Dreaded RDU Chatter

[broncoben]

My sister in law currently has a ‘21 Big Bend and the dreaded RDU chatter has started. The dealer recommended starting with the vent replacement that has been discussed here, but said the entire RDU could require replacement which is a $2K+ bill.

I can’t believe a vehicle with less than 50K miles is in a position to potentially need a brand new RDU. @Ford is there any sort of support you can lend here?

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[Dude]

My sister in law currently has a ‘21 Big Bend and the dreaded RDU chatter has started. The dealer recommended starting with the vent replacement that has been discussed here, but said the entire RDU could require replacement which is a $2K+ bill.

I can’t believe a vehicle with less than 50K miles is in a position to potentially need a brand new RDU. @Ford is there any sort of support you can lend here?

Not sure but you may want to change to use @Ford Motor Company in your prior post

 

[Cursed Bronco]

The RDU Replacement is covered under the powertrain warranty, so you shouldn't have to pay. There are dozens of posts about this in the facebook group as well.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

My sister in law currently has a ‘21 Big Bend and the dreaded RDU chatter has started. The dealer recommended starting with the vent replacement that has been discussed here, but said the entire RDU could require replacement which is a $2K+ bill.

I can’t believe a vehicle with less than 50K miles is in a position to potentially need a brand new RDU. @Ford is there any sort of support you can lend here?

Hello, Ben! Could you please send us a PM with the VIN and the name and location of your sister in law's Ford dealer? I'd be happy to see how I can assist with the RDU concern.

 

[the_dude]

I am having the same issues, dealer wants me to jump through the vent replacement ($600) before even considering replacing the RDU, even with all the chatter and slipping.

@Ford Motor Company can you offer any assistance here?

 

[laurent1784]

Greetings. I have a 2022 Big Bend. I also hear a clunking noise whenever I start the BS on early mornings. As soon as I engage the transmission to D and start turning on the driveway from the garages where I leave my car I can feel and hear like the traction control system is engaging and locking the tires as I steer on tight corners. Is this something normal?

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I am having the same issues, dealer wants me to jump through the vent replacement ($600) before even considering replacing the RDU, even with all the chatter and slipping.

@Ford Motor Company can you offer any assistance here?

Hello, I would like to see if I can assist you with your rdu concerns. Could you please send us a message with your VIN and mileage?

 

[redbucky2022]

I made a write up about this a few weeks ago. I had mine serviced at 20k. started chattering at 37k miles. Dealer was on a 4 to 6 week wait so I walked into the parts department, bought the proper RDU fluid and a bottle of Motorcraft XL3 friction modifier. Mixed the friction modifier into the quart of RDU fluid and drained and filled my unit. Mine chattered and the fluid was crystal clear with no contamination. Added the new fluid concoction and the chatter went away immediately. AWD engagement is fantastic, and smooth as can be.

I'm covered until 75k miles but I got sick of driving over an hour away to get into a dealer with a piss poor attitude and wasn't going to make a payment on something collecting dust in the service department lot. $65.00 bucks and 20 mins of my time to save weeks worth of headaches was worth it to me.

 

[curtcady]

Adding on to this, to document the process/progress:

We have a '21 Outer Banks with ~54k miles.

We have been experiencing the chatter / shudder at low speeds (i.e. 0-10 MPH) and occasionally when turning either direction.

We just dropped it off at the dealer so they can perform a diagnostic on the RDU.

More to follow.


Update (10/7/2024)
The Sport is still at the dealer while they perform their diagnosis of the issue, trying to eliminate all other possibilities of the source of this issue. 100% completely understand that thought process! We do have another vehicle, so we are fine with the dealer working through this.

A couple things they mentioned could be the issue is the gear selector and the engine dropping a cylinder at low speeds.

I believe I will have to go on a drive with the mechanic sometime this week to see if we can replicate the issue. It isn't something you can set your watch to, at least with our Sport.

Again, more to follow.

UPDATE 10/11/2024: They replaced the water pump after finding a leak which was causing friction (their words) due to low coolant causing the pump to engage "harder", and stated the RDU issue at low speeds was one cylinder dropping out. Interestingly enough if you are in any mode other than eco or normal that "shudder" won't happen (from reading on other threads).

They also asked us to monitor the RDU noise and come back if it is still a concern

Overall, we are extremely pleased with the communication and response from our dealership. I state that because I have been reading about some "less than desirable" experiences from other forum members.

We did have a bad experience at another local dealer but quickly changed.
That's another story.

NOTE: I appreciate FMC jumping in as quick as they did, nice to see a manufacturer show concern regarding their product. I was also contacted by a rep from Dearborn.
The intent on this post is to provide any information - start to finish - for forum members to read and they would know what to expect.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Adding on to this, to document the process/progress:

We have a '21 Outer Banks with ~54k miles.

We have been experiencing the chatter / shudder at low speeds (i.e. 0-10 MPH) and occasionally when turning either direction.

We just dropped it off at the dealer so they can perform a diagnostic on the RDU.

More to follow.

Hi there! Will you send us a message with your VIN and your local Ford dealer? I can look into things on my end.

 

[laurent1784]

Adding on to this, to document the process/progress:

We have a '21 Outer Banks with ~54k miles.

We have been experiencing the chatter / shudder at low speeds (i.e. 0-10 MPH) and occasionally when turning either direction.

We just dropped it off at the dealer so they can perform a diagnostic on the RDU.

More to follow.

Got mine serviced last week at our local Ford dealer. I posted a video of how the shudder chattering sounded like and mine only had 10K miles or 16K km. Luckily I went on time before the discs on the RDU wore out. Dealer replaced the oil and added a friction modifier to address the issues. good as new now!

 

[curtcady]

Hope we are lucky enough to have your success!

Got mine serviced last week at our local Ford dealer. I posted a video of how the shudder chattering sounded like and mine only had 10K miles or 16K km. Luckily I went on time before the discs on the RDU wore out. Dealer replaced the oil and added a viscosity modifier to address the issues. good as new now!

 

[curtcady]

Adding on to this, to document the process/progress:

We have a '21 Outer Banks with ~54k miles.

We have been experiencing the chatter / shudder at low speeds (i.e. 0-10 MPH) and occasionally when turning either direction.

We just dropped it off at the dealer so they can perform a diagnostic on the RDU.

More to follow.


Update (10/7/2024)
The Sport is still at the dealer while they perform their diagnosis of the issue, trying to eliminate all other possibilities of the source of this issue. 100% completely understand that thought process! We do have another vehicle, so we are fine with the dealer working through this.

A couple things they mentioned could be the issue is the gear selector and the engine dropping a cylinder at low speeds.

I believe I will have to go on a drive with the mechanic sometime this week to see if we can replicate the issue. It isn't something you can set your watch to, at least with our Sport.

Again, more to follow.

UPDATE 10/11/2024: They replaced the water pump after finding a leak which was causing friction (their words) due to low coolant causing the pump to engage "harder", and stated the RDU issue at low speeds was one cylinder dropping out. Interestingly enough if you are in any mode other than eco or normal that "shudder" won't happen (from reading on other threads).

They also asked us to monitor the RDU noise and come back if it is still a concern

Overall, we are extremely pleased with the communication and response from our dealership. I state that because I have been reading about some "less than desirable" experiences from other forum members.

We did have a bad experience at another local dealer but quickly changed.
That's another story.

NOTE: I appreciate FMC jumping in as quick as they did, nice to see a manufacturer show concern regarding their product. I was also contacted by a rep from Dearborn.
The intent on this post is to provide any information - start to finish - for forum members to read and they would know what to expect.

Spent some time thinking about this today. If it IS "dropping to two cylinders" (into eco mode) it would be doing that all the time. This issue isn't something you can set your watch to. Wife just texted and mentioned the shuddering is still present and the bronco in general is running rough. Will be making another call to the dealer tomorrow.

 

[holybronco]

Yikes, that rdu chatter sounds like a pain.

 

[69cuda340s]

I changed the RDU gear oil in mine recently as preventative maintenance. 23k miles no off roading. Oil was not low and looked clean and no noise to date. I did verify I have the '21 style vent tube that can be prone to letting dirt water in.

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