Car Wizard Gets a '21 Bronco Sport to Repair

[elvisimprsntr]

In short, coolant leaking from head, into exhaust and turbo, and destroying the cat. Only 89K miles.

Dealer wanted to replace the water pump and radiator before diagnosing the real problem. Dealers get paid to load a parts cannon, not diagnose the real problem.

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[jkernitzki]

I'll have to give that a watch, but TBH he's better as Hoovie's foil.

 

[BroncOHiggins]

 

[jkernitzki]

Already posted here: https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/car-wizard-gets-a-21-bronco-sport-to-repair.17264/

 

[Foghorn]

We'll put the Wizard down as " neutral " on his opinion of the quality of the BS. /s
Fog

 

[Arcee]

Typical Car Wizard content. No doubt he is a very accomplished and comprehensive mechanic, however this video was a little extra. Claims the car in the video is worth $30,000...however a quick check on KBB shows that the car is worth closer to $16,000. This is a 4yr old BS with 89,000 miles that was purchased used by the current owner. No telling how the previous owner treated it, maintained it, etc. Then to tell all of his viewers to absolutely not purchase a Bronco Sport based on this example in the video and his "discussions" with other Ford techs. He knows nothing about these vehicles other than the one that ended up in his shop.

Even Mrs. Wizard called the G.O.A.T mode the "Greatest of All Time" mode. Again, no familiarity with the vehicle.

It makes for something to watch on YouTube, but blurs the lines of editorial critique and flat-out product defamation. To tell his viewers, in no uncertain terms, not to buy a Bronco Sport could get him in to some heat with FoMoCo if they really wanted to make his life difficult even if it was just to make him sweat a little.

 

[Prr]

Typical Car Wizard content. No doubt he is a very accomplished and comprehensive mechanic, however this video was a little extra. Claims the car in the video is worth $30,000...however a quick check on KBB shows that the car is worth closer to $16,000. This is a 4yr old BS with 89,000 miles that was purchased used by the current owner. No telling how the previous owner treated it, maintained it, etc. Then to tell all of his viewers to absolutely not purchase a Bronco Sport based on this example in the video and his "discussions" with other Ford techs. He knows nothing about these vehicles other than the one that ended up in his shop.

Even Mrs. Wizard called the G.O.A.T mode the "Greatest of All Time" mode. Again, no familiarity with the vehicle.

It makes for something to watch on YouTube, but blurs the lines of editorial critique and flat-out product defamation. To tell his viewers, in no uncertain terms, not to buy a Bronco Sport could get him in to some heat with FoMoCo if they really wanted to make his life difficult even if it was just to make him sweat a little.

Excellent rebuttal. I agree.

 

[Grantorino]

Is this the problem that has to do with the present fuel injector re-do recall? I noticed the video was from 2024.

 

[Uncle Brad]

Typical Car Wizard content. No doubt he is a very accomplished and comprehensive mechanic, however this video was a little extra. Claims the car in the video is worth $30,000...however a quick check on KBB shows that the car is worth closer to $16,000. This is a 4yr old BS with 89,000 miles that was purchased used by the current owner. No telling how the previous owner treated it, maintained it, etc. Then to tell all of his viewers to absolutely not purchase a Bronco Sport based on this example in the video and his "discussions" with other Ford techs. He knows nothing about these vehicles other than the one that ended up in his shop.

Even Mrs. Wizard called the G.O.A.T mode the "Greatest of All Time" mode. Again, no familiarity with the vehicle.

It makes for something to watch on YouTube, but blurs the lines of editorial critique and flat-out product defamation. To tell his viewers, in no uncertain terms, not to buy a Bronco Sport could get him in to some heat with FoMoCo if they really wanted to make his life difficult even if it was just to make him sweat a little.

Oh, come on!

As a former owner of a 2024 Bronco Sport, and my son having picked up a new one at the same time last year, I want to believe that the 1.5L configuration is well-designed and reliable. But I'm not going to engage in character assassinations of those that bring to light the irrefutable problems!

- The open-deck 1.5L cast aluminum block is subject to cracking under heat and stress (there is no proper exhaust manifold).
- There is a wet belt for the oil pump, submerged in that hot oil. (Discovering this was a deal-breaker for me)
-Hoses, clamps, sensors and even fasteners are poor-quality plastic and cannot be re-used. Worse, the replacement parts are generally only available through Ford AND are frequently on backorder.
- These vehicles are manufactured in Mexico, which introduces a host of problems - including availability.
- Some Ford (as well as any other vendor) dealership service departments have engaged in this kind of chicanery for a very long time

I've known Ford sales reps not knowing what "GOAT" means - so we can forgive the wife of a mechanic for not knowing. Besides, that doesn't matter anyway: it's a marketing issue (not a design, manufacturing, quality or reliability issue).

Regarding the value of the Bronco Sport with 89K, the mechanic was obviously referring the the cost of it at the time of purchase. To buy a new Outer Banks would of course cost more than 30K now. How much the owner had invested in the vehicle (and not necessarily the current market value) is for many the deciding making important decisions like this.

The owner of the vehicle obviously took care of his Bronco Sport both inside and out, and a lot of effort went in to ensure the viewer of the video understood that. No mention was made about abuse (ie: infrequent oil changes, letting coolant get too low). The owner obviously had common sense after walking away from the attempted dealer con job. In fact: Mr. Car Wizard repeatedly exhibited compassion for the owner, a veteran, buy keeping the repair costs down as much as he could.

I really like the Bronco Sport; don't get me wrong. But when I crawled underneath it and found so little usable ground clearance, exposed clutch diffs with no cooling, un-shielded gas lines, etc. I determined these were risk factors I couldn't live with. Going with the 2L Badlands addresses some of these issue, but not enough of them.

So there: I'm a gap-toothed, ignorant, untutored hill-jack, gleefully "defaming" a product I "don't like." To claim Mr. Car Wizard "knows nothing about these vehicles" itself sounds "defaming" to me, because we all know character assassination is often preferred by some in favor having to confront an honest assessment. I have a sneaking suspicion that any one of us - who are qualified and experienced - having worked through these issues with the vehicle on the rack, would come away with a similar assessment.

 

[Robins21]

Seems to me he just another internet know-it-all putting down the Bronco Sport.

 

[jkernitzki]

Seems to me he just another internet know-it-all putting down the Bronco Sport.

To be fair, the Wizard is well-known in auto circles, and he mainly works on otherwise "unrepairable" classics and exotics. He will pass on work he doesn't feel qualified for or knows someone better than him for specific makes/models/eras.

The BS is one of the newest cars I've ever seen him take on; he usually deals with pre-1980 (often way pre-'80), so I'm sure a lot of his assessments are based on expectations of automotive engineering and manufacturing that sadly don't exist any longer.

All that being said, I do think his final observations on the BS are a bit too definitive and absolute based on a sample size of one. Nothing he said was false, but his ultimate opinion of the BS may be somewhat uninformed.

 

[Robins21]

Never heard of him.

 

[jkernitzki]

Never heard of him.

I'm sure he's never heard of you, either.

 

[Foghorn]

The video shows the coolant tank empty. There is no way to know if the owner just kept refilling it, rather than investigate for what had to be a leak. I watch my tank level closely due to the known water pump failure rate. If the coolant tank level drops and the cause is not obvious, run, don't walk to a service shop for a diagnosis. This may cost you a cylinder head, but not a turbo or cat.
As for the reported actions of the dealership...who proposed to replace the water pump and radiator without obvious signs of either leaking...all I can say is Shame on them.
Some may argue that dealing with cracked heads or blown head gaskets dumping coolant into the cylinders is something nearly all car makers have dealt with since cast iron was discarded as the material of choice for manifolds, heads and blocks.
Fog

 

[Uncle Brad]

The video shows the coolant tank empty. There is no way to know if the owner just kept refilling it, rather than investigate for what had to be a leak. I watch my tank level closely due to the known water pump failure rate. If the coolant tank level drops and the cause is not obvious, run, don't walk to a service shop for a diagnosis. This may cost you a cylinder head, but not a turbo or cat.
As for the reported actions of the dealership...who proposed to replace the water pump and radiator without obvious signs of either leaking...all I can say is Shame on them.
Some may argue that dealing with cracked heads or blown head gaskets dumping coolant into the cylinders is something nearly all car makers have dealt with since cast iron was discarded as the material of choice for manifolds, heads and blocks.
Fog

>>This may cost you a cylinder head, but not a turbo or cat.

That the cat ceramic being damaged due to prolonged exposure to coolant within the exhaust indicates the user was persistent in keeping the coolant reservoir topped off as necessary. The customer obviously knew he was loosing coolant somewhere, but didn't know why - so he did indeed seek out a dealership (potentially as soon as possible).

Obvious coolant intrusion DID damage the cat and potentially the turbo: the video shows the visual evidence.

It was the source of the coolant leak which was in question (which is why the owner sought help from the dealership to begin with).

It wouldn't take long for extensive damage to occur in the cat. Have you ever been behind a vehicle burning coolant? It not only assaults the nose and throat with a memorable stench, the vehicle will only make it a few miles as the problem compounds. My bet is that the customer wasted little time in making it to the dealership. As you can imagine, fleet vehicles really suffer the worst from this, which is why the Ford Transit is notorious for damage tied to coolant leak problems (don't believe me: do a simple YouTube or web search).

But then - when the dealership tried to screw him - he had to drive it to another repair resource, making the problem even worse. There is positively no reason to assign blame to the owner or to Mr. Car Wizard, but every reason to point the finger to the Ford dealership and to Ford design/quality/warranty issues.

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