2025 Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 L with coolant leak - needs head gasket replacement?

[madelodactyl]

Hi all, hope you are able to give me some advice on my situation. I bought this car about a month ago - currently it has about 15,000 miles on it. Thought I got a good deal because of the higher mileage for the year but I noticed the coolant had dropped ever so slightly over the month I had it. Took it into the dealer and sure enough they pulled the spark plugs and noticed the coolant was leaking into the cylinders. They say it needs the head gasket replaced. This is already bad enough as I won't get the car back until the end of next week. On a positive note the check engine light was not on and the dealer did not mention any codes being thrown.

However, I talked to a mechanic friend and the first thing they asked was about the cylinder head - are they sure that isn't cracked? The dealer hasn't started work on the car yet because of the long holiday weekend so I'm not sure whether they can even know if the cylinder head has a crack until they take things apart. Wondering about what all your opinions are about the likelihood of this being the case? The more I read up on this the more I'm worried that this is the actual bigger issue - cracked cylinder head and if the crack has extended down into the engine block there could be intrusion into the engine and the whole thing would need to be replaced. My friend also mentioned a case he knew of where a person's coolant leak in their Bronco Sport was misdiagnosed as a head gasket issue when it actually was the cylinder head. Had to be taken back in, disassembled again and the car was out of commission for a month.

I know this all will be covered by the warranty but my family and I are supposed to be going on a long road trip in two weeks and now I'm wondering if this car will even be fixed by the trip....I'd hate to have just bought an essentially new car and immediately have to shell out for a rental plus not being able to do the off-roading on the trip we were planning to do.

Sponsored

 

[Frenchy906]

…they didn’t give you a loaner vehicle?

 

[madelodactyl]

…they didn’t give you a loaner vehicle?

They definitely did not. I didn't push it super hard but if they need to keep it past this week I will. However my understanding is that it's up to their discretion if they do a loaner vehicle? I didn't purchase Ford's Extended Service Coverage either, so no rental car coverage there and the bumper to bumper warranty doesn't cover a rental car.

 

[RSH]

If you have a decent dealer service department you can ask if they will provide a loaner vehicle, a loaner vehicle is different from a rental and shouldn't cost anything. Seems odd that a fairly new 2.0 would have a head gasket issue. Ford did a number of fixes to mitigate that issue a number of years back as the problem was actually caused by the block.
Good luck.

 

[madelodactyl]

Thank you! They did not offer me a loaner and said the best they could do was a $45/rental rate which is laughable as I could get a better rate by myself. I’ll definitely be going to a different local dealer in the future.

 

[RedDragon]

There’s exists a recall for this model year and 2.0l. Something about a cylinder head. I wonder if Ford isn’t coming clean on how many are affected. Hopefully they take care of your truck and it’s back to its full glory.

 

[thewolfpup]

I always hear about the 1.5L having issues I guess it is with the 2.0 as well except the 1.5L is usually a water pump thing

 

[rms34208]

Hi all, hope you are able to give me some advice on my situation. I bought this car about a month ago - currently it has about 15,000 miles on it. Thought I got a good deal because of the higher mileage for the year but I noticed the coolant had dropped ever so slightly over the month I had it. Took it into the dealer and sure enough they pulled the spark plugs and noticed the coolant was leaking into the cylinders. They say it needs the head gasket replaced. This is already bad enough as I won't get the car back until the end of next week. On a positive note the check engine light was not on and the dealer did not mention any codes being thrown.

However, I talked to a mechanic friend and the first thing they asked was about the cylinder head - are they sure that isn't cracked? The dealer hasn't started work on the car yet because of the long holiday weekend so I'm not sure whether they can even know if the cylinder head has a crack until they take things apart. Wondering about what all your opinions are about the likelihood of this being the case? The more I read up on this the more I'm worried that this is the actual bigger issue - cracked cylinder head and if the crack has extended down into the engine block there could be intrusion into the engine and the whole thing would need to be replaced. My friend also mentioned a case he knew of where a person's coolant leak in their Bronco Sport was misdiagnosed as a head gasket issue when it actually was the cylinder head. Had to be taken back in, disassembled again and the car was out of commission for a month.

I know this all will be covered by the warranty but my family and I are supposed to be going on a long road trip in two weeks and now I'm wondering if this car will even be fixed by the trip....I'd hate to have just bought an essentially new car and immediately have to shell out for a rental plus not being able to do the off-roading on the trip we were planning to do.

Ask the dealership to Floriscope the head of the cylinders (all) . Doing this will also reveal if the coolant wash has damaged or scared the cylinder wall which could lead to more oil useage. If you are not familiar with this method check out “ Daves Auto in Centerville ,Utah videos on YouTube “ great information. Remember the Dealership is going to do the least least to clear the bay for the next vehicle. Check to see if the Dealership posts the certification ASE for mechanics and ask who is the longes duration mechanic. If this is balked at Request that they put in writing everything they replace and what additional warranty on service repair. If nothing works call Ford Support and open a case. Good Luck, a Loaner should have been offered immediately.

 

[BroncoBoy25]

It could be the gasket or cracked head, no way to know until head is removed. I doubt a cracked head would damage the block. Most likely the problem is contained to the head or gasket.

 

[madelodactyl]

Ask the dealership to Floriscope the head of the cylinders (all) . Doing this will also reveal if the coolant wash has damaged or scared the cylinder wall which could lead to more oil useage. If you are not familiar with this method check out “ Daves Auto in Centerville ,Utah videos on YouTube “ great information. Remember the Dealership is going to do the least least to clear the bay for the next vehicle. Check to see if the Dealership posts the certification ASE for mechanics and ask who is the longes duration mechanic. If this is balked at Request that they put in writing everything they replace and what additional warranty on service repair. If nothing works call Ford Support and open a case. Good Luck, a Loaner should have been offered immediately.

Thanks that’s good advice! I’ll ask about the Floriscope! They did tell me their “most experienced master mechanic” would be working on it. What that means exactly I don’t know.

 

[madelodactyl]

It could be the gasket or cracked head, no way to know until head is removed. I doubt a cracked head would damage the block. Most likely the problem is contained to the head or gasket.

I’m hoping it is contained like you say. There weren’t any codes thrown and no white smoke out of the exhaust which I’m crossing my fingers means that the block is safe.

 

[Dude]

There’s exists a recall for this model year and 2.0l. Something about a cylinder head. I wonder if Ford isn’t coming clean on how many are affected. Hopefully they take care of your truck and it’s back to its full glory.

Do you have that recall # (.. cylinder head) for 2025 Bronco Sport 2.0L engine?

EDITED: never mind, found this:

… issued Safety Recall 25S61 (NHTSA Recall 25V343000) for select 2025 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with 1.5L or 2.0L engines. The cylinder head may have been improperly manufactured, allowing ball plugs to fail and causing an oil leak. Ford's identifying recall number is 25S61.

 

[Dude]

Hi all, hope you are able to give me some advice on my situation. I bought this car about a month ago - currently it has about 15,000 miles on it … noticed the coolant was leaking into the cylinders. They say it needs the head gasket replaced.

For your 2025 Badlands 2L, check the Ford and NHTSA websites (not Ford App) to see if Recall 25S61/25S62 is applicable to your VIN

https://www.ford.com/support/recalls-details/

These links probably probably 1.5L related but appears some 2L vehicles are impacted

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/25-bronco-sport-bb-recalls.18588/

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/new-recall-for-1-5l-mpc-2025.16065/

 

[madelodactyl]

I did check on there - no outstanding recalls for mine. I can’t tell if it’s ever had any recall related repairs however - there’s very limited service history listed in my account.

For your 2025 Badlands 2L, check the Ford and NHTSA websites (not Ford App) to see if Recall 25S61/25S62 is applicable to your VIN

https://www.ford.com/support/recalls-details/

These links probably probably 1.5L related but appears some 2L vehicles are impacted

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/25-bronco-sport-bb-recalls.18588/

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/new-recall-for-1-5l-mpc-2025.16065/

I did check for recalls - no outstanding ones listed for my VIN. But I can’t really say if it was previously repaired because of a recall. Very little service history listed on my account.

 

[Dude]

That recall listed a very small number of 2025 Bronco Sports so not surprising… unless as guessed in an earlier comment that more Sports are implicated

Sponsored