2023 Ford Bronco Sport shut off while driving + steering locked. No codes. Dealer can’t find issue. What now?

[badlander23]

Looking for some advice because this has really shook my confidence in my car. I have a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands with about 48,000 miles, and I’ve kept up with all maintenance through the dealership, oil changes every 5,000 miles, inspections, everything. A few days ago, right after getting off the highway, the car completely shut off while I was still driving. The steering wheel locked up and I ended up partially blocking a lane, which was pretty dangerous. I had to call law enforcement to help direct traffic around me.

When the tow truck got there, the transmission was locked and we couldn’t get it into neutral. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of manual override, which made things worse. The driver actually had to drag the car a bit before it finally released. Then when we got it to the dealership, it suddenly started right up like nothing ever happened. He was even able to reverse it off the tow truck without any issue.

It’s been sitting at the Ford dealership since Tuesday, and they’re telling me they can’t find anything wrong. No error codes, no stored faults, and of course it drives completely fine when they test it. Now they want me to come pick it up, but I honestly don’t feel safe driving it after what happened. If this had happened a few minutes earlier on the highway, it could have caused a serious accident. I travel 80 miles a day for work and take regular across state trips here in New England.

Has anyone else had something like this happen? Any idea what could cause a full shutdown like that with no codes? And what would you do in this situation, just take it back and hope it doesn’t happen again, or try to escalate it with Ford Motor Company somehow?

Sponsored

 

[Dude]

That was a pretty common issue for ‘21-‘23

Check your battery type, look at the top of the battery and see if it shows AGM

There’s a recall which includes a new AGM battery and BCM/PCM Programming… did you or the dealership check if there are any recalls outstanding?

Also want to make sure the positive and negative terminals are appropriately tight as well as the negative cable on the drivers side front fender

 

[badlander23]

That was a pretty common issue for ‘21-‘23

Check your battery type, look at the top of the battery and see if it shows AGM

There’s a recall which includes a new AGM battery and BCM/PCM Programming… did you or the dealership check if there are any recalls outstanding?

Also want to make sure the positive and negative terminals are appropriately tight as well as the negative cable on the drivers side front fender

Thanks for the reply. I have no idea. I will ask them tomorrow. There are no pending recalls per my Ford App.

 

[Dude]

Thanks for the reply. I have no idea. I will ask them tomorrow. There are no pending recalls per my Ford App.

Ford App is broke, not showing recalls

Using your VIN, check NHTSA website

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

 

[badlander23]

Ford App is broke, not showing recalls

Using your VIN, check NHTSA website

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

Just checked website. No active recalls.

 

[RSH]

My 2021 Badlands did that once when my wife was taking her workmate to lunch in the "new ride"
She was driving on a boulevard with 2 lanes in each direction and when the Sport shut off she luckily coasted into the center divider out of traffic. When the Sport shut off all the dash lights lit up like a Christmas tree. Long story short, initially the Sport wouldn't restart, then they thought it was because the key fob was in her bag sitting on the back seat, she took the key fob from her bag and put it in the cubby in front of the shift dial and tried again to restart and everything was back to normal. After that incident I did remove the battery cables and cleaned the terminals and re-seated the battery cables and tightened them pretty tight, because when I removed them the cables were not much more than snug. That incident has not repeated since.
On another note since Dude brought up battery problems, I did have random no start issues crop up to the point where I couldn't trust the vehicle, the dealer replaced the battery with a Motorcraft AGM battery under warranty and I have not had any electrical issues since replacement.
Ford did have a battery replacement program for Sports with EFB type batteries that had a potential defect, I do not know if the program is still in effect.

 

[Rockboz]

Sadly, once I lose confidence in a vehicle, it is Gone. It may suck, but I would trade it in on something else, not necessarily a Ford product.

 

[Ozzy]

Looking for some advice because this has really shook my confidence in my car. I have a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands with about 48,000 miles, and I’ve kept up with all maintenance through the dealership, oil changes every 5,000 miles, inspections, everything. A few days ago, right after getting off the highway, the car completely shut off while I was still driving. The steering wheel locked up and I ended up partially blocking a lane, which was pretty dangerous. I had to call law enforcement to help direct traffic around me.

When the tow truck got there, the transmission was locked and we couldn’t get it into neutral. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of manual override, which made things worse. The driver actually had to drag the car a bit before it finally released. Then when we got it to the dealership, it suddenly started right up like nothing ever happened. He was even able to reverse it off the tow truck without any issue.

It’s been sitting at the Ford dealership since Tuesday, and they’re telling me they can’t find anything wrong. No error codes, no stored faults, and of course it drives completely fine when they test it. Now they want me to come pick it up, but I honestly don’t feel safe driving it after what happened. If this had happened a few minutes earlier on the highway, it could have caused a serious accident. I travel 80 miles a day for work and take regular across state trips here in New England.

Has anyone else had something like this happen? Any idea what could cause a full shutdown like that with no codes? And what would you do in this situation, just take it back and hope it doesn’t happen again, or try to escalate it with Ford Motor Company somehow?

There is also an update for the battery module. Tells computer what state it’s charged. I did have an issue the alternator was noisy. They replaced battery, battery module and alternator perfect now

 

[logant]

These stories sound like grounds for a recall. I'm thinking ford doesn't have the smartest software people working there. Example- why would LED cooling fans come on when I open a door?

 

[Dude]

There are recalls, here are two:

Recall 25S02: instructed dealers to replace the existing 12-volt battery with an AGM

NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 24V-267
Date: APR 12, 2024
Ford Recall 24S24
Description: On your vehicle, the body control module BCM and powertrain control module PCM calibrations may be unable to detect a sudden change in the 12-VOLT battery state of charge during a drive cycle.
Updates BCM/PCM Software (Data and Calibration modules)

https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/recall/recalls-and-faqs/24s24-bronco-sport-2021-2024-and-maverick-2022-2023-loss-of-power-recall/

Anyone without an AGM Battery (e.g. Motorcraft BAGM-48H6-760) should consider replacing the Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB) with an AGM Battery.

 

[logant]

Would this cause the original problem above? Locked steering (possibly just not powered vs locked) and stuck in park? If there are multiple cases of locked steering - that is deadly. I count on steering (and brakes) as 2 non-negotiable requirements

 

[Dude]

Would this cause the original problem above? Locked steering (possibly just not powered vs locked) and stuck in park? If there are multiple cases of locked steering - that is deadly. I count on steering (and brakes) as 2 non-negotiable requirements

Have a look at the NHTSA safety recall reports .. there are reports of the vehicle engine shutting off which could make steering more difficult (but when the engine shuts down the vehicle won’t be moving) and many of the posts I’ve seen relate to the Auto Stop Start function - so in those cases the vehicle was not moving - it just didn’t restart. I don’t know how many reports there are of the vehicle engine shutting off while the vehicle is actually moving.

 

[Dude]

NHTSA (may not be a complete list)

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCLRPT-25V019-5305.PDF

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCLRPT-24V267-6161.PDF

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCLRPT-24V683-8541.PDF

 

[coopny]

Get any and all recalls done particularly for the battery.

Personally I would say disable automatic start/stop either with a defeat device (Autostop Eliminator/4DTech/etc.) or reprogramming with FORScan. The manual advises against needless inverter load (nightlight trick in AC outlet in the cargo area) and remembering to press the button on each start of the car is error prone.

If you don't have an AGM battery already and you weren't included in the recall, just replace your battery. My battery was regularly dropping to <12V within seconds of ignition off, still tested as "good, please recharge", but these things were not built to take EFBs and AGMs function more reliably (voltage consistent at lower states of charge) and charge more quickly, making it much less likely you end up in a scenario where the vehicle does not have adequate electrical power... I wasn't in the recall and replaced my battery with an EverStart Platinum AGM (4 year free replacement warranty) a week ago.

 

[Dude]

..I have a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands with about 48,000 miles

… the transmission was locked and we couldn’t get it into neutral. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of manual override, which made things worse

@badlander23 The ‘21 to ‘24 models do have a method to get the transmission into neutral, on my 2022 there’s a neutral release pull cord but I don’t know if the 2023s use the more difficult method via a special tool included with the vehicle - check your owners manual or ask the dealership service dept - at least you would be prepared if there is another need to get the transmission into neutral.

Sponsored