Rumor mill - dealerships refusing to purchase low mile Big Bend, OBX models.

[Mark S.]

I hope these problems were fixed by Ford. Plenty of articles Googling that I didn't read and wished I did on the 1.5.

https://vehiclefreak.com/ford-1-5-ecoboost-engine-problems-and-reliability/

https://broncodrive.com/ford-1-5-ecoboost-reliability/

I read through the "issues" in both of these articles and I'm calling BS (that's bulls--t, not Bronco Sport). Here's the list:

• Turbo Issues
• Coolant Leaks
• Overheating Problems
• Clogged Fuel Injectors
• Burned Out Spark Plugs and Coils
• Carbon Buildup

There have been a few here on the forum who've experienced coolant loss due to failed water pumps, and I believe one who's engine overheated because the coolant level got too low. The rest of the list is complete bunk. I can recall no one on this forum complaining about ANY of the other listed issues. I do recall some complaints about odd vibrations and noises, but these are characteristics of the engine, not defects.

The 1.5L EcoBoost is an evolution of previous designs. If you count those, there are literally millions of these engines operating around the world. If there were widespread problems there would be more than a couple of poorly researched articles on obscure websites. The 1.5L is a fine engine, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb to suggest the overwhelming majority of owners will get many, many years of satisfactory service out of them.

If you want your cars to keep as much of their value as possible we need to call out the scaremongering every time we see it, folks.

Sponsored

 

[rocks]

I read through the "issues" in both of these articles and I'm calling BS (that's bulls--t, not Bronco Sport). Here's the list:

• Turbo Issues
• Coolant Leaks
• Overheating Problems
• Clogged Fuel Injectors
• Burned Out Spark Plugs and Coils
• Carbon Buildup

There have been a few here on the forum who've experienced coolant loss due to failed water pumps, and I believe one who's engine overheated because the coolant level got too low. The rest of the list is complete bunk. I can recall no one on this forum complaining about ANY of the other listed issues. I do recall some complaints about odd vibrations and noises, but these are characteristics of the engine, not defects.

The 1.5L EcoBoost is an evolution of previous designs. If you count those, there are literally millions of these engines operating around the world. If there were widespread problems there would be more than a couple of poorly researched articles on obscure websites. The 1.5L is a fine engine, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb to suggest the overwhelming majority of owners will get many, many years of satisfactory service out of them.

If you want your cars to keep as much of their value as possible we need to call out the scaremongering every time we see it, folks.

Thanks, I feel better.

 

[scaryhours]

It's not just Bronco Sports, used car prices in general are dropping.

Never heard of a dealer outright refusing to purchase a specific model though.

Trying hard to love my Big Bend, but it’s difficult. I’ve said it before, but the build quality is downright awful. Not sure about the Badlands, but I’m looking to test drive one and dump this thing next week. The dealer I contacted offered $27k on a fully loaded 22 BB. Carvana still has an offer of $31k. Think I’m gonna go for the Badlands, just because of the 2.0.

 

[scaryhours]

I hope these problems were fixed by Ford. Plenty of articles Googling that I didn't read and wished I did on the 1.5.

https://vehiclefreak.com/ford-1-5-ecoboost-engine-problems-and-reliability/

https://broncodrive.com/ford-1-5-ecoboost-reliability/

both of those articles reference the older 1.5 4 cylinder eco, not the 3 banger you have.

 

[Dude]

There have been a few here on the forum who've experienced coolant loss due to failed water pumps, and I believe one who's engine overheated because the coolant level got too low.
::
The 1.5L is a fine engine, .. the overwhelming majority of owners will get many, many years of satisfactory service out of them.

No disagreement here but I always like to see real data. To-date Ford has sold approximately 200,000 Bronco Sports. Let’s take a guess that 80% are the non-1.5L models so that’s 150,000 (sorry, I don’t have real data for the actual sales of the 1.5L models but if someone has that info they can reply).

How many have experienced coolant loss due to failed water pumps and how many experienced engine overheating because the coolant level got too low?

Unless someone has access to internal Ford data, there’s no way to know. It’s probably more than a few if few is <10. I’m on various Fb bronco sport groups and my guess is 50 have reported getting their failed water pump replaced with some of those had to get the pump replaced more than once. And there is the new water pump part number but already a few (<5) posted on Fb that their 2023 bronco sport 1.5L model needed the water pump replaced.

if the number was 50 and if the total sold number of 1.5L was 150,000 that represents 0.033%.

But that’s only a guess.

 

[scaryhours]

No disagreement here but I always like to see real data. To-date Ford has sold approximately 200,000 Bronco Sports. Let’s take a guess that 80% are the non-1.5L models so that’s 150,000 (sorry, I don’t have real data for the actual sales of the 1.5L models but if someone has that info they can reply).

How many have experienced coolant loss due to failed water pumps and how many experienced engine overheating because the coolant level got too low?

Unless someone has access to internal Ford data, there’s no way to know. It’s probably more than a few if few is <10. I’m on various Fb bronco sport groups and my guess is 50 have reported getting their failed water pump replaced with some of those had to get the pump replaced more than once. And there is the new water pump part number but already a few (<5) posted on Fb that their 2023 bronco sport 1.5L model needed the water pump replaced.

if the number was 50 and if the total sold number of 1.5L was 150,000 that represents 0.033%.

But that’s only a guess.

Seems these water pump issues come in waves. I’d love to know the true cause. My limited engineering background* suggests that the lack of belt tensioner puts too much stress on the water pump, especially the horrible vibrations at lower rpm’s.


*I have zero experience as an engineer.

 

[Mark S.]

*I have zero experience as an engineer.

So far, that hasn't stopped anyone around here from opining...including me!

 

[Dude]

Seems these water pump issues come in waves. I’d love to know the true cause. My limited engineering background* suggests that the lack of belt tensioner puts too much stress on the water pump, especially the horrible vibrations at lower rpm’s.
*I have zero experience as an engineer.

Your limited experience as an engineer produced a pretty reasonable guess that matches same as what a ford dealership employee has posted regarding his informal investigation into water pumps replaced at his dealership and he also had 2 water pumps replaced on his bronco sport so far.

 

[jkeaton]

I don’t fall for the fear mongering. Perfectly happy with the 1.5.

 

[Adam CW]

You could literally have 20 engines out of 2,000,000 have some kind of catastrophic problem and the 16-year olds and fanboys of any other brand, which is guaranteed to also have issues, commenting on the internet will say they are all trash

They will read one poorly written article with a sensational headline about a specific model and attribute it to all of them.

That’s how it works.

 

[RM951]

I've only had my HLE for a couple of months, and I'm already getting calls to buy it back.

I believe that. My buddy was getting calls from his Honda dealer for days trying to buy back his car. There are much fewer HLEs on the road than badlands. After car shopping for several months I still haven't seen one on a lot or on the road ( badlands either). I wonder if this still the effects of the covid car crunch or a manufacturer induced shortage.

 

[PugDad]

I read through the "issues" in both of these articles and I'm calling BS (that's bulls--t, not Bronco Sport). Here's the list:

• Turbo Issues
• Coolant Leaks
• Overheating Problems
• Clogged Fuel Injectors
• Burned Out Spark Plugs and Coils
• Carbon Buildup

There have been a few here on the forum who've experienced coolant loss due to failed water pumps, and I believe one who's engine overheated because the coolant level got too low. The rest of the list is complete bunk. I can recall no one on this forum complaining about ANY of the other listed issues. I do recall some complaints about odd vibrations and noises, but these are characteristics of the engine, not defects.

The 1.5L EcoBoost is an evolution of previous designs. If you count those, there are literally millions of these engines operating around the world. If there were widespread problems there would be more than a couple of poorly researched articles on obscure websites. The 1.5L is a fine engine, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb to suggest the overwhelming majority of owners will get many, many years of satisfactory service out of them.

If you want your cars to keep as much of their value as possible we need to call out the scaremongering every time we see it, folks.

Thank you Mark ,

 

[magicbus]

both of those articles reference the older 1.5 4 cylinder eco, not the 3 banger you have.

Agreed. These articles refer to a completely different engine and are misleading information on this board.

 

[dbsb3233]

I don’t fall for the fear mongering. Perfectly happy with the 1.5.

I expect we will be too. We have an OB on order that should arrive next month. The 1.5L seemed sufficient when we test drove it. We won't be going off-roading or driving it hard. We just like the look, height, and shape of the vehicle. And it'll only be our secondary vehicle anyway. Our Mustang Mach-E will remain the primary, and it's got twice the performance if/when we want to let it rip. We're fine relegating the BSOB to the "good enough" fill-in and treating it nice.

 

[Dantanman]

Interesting. All I'll say is that I bought my Badlands last month. I was certain I wanted the 2.0 engine, and really nothing else mattered for me, outside of that. I really was unaware of any pricing dyamic on it. I was simply looking for the cheapest price on a 23 Badlands..

I had about a total of 10 or 12 to choose from IN TOTAL.... from Tampa/Orlando on down south to where I am, in Miami. That's it. I searched every Ford dealer and while plenty had the other models, the BAdlands were few and far between.

I only looked at the BL because of the 2.0L. 1.5 was not something I would ever consider. Retired Ford dealer here.

Sponsored