 5 seconds. My hypothesis is that some sort of radio interference is causing the system to reset and in this case it caused communication issues with the can bus or engine control module. I have not gone back to try and repeat the issue but the radio interference is still there in the same area. RF interference should not effect the function of the engine or vehicle controls. Feel free to contact me [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Brake system makes horrible noises, abs goes wild, brakes click from controller when pedal is pressed
*Question 1 The top part of the Fender Flare on rear driver side was not properly welded/glued to bottom part of Fender Flare. It peeled off and flew while driving down the highway. *Question 2 The top fender flew off while i was driving. It could have hit another car behind. I also don't feel safe having the other fenders on my vehicle. If one's faulty, i have concerns the others will also come apart while driving *Question 3 Took my vehicle to dealership service center to report the incident (dealership: Group 1 Ford of Kennesaw). They took pics of the faulty fender and asked me to open a case with Ford Customer Service. The dealership said Ford was aware of the issue, but they couldn't replace because the part is not under any current warranty programs. Ford's manufacturer customer service made the same excuse. Asked for email confirming my case complaint.. they didn't send documentation (case # CXH-07394045-C3Y9M4) *Question 4 I called the manufacturer's customer service to review the incident with the dealership. They wouldn't cover the replacement because my vehicle had just exceeded the milage on their limited Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty..which is 36,000 or 3 years. My Bronco is only 2 years. I've never driven it off road and have been taking it to the dealership regularly for routine maintenance. The fender flare is an original factory part that should not have come apart while I was driving. Was surprised to see it fly off while driving, until i did a google search and found that this has happened to many other Bronco owners while driving. I've seen many owners post pics with the same exact part come off while driving. I'd be happy to share multiple links as evidence of the safety concern with this fender part. *Question 5 No signs until the part flew and we could see that fender wasn't properly welded together. Again, my vehicle has been taken to the dealership routinely for maintenance and they didn't notice the issue until the part came off.
There was a pot hold hole about 30 ft from a stop light. I was coming to a stop but once I hit the pot hole the breaks malfunctioned. I pumped the breaks 2-3 times. They did not reengage. This fault caused me to rear end the car in front of me at the stop light.
Vehicle: 2024 Ford Bronco Outer Banks Mileage: Approx. 15,000 The molded-in-color (MIC) composite hardtop panels have developed significant cracking across all four removable roof sections. Cracks are present on the driver-side front, mid, rear, and passenger-side panels. The cracking appears to originate within the composite material and has progressively worsened over time. The vehicle and affected panels are available for inspection upon request. The hardtop is part of a rollover-rated vehicle and contributes to structural integrity and occupant protection. Progressive cracking raises concern about reduced structural performance in a rollover. Additional risks include continued material degradation, potential panel instability at highway speeds, and water intrusion affecting electrical components. The condition has been visually inspected and confirmed by our Ford dealership, which verified cracking on all four panels. The vehicle has not been involved in any accident and has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. The cracking was not caused by impact, misuse, improper storage, or improper removal. The hardtop has only been removed approximately five times since purchase, with all panels removed together only once, and removal was performed carefully according to manufacturer guidance. The hardtop is currently being replaced under the bumper-to-bumper warranty. However, replacement does not address the underlying concern if the material or manufacturing process is defective. Numerous other Ford Bronco owners have reported similar cracking, including multiple replacements. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the cracking. The issue was first noticed at approximately 13,000 miles and has continued to progress. Given the low mileage, limited removal, dealership confirmation, and widespread similar reports, this appears to be a potential systemic material defect that warrants further investigation and a permanent corrective act.
Brakes did not engage. Rearended another driver. Have not gotten it to dealer yet. Police report made. Insurance working on claim. Need to get fixed first before getting it to the dealer to check systems. Found warning messages in the Ford app after incident, but nothing on dashboard to signal an issue.
Showing 20 of 943 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Before You Buy, Check the Exact FORD Bronco
These pages show model-year patterns across 6years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
π Understanding This Data
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is β but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The FORD Bronco has 943 complaints on record across 6 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The FORD Bronco has 92 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 36 of the FORD Bronco's 943 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions β a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable β simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all FORD Bronco vehicles on the road β not any specific car. Two FORD Bronco vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage β NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The FORD Bronco has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
Buyers Also Compare
How does the FORD Bronco stack up? Compare complaint history with similar vehicles.
π Check a FORD Bronco by State
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used FORD Bronco.
FORD Bronco reliability β frequently asked questions
Is the FORD Bronco reliable?
Poor. The FORD Bronco has 943 NHTSA owner complaints and 92 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is VISIBILITY/WIPER. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which FORD Bronco years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2022 (335 complaints), 2021 (211 complaints), 2023 (209 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common FORD Bronco problems?
Top reported issues: VISIBILITY/WIPER (171 complaints); ENGINE (151 complaints); ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (121 complaints).
Does the FORD Bronco have recalls?
Yes β 92 NHTSA recall campaigns have been issued for the FORD Bronco. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls or run a VIN check to see if your specific vehicle has open recalls.