The modern Ford Bronco is a dedicated off-road oriented vehicle that remains a hot commodity nearly two years after first arriving at dealerships all over the country. Demand remains so high that the company is still struggling to meet demand, as some variants are still unable to be ordered. But for those that have them, the SUV is a great template for a host of modifications. Unfortunately, some owners found out the hard way that a certain combination of third-party components can cause factory parts to break after using Trail Turn Assist, and that the company will deny warranty coverage for the repairs needed to fix the issues, as reported by Carscoops.
According to the publication, two Ford Bronco owners encountered the same situation: after using Trail Turn Assist, they found that their axle welds had broken. The feature is designed to brake the inside wheel during an extremely tight turn, which sharply reduces the turning radius of a vehicle, assuming it is engaged in a low-speed and high steering angle maneuver. It can only be used when the four-wheel drive system is activated and the rear locking differential is engaged, it is traveling less than 12 miles per hour, and when the wheel is almost fully turned to the left or right.
The owners impacted by broken axle welds not only had to deal with their issues, but were also denied warranty coverage for the repairs. A Ford spokesperson responded to the publication and explained that the modifications made to each Ford Bronco in question were enough to disqualify them from coverage for the specific repair. “The photos of both Broncos show modifications that include new trailing arms, control arms, shocks and bigger tires,” said the company representative. “Ford is not aware of any claims with Trail Turn Assist when the feature is used as intended on loose surfaces while off-road, as instructed in the Bronco’s owner manual. If an aftermarket product causes a Ford part to fail, the cost of repairs and any related damages are not covered by Ford.”
This situation is a useful cautionary tale for owners looking to modify their Ford Bronco into something a bit different than how it left the factory. There is always a risk that an aftermarket part can directly or indirectly result in the premature wear of a factory component, thus resulting in coverage denial.
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Comments
That sucks!!
Makes perfect sense. When something is designed to operate a specific way from the factory, and the owner modifies the parameters and affects/breaks that particular function, that’s not the manufacturer’s problem. Play at your own risk.
Funny though how you could do it to all the rigs back in the day including Ford broncos. With little to no issue. But yet these new ones they say are off-road ready. Fall apart very easy. That screams to me that they are built like crap.
I took a 2 month old ‘crappy’ Bronco and raced it 1100 miles through the Baja, with 20 other crappy Bronco’s. Speeds regularly approached 100mph. One was wrecked, and 3 stock tires were totally destroyed. I also witnessed an aftermarket suspension fail and an aftermarket bumper fail. Truly the ‘crappy’ machines were totally amazing. I am sorry to inform you that your uninformed and ignorant of how capable Bronco’s truly are.
Owners that actually need trail turn assist are the ones most likely to modify their Broncos. Using TTA with different trailing arms and tires shouldn’t break axle welds when using on loose terrain. They videos of people doing donuts and using TTA on hard surfaces , this article is for you.