Owners have filed 1,329 complaints on the Ford Bronco, covering 1981–2024. The system named most often is Electrical System (202 reports). Worst years by volume: 2022, 2021, 2023; cleanest: 1981, 1983, 1984. 56 reports describe a crash, 132 a fire, 6 a death. On average the car was 3.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Bronco
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,329 Bronco complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 202 Read
Vehicle sustained significant front-end impact in a collision, but none of the airbags deployed. Front bumper, hood, and frame sustained visible damage. Concern that sensors or airbag system failed to activate during qualifying crash
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
Loss of power
Visibility/wiper 160 Read
Wipers in slow and fast speeds seam to go to intermediate on their own, the only way to get them back into full wipe mode is to go back and forth between slow and fast speeds!
Went out to start the vehicle one afternoon to notice a Crack from the outside passenger edge by the frame. Nothing hit the windshield and just a single line of Crack spread from one side of the windshield straight across took to ford to be told that while they couldn't see an impact they wouldn't cover it under…
The wipers on low mode stop working after about 30 seconds, requiring to turn off/on again or try the higher wiper speed. On a rainy day, when the wipers stopped there was near zero visibility. There were now warning lights when they stopped working. I see many other 2023 Ford Bronco report similar issues online;…
Service Brakes 152 Read
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
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
I was pulling into a residential driveway and as soon as the front tires entered the driveway the pre-collision alert warning went off and when I applied the brakes they did nothing. I proceeded to roll 25+ feet and crashed into the back of a parked car in the driveway. There were people standing just to the right of…
Engine 94 Read
The failure appears to have originated in the passenger side engine compartment, but the exact component or system (fuel, electrical, or other) is unknown. The vehicle is a total loss from the fire but should be available for inspection at the tow or storage facility. Our safety and the safety of others were put at…
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 passenger’s eyes started burning and their…
My husband was sitting at a stop light when he noticed what appeared to be steam/smoke coming out from under the hood of the Bronco. Then smoke came into the vehicle through the air vents. When he looked up, flames were coming out from under the hood. He got out and the whole front of the car burst into flames and…
Power Train 92 Read
My drive shaft/coupling caught fire at the front transfer case. I was able to extinguish it safely. This is the same description as: NHTSA Recall No.: 26V236 Manufacturer Recall No.: 26S26 And the description “ Vehicle 1: 2021-2025 FORD BRONCO‘ includes my vehicle, however, my VIN/license plate number do not show this…
The transmission on my ford bronco jumped out of park while running. This caused the vehicle to roll back into a ditch causing around 2,000 worth of damage that I cannot afford to fix. I have never heard of this vehicle doing this or I would not have bought it. I wish ford would fix my vehicle and repair the…
Front seals on power train failed, causing fluid to spray onto engine, resulting in vehicle catching on fire. Please define in detail power train
Suspension 79 Read
While driving vehicle would not go forward. Consumer stated transmission went out. Dealer contacted. *ak cruise control and door locks are inoperative. Emergency brake light stays illuminated. Front end is out of alignment and pulls to the left. Head lights will not shut off. Thermostat, radiator, radiator cap, and…
Vehicle lost control/served, resulting in rollover/accident/injury
Dealer sold us a brand new vehicle with an active recall. Recall# 25S01/25V025 which was released January 21st, 2025. We bought the vehicle [XXX]. There was ample time for the dealer to pull these vehicles from the lot and prevent them from being sold. I spoke with a Ford customer service representative (case# [XXX])…
Structure 73 Read
I was heading to the store when my gas pedal for stuck. I pressed the brakes and held them down to no avail. I ended up crashing through someones yard and hitting their property. My bronco finally stopped about 15 seconds later. The whole incident was about two minutes long
This vehicled has a recall on the floorboard, which has stress cracks in it. However when I checked this it comes back salvaged with junk title which voids the recall! Now what ?
The consumer was involved in an accident, in which the vehicle flipped over, the consumer's wife requested information regarding any recalls. *ph
Fuel System 57 Read
The contact owned a 2023 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while her boyfriend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal noise. The contact's boyfriend had pulled over. They discovered an unknown fluid leaking under the vehicle and a spark coming from the engine before the vehicle caught…
The vehicle was repaired at chico auto care located at 724 w. 9th st. In chico , ca. 95928 (530) 894-7165. The mechanics repaired the electrical switch that is connected to the top of the in-tank fuel pump, located on the top of the fuel tank. The mechanics stated that they have been seeing this more frequently on the…
Fire caused by faulty fuel line
Bronco years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Back Over Prevention | 4 | 3 | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 4 | 18 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 7 | 16 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 5 | 11 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 3 | 2 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 1 | 2 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 2 | 8 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 4 | 11 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 2 | 13 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | 1 | 15 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | 1 | 10 | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | 2 | 4 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | 2 | 6 | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | 1 | 4 | |
| 1983 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1981 | Tires | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 568 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.3 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.3 years |
A model average of 2.3 hides a worst series at 16. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Bronco?
By complaint volume, 2022, 2021, 2023 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Bronco years are the cleanest?
1981, 1983, 1984 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Bronco have?
1,329 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–2024. Of those, 56 describe a crash and 132 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.