Brett Foote
In spite of the massive production cuts stemming from the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage and multiple supplier issues, Ford has insisted for some time that 2021 Ford Bronco production would not be affected. Regardless, it recently idled the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant – which builds the Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger – and now, order holders are being informed that Bronco production has been pushed back two to three weeks.
“We are still on track,” Kelli Felker, Ford global manufacturing and labor communications manager, told the Detroit Free Press, speaking to the Bronco’s initial deliveries beginning this summer. “These letters are related specifically to the downtime that we announced.”
As we recently reported, the Michigan Assembly Plant will close this week and next week for the very first time since the chip shortage began. Over the last few months, virtually every one of Ford’s North American and European assembly plants have been idled for multiple weeks, and the automaker believes that it will wind up slashing its output by 50 percent in Q2 alone.
Meanwhile, order holders who received a scheduled for production email are now receiving letters from Ford notifying them of the production delays. Ford recently announced that Bronco production, which actually began on May 3rd, won’t fully ramp up until August. Regardless, the automaker calls this latest setback an “adjustment,” and remains adamant that the reborn SUV remains on track for a summer launch.
Though some reservation holders have grown tired of waiting and wound up canceling them, Ford says that 125,000 of the 190,000 Bronco reservation holders have converted their reservations into orders, which equates to around 66 percent.
That number doesn’t take into account the possibility that reservation holders who haven’t converted them to orders may be waiting for a 2022 model and the promised perks it will bring, including new roof options, exterior paint colors, vehicle options, and even special editions. As we previously reported, Ford is allowing reservation holders to hold their place in line for the next model year, as it can only fill around a third of existing reservations in the 2021 model year.
We’ll have much more on the Bronco and any production delays soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Bronco news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
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If it has one of those Ecoboost engines, of which some 96,000 have failed (class action suit launched in Delaware), then I wouldn’t have it off a Christmas tree!
They need to push it back until 2022 or until they get those tens of thousand of incomplete vehicles put together. Two to three week push back is not going to make a dent in Ford’s issue.
This vehicle has morphed from the most anticipated vehicle in Ford’s history to its biggest flop. Ford of Canada’s response as to the question of where my order is at was to visit the website I did, all it told me is that I ordered one! A big disappointment.
I strongly recommend getting the V6 and NOT any four-bangers, which would be variations of the problem-plagued Ecoboost engines. Some 96,000 Ecoboost engines have failed because of cracks in the blocks, which allow coolant to enter the cylinders. Result–you have to have a new engine. And God help you if you are out of the power train warranty!
Ford’s terrible customer service is going to kill that goose that played the golden egg.
scheduled for production email, not in Canada yet it seems???
When are American companies going to realize that they need to switch from overseas suppliers to Made in the USA. COVID is a perfect examples of how we got caught with our pants down. This is not the end of such situations.
While you’re correct about there having been an issue with coolant leaking into the cylinders on some 4-cyl ecoboost engines, they were the previous generation version. Those found in recent/current Ford products are completely different engines; also applies to the current 1.5L 3-cyl ecoboost.
I have a Bronco on order, probably will get a 2022 model. I opted for the 2.7L V6…for its excellent track-record, and superior fuel-delivery system, far less susceptible to deposits than previous iteration.
I do know that Escapes up to the year 2019 have experienced coolant leaking into the cylinders. I am praying that my replacement engine won’t fail–but on this forum you will read about replacement engines also failing.
What I do know is that I no longer trust Ford after leaving tens of thousands of its loyal customers in a lurch. The Ecoboost engines have been an unmitigated disaster, and Ford will never get another chance to use me as a “test driver” again.
Every manufacturer has engines that have failed. Ford is not the exception.
True . . . but Ford has had 96,000 failures with its Ecoboost engines, and it’s due to faulty design and manufacturing. And, unlike other makers, Ford is not standing behind its products.
These comments don’t relate to my experience with Ford. My last three vehicles have been fords and they have been great vehicles. I also have glade great customer service on the phone and at the dealership. I have a Ford Escape and it runs like a champ. I change the oil and do all the service measures when needed. I like Ford it is a good brand. I will continue to buy fords. I don’t know what these people are talking about?
No one is criticizing the dealerships, my experience at the dealership has been good also.
Do you have a new Ford on order? If not, you have no clue!
My experience with Ford products over the years has been the same; of twelve vehicles owned just three have been other makes. One of those (a brand-new ’75 Pontiac Firebird was an unmitigated disaster, lol!). I had a ’71 Olds Cutlass which was excellent other than chronic front-end issues.
The best vehicle I ever owned (drove it for 20-yrs and 275000 miles) was an ’88 Bronco II. That thing truly was like “my trusty horse”. Never failed me.
In 2019 I needed to replace my aging Aviator, but Ford didn’t offer anything to match what I was looking for. I ended-up buying a VW Alltrack. Great handling, workma ship, etc. But boy! It is relentlessly G-E-R-M-A-N-I-C…foreign to this American driver’s sensibilities. Worst of all, my Dog (who accompanies me everywhere) never took a liking to the VW. Weird, but true.
Anyway, when Ford announced a revival of the Bronco model, I knew what I had to do. So I have one on order, Z-Plan discount pricing. And I can be patient. In the meantime, I see the re-sale value of the VW rising with each passing week. Only 3200-mi on it. According to KBB, I should be able to get at least as much for it as I paid in 2019. ‘Can’t buy new Alltracks here anymore, but folks still want them I guess.
But both I and the Dog will be very happy in a shiny new Bronco.
These comments should be a cautionary tale for you— if Ford can write off so many of its customers over faulty engines, you can be sure it could happen to you, too.
Try as I might, I have been unable to find any support for the claim of 96000 failed ecoboost 4-cyl engines. Perhaps it’s true, but I can’t independently verify it.
However, one glaring detail of the class-action lawsuit is particularly interesting:
the named plaintiff never claimed that the engine in her used 2016 Ford Escape ever failed, only that Ford is culpable for not warning buyers of a design-flaw about which the company had allegedly been aware for some time.
I seem to recall GM going through something similar a few years back with their ubiquitous Duratec engines.
Ford isn’t unique among manufacturers. They’re all
fallible. I certainly feel for those owners who feel they got burned, but really, what recourse did Ford have?…replace all those engines? With brand new, also potentially defective ones?? If I were an owner that wouldn’t have made me feel much better.
In the wake of the VW TurboDiesel fiasco, the Gov’t imposed a huge fine and made them offer to buy-back vehicles if owners so wished. But VW was guilty of (essentially) a criminal act…falsifying test results.
In this EcoBoost situation, Ford is (rightly) accused of marketing a poorly engineered product. Shame on them, but likewise, buyer beware. Do your homework.
I’m confident in my decision to opt for the 2.7L EcoBoost in my new Bronco. By all accounts it’s a great engine, proven reliable, and even better with the latest iteration’s upgrades.
My dealer has some cancellations on broncos ,wish they listed percentages .Now transmission model products changes ,lists of options that slow completions should emailed to order holders as choices. Instead distraction stories of Warthogs more delayed project vehicles.