2023 Bronco Sport - hydroplaning on wet highway at 60 mph

[Marcnmarilynj]

I have the Badlands edition and Falken tires. My car has never slid, no fishtailing or hydroplaning in the rain. Recently, the rain was coming down in sheets and I didn't even want to drive but had an appointment to get to that I couldn't cancel. I got on the highway and was able to drive at a normal speed. I was impressed! Bring on the snow!

Good to know! I love the vehicle and hope the Ford service department can pinpoint the problem next Tuesday when I take it in for service!

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[21Broncosaurus]

I usually put it in sport mode when it’s raining. For me it works much better than normal mode.

 

[Ksnau]

So on mine, which is basically the badlands with the falken tires and really bad rain. I didn't experience hydroplaning until about 80 mph so it sounds like it might just be any better tires hopefully. Also that was an eco mode. Maybe if you do eco mode it would help because I know like when I'm in normal mode with the 2.0 even barely blip in the throttle and that engine is so torque it just wants to go. I know you said you tried different modes but if you didn't try eco maybe try that. I pretty much drive an eco mode all the time unless I'm going off road and I've been averaged in 26 to 27 mph lately doing that. Although I do drive probably more highway than most people and I don't get stuck in a lot of stop and go traffic

 

[hellb0y]

Good to know! I love the vehicle and hope the Ford service department can pinpoint the problem next Tuesday when I take it in for service!

You don’t have a problem…nothing to do with vehicle, all to do with tires…the dealer can’t do anything about it.

Do your research and find a set of tires that can handle water well…

 

[Jmuns]

I only drove on my Pirellis for 800 miles, but 300 of them were in rain (quite heavy at times) on the way home from South Carolina where I bought it, and another 100 or so in torrential rain on the highway in Florida. I never experienced the car slipping/fishtailing/hydroplaning even once. I have had my Toyo AT3 for the last 36k miles and same experience. All roads will be different, but I've never felt uncomfortable driving in the rain.

 

[Tigger]

You don’t have a problem…nothing to do with vehicle, all to do with tires…the dealer can’t do anything about it.

Do your research and find a set of tires that can handle water well…

I disagree. We discussed this much in the past, and I like the video and thread below. But I have had Toyo on three Bronco Sports and here in Illinois we get a lot of rain on our flat land. No hydroplaning even at 80 mph. So, I think something is amiss and I hope you get help through the dealership.

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/a-t-tire-test-video-at2-firestone-wins.7198/

 

[Mark S.]

I disagree. We discussed this much in the past, and I like the video and thread below. But I have had Toyo on three Bronco Sports and here in Illinois we get a lot of rain on our flat land. No hydroplaning even at 80 mph. So, I think something is amiss and I hope you get help through the dealership.

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/a-t-tire-test-video-at2-firestone-wins.7198/

The big clue is uneven wear. Something is most surely amiss.

 

[CLR]

If the tires aren’t wearing evenly, be sure to get a good full alignment. Just replacing the tires alone will not change anything.

 

[hellb0y]

I disagree. We discussed this much in the past, and I like the video and thread below. But I have had Toyo on three Bronco Sports and here in Illinois we get a lot of rain on our flat land. No hydroplaning even at 80 mph. So, I think something is amiss and I hope you get help through the dealership.

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/a-t-tire-test-video-at2-firestone-wins.7198/

Absolutely not…tires make a huge difference - it’s the only thing between the road and the rest of the car…

Assuming the OP didn’t do anything crazy with his BS and has kept up with maintenance, it is 100% tires….you can go find data if you want, the difference can be very substantial…

The AT2 you posted in the video, for example, has poor wet braking…

 

[Bucko]

I was taught 10.35 times the square root of the tire pressure, but we're talking about fractions of a mph either way.
Simplistically, this is the speed where the standing water can't get out of the way fast enough, so the tires start to ride up on top of it. Lower tire pressure means the weight of the vehicle makes a larger contact patch, and more water would have to get out of the way to prevent hydroplaning.

Too much calculation for me!

I'll simply slow my speed when its raining,

 

[Meanderthal]

If the tires aren’t wearing evenly, be sure to get a good full alignment. Just replacing the tires alone will not change anything.

This! Before I got an alignment, but after the lift and larger tires, the BS was scary in slippery conditions. I've never experienced anything like it in any other vehicle. A little bit of snow or standing water and it just squirmed all over the place. It was bad enough that other drivers on the road would give me a lot of room, which is a benefit but not enough to offset the scary feel of the thing wanting to move around. Getting it properly aligned changed all of that.

Edit: I wanted to add that on dry pavement, there were no signs that it needed an alignment. It drove straight and braked straight. I am fairly aggressive in corners and it did fine. Once the surface got slippery, that is the only time that it felt out of control.

 

[Bronclahoma]

I've had my Bronco Sport almost a month and love it, however we had a light rain for the first time in 3-4 months and I found the rear end would begin to slide
out of my lane if I attempted to drive over 45-50 mph (even using lane assist). I was not stomping on the gas through curves, I'm talking normal cautious driving
going straight in light rain.

I tired the AWD mode and several others hoping it would help but with no luck. I'm wondering if there is a specific G.O.A.T mode the car has to be in when driving on on wet (Not standing water) roads?
This seems very disappointing for AWD vehicle...has anyone else experienced this?

Are your tires all inflated properly? Last month I drove from SW CO to OK about half of it in rain and never experienced any slip. Mostly around 70 mph. Tires are 245/65/17 AT3's. From other's comments it may be the tires. You weren't hydroplaning. I dunno, but seems others aren't having problems like this.

 

[Mark S.]

Are your tires all inflated properly? Last month I drove from SW CO to OK about half of it in rain and never experienced any slip. Mostly around 70 mph. Tires are 245/65/17 AT3's. From other's comments it may be the tires. You weren't hydroplaning. I dunno, but seems others aren't having problems like this.

I think the clue is uneven tire wear, which depending on the pattern can be indicative of an alignment issue. OP noted increased wear on the driver’s side, which is a clear sign of misalignment. Several forum users have reported misalignment straight from the factory. Misalignment can result in poor handling, which can be exacerbated by slippery conditions. Keep a careful eye on tire wear patterns. If yours look squirrelly then check tire pressure and alignment.

 

[Oval Office]

Had problem with pirellis hydroplaning on 22 badlands replaced with Mickey Thompson Baja boss - no more hydroplaning

 

[sajohnson]

This! Before I got an alignment, but after the lift and larger tires, the BS was scary in slippery conditions. I've never experienced anything like it in any other vehicle. A little bit of snow or standing water and it just squirmed all over the place. It was bad enough that other drivers on the road would give me a lot of room, which is a benefit but not enough to offset the scary feel of the thing wanting to move around. Getting it properly aligned changed all of that.

Edit: I wanted to add that on dry pavement, there were no signs that it needed an alignment. It drove straight and braked straight. I am fairly aggressive in corners and it did fine. Once the surface got slippery, that is the only time that it felt out of control.

This is very unusual. I've never known an out of alignment condition to cause issues like that -- it sounds like it may be limited to the BS, or maybe even just the BS BL.

Actually, having said that, I wonder if the lift kit changed the alignment significantly? When you had the alignment done, did the shop give you a before/after printout? That would be interesting to see.

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