My Big Bend disabled 4wd after seconds of climbing on loose ground.

[fourthgear]

What can we Big Bend owners expect in a few inches of snow, leave us stranded when the 4wd disables itself?

If it's in Snow , it too cold to overheat the Drive . Its not a Car , its completely different , just because some writers label it as just a relabeled Escape , its not , some of you'all need to read specs better . Most all manufacturers share drive & engine components with most models .

Hay, Horsehog , if you hate Ford so much , just why do you own one or do you ?

Sponsored

 

[Cabezone]

What can we Big Bend owners expect in a few inches of snow, leave us stranded when the 4wd disables itself?

Driving a fresh snow on a regular road isn't nearly as tough as a steep incline on a dusty trail. Dusty climbs are about the toughest thing you can do to an all-wheel drive vehicle. Fresh snow actually easier to drive in.

 

[Cabezone]

If it's in Snow , it too cold to overheat the Drive . Its not a Car , its completely different , just because some writers label it as just a relabeled Escape , its not , some of you'all need to read specs better . Most all manufacturers share drive & engine components with most models .

Hay, Horsehog , if you hate Ford so much , just why do you own one or do you ?

Yeah the all-wheel drive system is made by AAM, the ecotrac, it's the same one that's in the Cherokee KL. It's actually a really good system better than most.

 

[Orin]

The Badlands is more capable by a pretty big margin. But lets be real this isn’t a big bronco or those lifted jeeps we have limitations considering it’s still a compact SUV

 

[JerryC]

Bronco Sport tries to off road
Can’t off road

that’s the story

For somebody that bought one you don't seem to know much about them. There's plenty of off road videos of BS's. Some are on the home page of this website.

If you watch videos of driving in deep sand you'll see that not much besides modified vehicles can do it well.

Matt's off Road Recovery seems to pull out Raptors from the sand fairly regularly.

 

[M3H7363]

Hay, Horsehog , if you hate Ford so much , just why do you own one or do you ?

Was wondering the same thing myself.

 

[Orin]

I

For somebody that bought one you don't seem to know much about them. There's plenty of off road videos of BS's. Some are on the home page of this website.

If you watch videos of driving in deep sand you'll see that not much besides modified vehicles can do it well.

Matt's off Road Recovery seems to pull out Raptors from the sand fairly regularly.

I honestly think some people are creating accounts on here just to troll. I wouldn't be surprise.

 

[BamaBronco]

It’s important to remember that even though these are marketed as off-roader SUVs, they are not. They are re-branded, re-badged Ford Escapes.

It appears you are a disgruntled customer who is mad at Ford. And under your circumstances, I would be mad too if I believed some sly car salesman half the BS they tell folks. But spoiler alert - most of them are like that, and that problem is not just endemic to Ford dealerships; it's at every dealership. Plus, we're in a global pandemic that has affected parts shortages. But to be fair to you, I'm sure it's super disappointing that you haven't received a vehicle that you ordered and was supposedly built in June of this past year (if none of this makes sense to those reading, check this guy's profile and see why he's mad).

So, now that the context of your frustration is understood, your opinion of a vehicle that you have likely never driven and if you have, never put it through its paces off-road, would not be one I would give a lot of weight to. You don't seem to know much about this vehicle, let alone have any real experience driving it off-road (please correct me if I'm wrong).

The article linked below has been shared before, but it would beg to differ with your statement that Sports are just "re-branded, re-badged Escapes". Yes, they're on the same C2 platform as the Escape, but there are several differences between the Sport and Escape, even with using non-Badlands trims as a comparison. These differences are pointed out in the article, and certainly give the Sport an edge over the Escape in off-road capability.

How Ford Makes the 2021 Bronco Sport Tougher Than the Escape

 

[Mark S.]

What can we Big Bend owners expect in a few inches of snow, leave us stranded when the 4wd disables itself?

Not likely. For one thing, if there's snow on the ground that means it's a lot colder, which makes overheat of the power transfer system far less likely.

Further, you can avoid overheating the system entirely simply by knowing how it works. Part of the "intelligent 4WD" and traction control system logic is preventing wheel spin using the brakes. Vehicles with open differentials, like the Bronco Sport, will send all the power going to the rear axle to the wheel that's spinning. This is a feature of open differentials, and it applies to all vehicles that use them--which is MOST vehicles. To prevent this, the system in your car applies the brakes on the spinning wheel to force power to the other wheel that's sitting there doing nothing. This ALSO applies to most AWD vehicles. Overheating occurs due to the friction generated in the power transfer box's clutch system when the driver demands power (steps on the accelerator pedal) while the system is applying brakes to prevent wheel spin. (If you don't know what a clutch is you can view a short video here. This animation shows a clutch used as part of a manual transmission, but the concept is the same for the power transfer box in your car.)

Now that you know how it works it should be apparent that you can easily avoid overheating the power transfer box by taking your foot off the accelerator pedal when the car stops moving, which means ALL the wheels have lost traction and the system is applying the brakes. It's like stepping on both the accelerator and brake pedals simultaneously.

If all your wheels lose traction you need to try something different besides keeping your foot on the gas. Changing to SAND mode allows for more wheel spin (less intervention by the system using the brakes) and could allow you to get unstuck. Switching off traction control can help as well. The video below has a lot of good recommendations for getting unstuck in the snow:

 

[abxponce]

I am going to make a video about that.
I've tried also that. Including waiting some seconds to down temp risks.
But it is not a temp problem i think is an overprotection issue. I am going to make some arrangements for a transmissiom temp gauge and analise if it is a temp issue.
I mostly think is a zeros and ones program.
Maybe a calculation between spins and distance vs trac off.

 

[abxponce]

@abxponce

Question
Is there a reason your approach to those hill climbs was so slow?
Was that part of you testing the system? Did you try and do those hill climbs faster how did it work?

I need to be at low speed because there are some rock and holes which would hit my underbody.
After testing the area several times I could advance with a bit more momentum. But it is not a 5 mile per hour area. It is loose and has inclination.

 

[Mark S.]

I am going to make a video about that.
I've tried also that. Including waiting some seconds to down temp risks.

It's entirely possible there is a glitch in your particular vehicle, but I haven't read any other reports with complaints similar to yours. According to the owner's manual (pg 170), if the system overheats you'll see a message on the information display stating "4WD Temporarily Disabled." Overheating protection is the only type of protective/temporary shutdown of the 4wd system mentioned. Incidentally, you might also see this message if you are using the spare tire, I suspect because the spare may not be the same diameter as the normal tires which can generate friction in the power transfer systems as the wheels on the same axle are turning at different speeds. The manual goes on to state if you see the message above you should shut the vehicle down for a minimum 10-minute cooldown, after which 4wd should function again. (If the message is due to use of the spare it will clear itself after driving a short distance with the normal tire back on the vehicle.)

If there is some other kind of malfunction that disables 4wd you should see a message stating, "4WD Fault Service Required." The manual doesn't go into details, but my assumption is malfunctions that result in display of this message will render the 4wd system inoperative until you take the vehicle in for service.

Based on this, I'm fairly certain what you're experiencing is transfer box overheating. It's possible the sensor is malfunctioning and causing the system to think it's overheating when it's not, but either way you should provide ample time for cooldown before attempting to use it again. And since your car is under warranty you should consider taking it in for service. Tell them what's happening and that you suspect the system is sensing an overheat when it's not really overheating.

 

[abxponce]

It's entirely possible there is a glitch in your particular vehicle, but I haven't read any other reports with complaints similar to yours. According to the owner's manual (pg 170), if the system overheats you'll see a message on the information display stating "4WD Temporarily Disabled." Overheating protection is the only type of protective shutdown of the 4wd system mentioned. Incidentally, you might also see this message if you are using the spare tire, I suspect because the spare may not be the same diameter as the normal tires which can generate friction in the power transfer systems as the wheels on the same axle are turning at different speeds. The manual goes on to state if you see the message above you should shut the vehicle down for a minimum 10-minute cooldown, after which 4wd should function again. (If the message is due to use of the spare it will clear itself after driving a short distance with the normal tire back on the vehicle.)

If there is some other kind of malfunction that disables 4wd you should see a message stating, "4WD Fault Service Required." The manual doesn't go into details, but my assumption is malfunctions that result in display of this message will render the 4wd system inoperative until you take the vehicle in for service.

Based on this, I'm fairly certain what you're experiencing is transfer box overheating. It's possible the sensor is malfunctioning and causing the system to think it's overheating when it's not, but either way you should provide ample time for cooldown before attempting to use it again. And since your car is under warranty you should consider taking it in for service. Tell them what's happening and that you suspect the system is sensing an overheat when it's not really overheating.

Indeed I feel the same.
I change my tires from 225 to 245 maybe you have a point.
But another model has the same gear ratios and the 245 so the only way that could happen is that a factory tune came with the different tire set.

 

[Mark S.]

Indeed I feel the same.
I change my tires from 225 to 245 maybe you have a point.
But another model has the same gear ratios and the 245 so the only way that could happen is that a factory tune came with the different tire set.

The spare tire fault would only occur if you have tires with different diameters on the same axle. This error would not occur if all four of your tires are the same diameter.

 

[abxponce]

The spare tire fault would only occur if you have tires with different diameters on the same axle. This error would not occur if all four of your tires are the same diameter.

Yes but it could sense more spinning being the tires bigger.
?

Sponsored