NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Ford Bronco. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Engine locked up with 1,255 miles. Seemed to be running fine, then heard a noise and unit started to deselerate and started clicking. Was lucky enough to be on a local four lane road and coasted to a school zone pull off. Tried to restart and would not catch. Starter would stay engaged with foot taken off of brake. Had the unit towed to the dealership and the engine was replaced in about a months time. Hopefully this engine is good as it seems to accelerate better much better. My dealer did repair, but my concern is the value going forward. The Bronco is still valuable for resale, but that's having all original numbers and this one no longer does and it will of course show up on a Car Fax and I'm afraid my resale value will decrease for theses reasons.
The wipers slow down to intermittent after 45 seconds or so every time driving in the rain when they are set on continuous or continuous high. This temporarily hampers your visibility when driving in the rain and the Bronco is not even supposed to have auto sensing wipers. You have to change the wiper setting then put in back where you want the speed to be only to have it slow down again in 45 seconds or so.
2021 FORD BRONCO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO KNOWN DEFECT WITH VALVES THAT CAUSES CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFAUCTURER HAD NOT MADE ANY EFFORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE ENGINE SHOULD BE RECALLED AS MANY OTHER VEHICLES SHARE SAME THE DEFECT.
2021 FORD BRONCO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO A KNOWN VALVE DEFECT WHICH CAUSES ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFAUCTURER HAD NOT MADE ANY EFFORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE ENGINE SHOULD BE RECALLED AS MANY OTHERS SHARE THE DEFECT.
2021 FORD BRONCO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFAUCTURER HAD NOT MADE ANY EFFORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE 2.7 LITRE ECO BOOST ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE ENGINE SHOULD BE RECALLED AS MANY OTHERS SHARE THE DEFECT.
I was driving to work on the morning of March 14, 2022, on the highway approx. 70 mph. I felt a falter or engine buck, I began to lose power to the engine. The engine light began to flash and I was only able to drive 55mph. I was in a very unsafe area on a highway with a very narrow shoulder and so I proceeded to manage my speed to reach work safely. I was able to make the additional 10 miles to my workplace. When I stopped at the gate for security, the engine died and I was unable to restart it.
I was on cruise control going about 70 yesterday when I lost all power at the gas pedal. I made it to the side of the highway and waited 90 minutes for a tow truck to come get me. I had my dogs with me and it was 25 degrees out. We were three hours from home. The service department reported today that I had a catastrophic engine failure. A valve came loose and was crushed by the pistons or some such.
On Monday, March 7, 2021, my Ford Bronco First Edition with the 2.7 engine experienced catastrophic engine failure. I was driving near my home when my vehicle stopped running. I did feel a strange pull in my steering and tires; but I was also driving on ice and assumed it was the traction control system at play. I was wrong. It was my engine losing compression and my engine failing. My dash lit up with a series of errors (all in quick succession and could not catch them all) and my vehicle lost all power and control. As mentioned above, I was driving on ice covered roads and had difficulty steering. I attempted to pull off the road and into a parking lot; however, the drive sloped up and I could not get clear of the entryway. I had to stop blocking the entrance to the veterinarian's parking lot. To increase the risk here, my vehicle was not visible from traffic turning in because of snow banks that were taller than my vehicle. I want to stress how incredibly lucky I was that this happened close to home. I went on a road trip and had returned home the night before. We had contemplated taking the Bronco. If we had, we would have broken down on the Parks Highway in Alaska. This highway is remote at most times with spotty cell service. The risks of having broken down in subzero temperatures with zero help was extremely high in my area. I also consider myself extremely lucky that I had a friend that was able to come move my vehicle from blocking the business entrance. When I used the Ford app to get a tow, it quoted me 7 hours. I did call and complain that that was unacceptable. The vehicle was towed to the dealership and catastrophic engine failure was determined with a faulty valve being the contributing factor. This is a known valve issue and I have included my engine build date sticker in the photos. I included a photo of my Bronco being loaded on the tow truck showing the ice roads and snow bank blocking my car from view.
While pulling up to a yield sign the vehicle lost all power and shut off causing it roll past the yield sign and come to a stop in traffic blocking the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the Ford dealership and after being diagnosed it had a broken valve that caused catastrophic failure to the engines head and caused the head of the engine to be replaced
Flat Towing 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After connecting my Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in the tow mode the following will occur. About 45 mins after turning the ignition off and closing the doors the EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system ineffective. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental bakes system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working. Also, if for some reason the Bronco becomes detached from the motorhome that is towing it, then the Bronco becomes a missile waiting to hit what ever is in it's path as the emergency braking from the supplemental braking from the Coach would not engage and stop the Bronco.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that when shifting into the park, the front camera sensors would activate when there was no object nearby and there would be a chime. The vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front sensors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200.
My vehicle started showing power loss, and within 1 mile of driving completely died and refused to restart. The dealership diagnosed the engine as having dropped a piston and will require a full replacement.
The engine blew at 6,976 miles.
When operating the wipers at either of the highest/fastest settings (LOW and HIGH), after about 45 seconds, the wipers will revert to intermittent. This happens at various driving speeds (not specific to driving slow or fast). When driving in heavy rain, it is very dangerous to suddenly not have adequate wipers.
Engine cut out in the middle of road driving in heavy traffic and would not restart. Vehicle was stranded and had to be towed to dealership. Driver and passengers had to exit vehicle into traffic to avoid dangerously sitting in disabled vehicle on road with significant traffic. Passenger and driver waiting in rain for tow truck to take vehicle to dealership. Dealership has stated engine has seized and can not turn over with starter or manual crank.
Engine stopped in parking lot. Would no re-start. Towed to dealership.
Was driving my son to school, maybe 30 mph when all of a sudden I heard some clicking noises from the engine. The power dropped and I was barely able to pull over to the side of the busy road out of harms way. Engine dead. Only warning lights I got were a forward sensor failure and then a message telling me to pull over put it in park and restart. I tried but I was not able to restart, the starter fired but didn't seem to engage with anything. Got towed to the dealer. Dealer confirmed a dropped valve and engine failure. Awaiting a replacement engine.
The soft top is ripping and shredding apart, causing unbearable and distracting road noise. The middle bar inside, where the fabric connects, is unable to withstand normal daily operation and is ripping at 6,5000 miles on the odometer.
When Flat Towing 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After we connect our Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in Tow Mode we lose Electronic Brake Boost about 45 minutes after turning the ignition off and closing the doors. The EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system not working. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental braking system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working. This is dangerous and potentially life threatening.
I experienced complete motor failure while traveling on the highway near my home. I was able to move across traffic to the shoulder of the highway. The vehicle would not re-start, and a tow service was required to take it to the dealership. They have informed the the motor is blown, and will require complete replacement. The vehicle has 6,600 miles and is fully covered under warranty. There were no prior warning or alarm indications, smoke, noise, etc to indicate and issue. The pertinent engine information is included in a picture as attachment.
We were on vacation in Miami, Florida in February 2022 driving in stop and go traffic when our 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7L Ecoboost engine suddenly shut down. The entire electrical system shut down and the emergency brake was applied. We were unable to start the vehicle with the ignition button or key fob. Traffic was backing up behind us and we couldn’t put our hazards on to let them know we were having vehicle trouble. A pedestrian tried assisting us with pushing the vehicle but due to the parking brake being applied it wouldn’t move. As a last ditch effort I decided to try to start the vehicle through the Ford Pass app. Thankfully, that worked and the vehicle started. We called a dealership in Miami to see if they could look at the vehicle before we traveled on to Key West. They were unable to get us in so we traveled to Key West. The Ford dealership in Key West was gracious enough to look over the vehicle and errors we received on the Ford Pass app. They did not find anything that would have caused the issue. We were just thankful we were on a side road in stop and go traffic when this happened rather than driving on the highway at 70 mph!
pulled up to stop light. car shuddred coughed and conked out. Got it started, coughing and sputtering. Made is 2 miles to get home. Had it towed to dealer. Dealer first said I got water in engine. There is no way that happend. Then they said ford will be paying for it to be repaired. 4,400 miles on her.
Driving in town at a speed of 30 mph (speed limit 35). Engine dropped a valve. Engine was destroyed internally and locked up. I quickly put the transmission in neutral and pulled off to the side of the street. This could have been a bad accident if it had happened on a highway at speeds. Ford has an issue with these engines. They know that there is an issue and they are waiting on them to fail and then fix them. I am a member of a forum (www.bronco6g.com) with a few bronco owners and there are at least 35 engines that have failed. Someone is going to get hurt or worse.
broke down with 2058 miles. Flashing engine light, strong fumes smell and vigorously shaking. Ford customer care said there’s nothing they could do. Not even a loaner for a $63k vehicle.
Loud grinding noise coming from transmission at 800 miles
The 2.7 L engine failed going down the interstate in the middle lane. Complete loss of power. Was fortunate to be able to coast to the shoulder. Dealer says the engine failed and needs to be replaced.
After 625 miles the low engine oil pressure alert came on. Had vehicle towed to dealership. After inspection they stated the engine will need to be replaced. It has now been two months and I’m still waiting for my vehicle to be repaired.
The Wiper Motor or electrical controlling the Wiper Motor. When the two high wiper blade settings are selected, the wipers run for around 30-40 seconds, then slow down and eventually stop. You can watch it happen. This has happened while having snow and rain on my windshield. In order to get them to start going again full speed you need to turn the switch. I feel this takes my focus off of the road during unfriendly road conditions and puts me and others at risk. The condition has been reproduced by my dealership and I have had my truck to the dealership twice for this problem. The first time they replaced the motor and the second time they said they couldn't fix it. They compared it to another one on the dealers lot and it did the same thing. They said if a bulletin came out on the problem, they would contact me to get it fixed. There were no warning lights. This first happened a couple weeks after picking up my truck new from the dealership. I have a video of it, but cannot attach it. If needed, I can email it to you. Thank you
The 21 Bronco is sold and marketed as being set up and safe to flat tow recreationally. The problem is with the 2.7l engine which has an Electric Brake Booster. After 45 mins the Battery Management system turns the Electric Brake Booster off. Thus the brakes are not powered and the required by law, brake system (3rd party) can not apply enough pressure. This is a SERIOUS design flaw. I have reached out to FORD, they denied that there is a global problem and asked me to contact my dealer. The dealer search TSB's and other systems and saw no notations and thus did not want to see the vehicle. I have asked to speak to a Bronco engineer and was denied. This is a known and confirmed issue to be found on any RV or Bronco Forum using search. PLEASE help me put pressure on FORD to fix this SERIOUS safety issue. This an on going issue thus date information below is irrelevant. 3rd party braking system is an Airforce One by Demco and was professionally installed, it functions as it should.
1. Vehicle Issue. -At approximately 2k miles while driving through severe weather in the Rocky Mountains my New Bronco lost ALL electronic driving systems that controlled driving modes including 4 wheel drive modes(GOAT) along with safety systems such as traction control, sensor systems, and cruise control. I was forced to drive through a white out in Rocky Mountains with 2 wheel drive due to the electronic GOAT modes failing. This was a dangerous situation as the systems I was relying on failed me when I needed them most. These systems failed off and on for the next three months before mysteriously subsiding. 2. Attempts to resolve. - Took vehicle to Ford dealer to identify issue and they said there was no record of these failures in the code system which is extremely concerning. If I had gone off the road and injured myself and or died Ford would attempt to say there was no electronic failure when in fact there was a significant electronic failure of ALL traction systems. Fortunately I took video and photo evidence of the electronic failures. Alarmingly, these failures are not being recorded within the vehicle.
Engine seized when coming to a full stop at a light. Shut off abruptly and shook the vehicle. Would not crank the engine over at all. Towed directly to the dealer 12/31/2021.
My 2.7L V6 engine dropped a valve, it was inspected and determined by the dealer. This happened after a 1 hour freeway trip on Christmas Eve. Luckily, the incident was in my driveway after shutting off the engine. If it would have happened minutes before we would have had complete power failure at 65mph. The problem was determined to be a defect and was replaced under warranty by the dealer. Unknown whether Ford has done a post mortem inspection. No warning whatsoever prior to failure. It happened on shut down so no indication of an issue until attempting to restart 2 days later.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while at a stop sign, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic engine failure. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired after several weeks. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 2,322.
One of the engine valve rods failed and punched a 3" hole in the engine block. I was traveling about 70 MPH when the engine light came on and the vehicle started to loose power. At the time I was on a major highway and barely had enough time to get off on the shoulder before the engine quit entirely. Fortunately, I had enough time to get off the highway, but what if this had happened somewhere on a highway where I could not safely pull off on the shoulder???
Rear glass lift gate exploded. Wind advisory was in effect but no surrounding cars were disturbed. The vehicle was parked and fully secure.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact received Manufacturer recall number: 21C23 (Air Bags), NHTSA Campaign Number: (Awaiting) however, the dealer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and informed the contact that the remedy was not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
When you turn the right turn signal on and then make a right turn, when the steering wheel returns to straight, it causes the left turn signal to come on without touching the signal handle. So your left blinker comes on after right turns. Oncoming drivers and drivers behind you may expect a left turn which creates a safety hazard. Also driving with your turn signal on and not turning could result in a traffic stop by police. Ford replaced a complement in the steering column but the issue persisted. This problem is present in two Broncos I own and I know a friend of mine has the same issue in their Bronco. I'm sure a simple internet search will reveal a common and widespread issue that could create an unsafe driving situation.
On 12/11/2021 at 1,166 miles and after 35 days of owning the new vehicle I was traveling on interstate 40 about 400 miles from home. I was doing approximately 80 mph on the highway when the vehicle shuddered. Luckily right in front of an off-ramp. So I quickly pulled on the off-ramp. The engine light and several alarms went off and the vehicle died while traveling on the road. I was able to pull close to the side, but still in traffic. The engine was dead. It melted. It died on the highway, at high speed, with other cars around, with 1,166 miles on it. Brand new. It is still in the shop two months later.
While driving on interstate engine shut off. Was able to get to side of the road easily because it was late at night. Was not able to restart once coming to a complete stop. Had towed to dealer. Dealer could not get engine to start. Dealer found what looked to be a dropped valve. No indicators on the dash as to what was happening.
at 2,000 miles the engine dropped a valve. Vehicle has already received a new engine. Vehicle shut off running down the interstate. safety was had to coast to shoulder and wait on tow truck.
Flat Towing my 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After connecting my Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in the tow mode the following will occur. About 45 mins after turning the ignition off and closing the doors the EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system ineffective. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental bakes system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working.
About 1 hour into our trip the vehicle started to shutter while at highway speed, no warning lamps or notices were indicated when the shutter started and I assumed it was a road vibration. We came to a stop sign about 2-3 miles after the shutter was noticed and the vehicle stalled at the intersection and would not restart. At that point the check engine light, in dash notifications and Fordpass app notices indicated a serious mechanical malfunction. The vehicle needed to be put in neutral and pushed to the side of the road by me and my son to clear the intersection. Ford roadside assistance was contacted and a tow truck was dispatched to take the vehicle to the closest dealership. We sat at the side of the road for 2 hours waiting on the ford dispatched tow truck. The vehicle was towed to Ford of Clermonth. The Ford of Clermont, Florida service department ran diagnostics on the vehicle the next morning(12/06/21). The Ford service technician, following Ford's diagnostic directions, determined there was catastrophic engine failure and Ford immediately authorized an engine replacement. As per the attached service invoice the Ford Service technicians determined it was a valve failure that caused the engine failure.
On December 4, 2021, I was accelerating to get on the freeway when my Bronco started shaking (from the front of the vehicle/under the hood) and refused to speed up. I was thankfully able to pull safely off the freeway into a vacant lot and wait for a tow. The work was completed, but I still had to wait over a month before getting my vehicle back. The entire engine needed to be replaced.
On November 14th, 2021, the 2.7 ecoboost engine on my 2021 Bronco, with 2744 miles, shut off without warning. I was traveling on the interstate, going approximately 75 mph, with my girlfriend and elderly mother as passengers. The Bronco lost all acceleration and the "service engine" light came on. Fortunately, I was able to coast to the nearest exit ramp. After bringing the vehicle to a stop, I attempted to restart the Bronco to no avail. The starter would engage, but the engine would not fire back up. I unhooked the battery cable in an attempt to reset the electronics, but this did not work either. I then checked to make sure all of the fuses were tight, but the vehicle still wouldn't start. The vehicle was transported to the nearest Ford dealership. After 6 1/2 weeks at the dealership, the Bronco's repairs were finally complete. The dealership had to replace the entire engine. Based on the paperwork given to me by the dealership, cylinders 4, 5, and 6 had low compression, cylinder 6 spark plug was found mashed from the piston, and they found catastrophic failure in cylinders 4, 5, and 6. Also, the paperwork states that metal was found in the oil, cylinder 6 intake valve was found in the intake manifold, and metal chunks were found in the intake manifold and turbos. Needless to say, we were all pretty shaken up over losing complete acceleration and power on the interstate. We were very fortunate there was an exit ramp close to us, but this could have turned out very differently. I feel like we were unnecessarily put in a dangerous situation in an essentially brand new vehicle.
In November 2021, I received delivery of my new Ford Bronco 4WD Badlands vehicle. I went for a road trip with my family and friends in my new car. While driving back, the car engine light appeared on the dashboard, along with the service alert, and the car began to make noise. I pulled over and tried to restart the car, but it never started. We were in the mountains, where there was no signal for more than ten miles. We were completely stranded, along with my kids, who were 13 and 16 at the time, and one of my friends' 8-year-old daughter. We were fortunate to be with our friends and he was able to take us to a near-safe area where we could contact Ford and the dealership. After 5 hours of waiting in a safe zone, we received a towing truck. I picked up the car with the towing driver and parked it at a nearly Ford dealership. We had to book a hotel room in the area, and the next morning I went to the local Ford dealership to request an appointment to see the problem, but they said they didn't have any appointments available for another three weeks and insisted I call Ford customer service again. Ford customer service arranged for the same towing company that came last night to help haul the car to my dealership, where I purchased this car. My local Towne Ford dealership was nice enough to inspect and repair the car, but after a few days, I had a similar issue and they suggested that they replace the engine with a new one. The dealership took nearly a month to ship and repair the engine replacement. A few weeks ago, as my family and I were driving from SF to LA, my car suddenly lost power. I kept getting the message, "Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power fault detected," and later, "Service Engine Soon warning," which states that the engine control system has determined that the turbocharger is producing less boost than normal.It was shocking because I was on vacation with my family in LA, and the kids were terrified to even be in the car. this are some experiences
Engine completely destroyed with no notice at 4600 miles destroyed itself in less than three minutes while driving. New engine replaced
Ford has an SSM-53981 recommended fix for window rattle issue. My front windows have rattled since day one (received Bronco 11/2021). Many people on the forums complain about this issue. I originally brought the truck in within the 1st year of ownership, dealer attempted adjustments (only fix at that time) but it did not fix the problem. Now I'm at just under 90k miles and well out of warranty and Ford finally has a fix. The fix would cost upwards of $800 in parts alone. And I will state that the window rattle is loud and sounds like the window is about to shatter.
water is leaking from the passenger side roof through the passenger side door airbag when it rains. The passenger side top door airbag is constantly getting wet from this leak as water passes through.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was lopsided due to the driver's side front suspension measuring 38.25 inches from the ground while the passenger's side rear suspension measured 40.5 inches from the ground. The contact was concerned that in the event of a tire blowout, the weight distribution would cause a rollover. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a faulty suspension that needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle performed as designed per the factory package. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 9.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated after the vehicle was parked in the rain, he noticed on the passenger’s side A-pillar, where the air bag marking was located that water was leaking into the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the cause was discovered as a clip was damaged allowing the water to get into the A-pillar. The dealer repaired the failure by adding additional sealant to the area. The contact stated he looked at the repair and contacted the dealer stating the repair was not proper. The dealer informed the contact that a TSB was recently issued for the failure. The contact was waiting for an appointment as parts needed to be ordered to repair the failure. The manufacturer was notified, and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 600.