Internal coolant leak

[Jeff_henke]

16k miles on a 2022 BS Big Bend. The only warning I had was cold air blowing with the heat on. Noticed no coolant in the reservoir, so I filled it up and started the car which then blew the head gasket and finally gave me an overheat coolant error. Had it towed to dealership and negotiating now to get a new engine put in, but honestly am having second thoughts about the 1.5 engine now and am considering selling it when I get it back.
Cannot believe how common coolant problems seems to be with the engine. It’s beyond a recall issue, and Ford needs to address how they’re going to help those folks that are just past their warranty and shouldn’t have to be totaling a 3 year old car out because of poor design/construction.

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[coopny]

Related TSBs:
Ford TSB 23-2274 (internal coolant leak on 1.5EB due to failure of the oil cooler)
The water pumps are known to fail on the 1.5L EB, I don't see a specific SSM/TSB for that. Some say

Ford changed the part number of the water pump leading to speculation that they made an improvement that resolves this issue, but this user on the forums says that it's just a new part number and the impeller is identical in the old and new parts.

I don't like fear mongering, but with the number of coolant/water pump issues I've heard on the 1.5 EB in the BS, I would definitely make sure I had a Ford Protect ESP if I had such a vehicle...

 

[Ford Motor Company]

16k miles on a 2022 BS Big Bend. The only warning I had was cold air blowing with the heat on. Noticed no coolant in the reservoir, so I filled it up and started the car which then blew the head gasket and finally gave me an overheat coolant error. Had it towed to dealership and negotiating now to get a new engine put in, but honestly am having second thoughts about the 1.5 engine now and am considering selling it when I get it back.
Cannot believe how common coolant problems seems to be with the engine. It’s beyond a recall issue, and Ford needs to address how they’re going to help those folks that are just past their warranty and shouldn’t have to be totaling a 3 year old car out because of poor design/construction.

Good morning. Can you please send over a message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer? I would like to look into this error message on my end.

 

[Jeff_henke]

Update: they sold my courtesy vehicle (2023 BS Badlands), so swapped me for a 2024 F150 extended with 24 miles in it. No update on how long they expect to have my car. Researching to see how I confirm my warranty will be reset and Carfax won’t ding my resale price when they’re finished. Dealer is also seeing what he can do to stop the reverse whale call it’s done since day 1. Last oil change they told me “it is what it is” when I inquired.

 

[iratebeggar]

I'm having to check my reservoir basically once a month to top it off as it drops below the min level.

Asked the dealer a few times if they've heard of similar issues. Supposedly my fluids were all fine when I got my last oil change. Coolant reservoir was definitely not above the min line when I checked a few days later.

@Ford Motor Company , any idea if this is more widespread?

 

[Meanderthal]

I'm having to check my reservoir basically once a month to top it off as it drops below the min level.

Asked the dealer a few times if they've heard of similar issues. Supposedly my fluids were all fine when I got my last oil change. Coolant reservoir was definitely not above the min line when I checked a few days later.

Most of the coolant leaks have been external. Some of those have not had any coolant visible because the leak was so slow that it would evaporate before it dripped down. All this to basically say that a water pump is probably in your future and you should document when you are adding coolant and present that documentation to your dealer.

 

[iratebeggar]

Most of the coolant leaks have been external. Some of those have not had any coolant visible because the leak was so slow that it would evaporate before it dripped down. All this to basically say that a water pump is probably in your future and you should document when you are adding coolant and present that documentation to your dealer.

Every time I fill, I take a picture with timestamp.

 

[nlsn]

Is this issue relevant for 1.5 only? What about 2.0? Is 2.0 has more reliable water pump?

 

[Mark S.]

Is this issue relevant for 1.5 only? What about 2.0? Is 2.0 has more reliable water pump?

I don't recall any 2.0L owners posting here with water pump issues.

 

[Dude]

Is this issue relevant for 1.5 only? What about 2.0? Is 2.0 has more reliable water pump?

This link provides the part # for the 2.0L water pump. See Post #7 in the link … I’ve seen one Facebook report of a Badlands (2.0L) owner with a failed water pump. My guess it was a random failure and I’ve seen no other similar reports for other Bronco Sport 2.0L models.

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/part-for-bronco-sport-2-0l-water-pump.10341/

 

[Mark S.]

This link provides the part # for the 2.0L water pump. See Post #7 in the link … I’ve seen one Facebook report of a Badlands (2.0L) owner with a failed water pump. My guess it was a random failure and I’ve seen no other similar reports for other Bronco Sport 2.0L models.

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/part-for-bronco-sport-2-0l-water-pump.10341/

Yup, completely forgot about that one. I agree; a one-off. No evidence of a widespread issue.

 

[iratebeggar]

Hey everyone. I just took my BS in for the fuel injector recall and had them look at the coolant reservoir and water pump while it was in. I provided them the pics I had taken with timestamps of when the coolant was below the min level in the reservoir.

TL: DR, water pump is under warranty and they are replacing it. I would suggest if you're having a similar issue to do the same and then take it in with documented proof.

Would hate to see someone drive around and not notice the reservoir low or engine temp spike and then blow your head gasket.

@Ford Motor Company , fyi

 

[Meanderthal]

Hey everyone. I just took my BS in for the fuel injector recall and had them look at the coolant reservoir and water pump while it was in. I provided them the pics I had taken with timestamps of when the coolant was below the min level in the reservoir.

TL: DR, water pump is under warranty and they are replacing it. I would suggest if you're having a similar issue to do the same and then take it in with documented proof.

Would hate to see someone drive around and not notice the reservoir low or engine temp spike and then blow your head gasket.

@Ford Motor Company , fyi

Good to hear that the documentation made them finally take notice and replace that pump.

 

[BigTrigger]

@Jeff_henke I have it pretty bad too - Coolant Leak - A mystery Ford can't solve apparently. | 2021+ Ford Bronco Sport Forum - Broncosportforum.com

 

[PonyUp36]

16k miles on a 2022 BS Big Bend. The only warning I had was cold air blowing with the heat on. Noticed no coolant in the reservoir, so I filled it up and started the car which then blew the head gasket and finally gave me an overheat coolant error. Had it towed to dealership and negotiating now to get a new engine put in, but honestly am having second thoughts about the 1.5 engine now and am considering selling it when I get it back.
Cannot believe how common coolant problems seems to be with the engine. It’s beyond a recall issue, and Ford needs to address how they’re going to help those folks that are just past their warranty and shouldn’t have to be totaling a 3 year old car out because of poor design/construction.

I just experienced the same problem this weekend. Cold air blowing with the heat on and when I turned the fan to high, my temp gauge shot to H and I got the same warning light. Pulled over and coolant overflow was bone dry. Had oil change and fluid top off in October.
I have the 2021 Bronco Sport with only 22k miles. It went into the dealership today and my service advisor said they just had a meeting about this issue this morning. I think this should be a recall at this point, after reading hours of complaints on leaking coolant.