Thank You Ford

OBSASQ

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No car manufacturer has excellent quality reputation anymore. Toyota recalling all Tundra engines. Honda recalling hundreds of thousand of engines. Even Range Rovers and Rolls Royces have issues. I've followed Ford for years and they have a lot of recalls but, unlike most other manufacturers, they do recalls for even small numbers. They currently have one for 6 cars over 4 lines. Others would just contact those owners directly with a letter instead of a recall. I owned Wranglers when they switched to aluminum bodies and some Jeep posts had meltdowns when some paint started to peel (aluminum is very hard to paint) but every aluminum car has those problems.

I've had a lot of new cars (34 at last count) over the last 56 years of buying and only had a few minor issues, like a valve on the fuel tank canister sticking shut a couple of times on a VW and all the engine main bearings burning out on my 1969 muscle car (turns out you can't run an engine like that at redline for a continuous 20 miles) but it was covered under warranty. Plus the first year the Camaro Z28 came out with a computer chip for the engine, my engine would stall if starting out normally but go fine if you floored it. Chevy even sent out an engineer with a corvette chip to see if that would fix it. It didn't so they lemoned it and gave me a new Blazer. So I have been very satisfied with the 14 car brands I've had.

You may have gotten a bad transmission (the vast majority of them are fine), maybe you didn't maintain it right, or maybe the car gods rolled the dice and your BS came up. Planned obsolence is built into just about everything these days from cars to electronics to appliances by every industry and company. You can accept it as universal or become Amish.

But I do have a hard and fast rule - I never keep a car for more than 5 years. I then don't have to worry about big repair bills. Other rules are not keeping a house more than 10 years old and wife more than 8 years.
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BLUEOVALRACER

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"130k is nothing these days." That is exactly what Automakers want you to think. When in fact today's engines and transmissions are working harder and in more severe conditions than ever before. My 1996 GT makes 216 HP from a 4.6L V-8 and weighs 3,277 lbs, Your Bronco Sport Makes 181hp from a 1.5l 3cyl. and it has to haul 3,467 lbs through a 4wd system to boot. What engine and trans is working harder?

Sorry, 130,000mi in 3 years is NOT light or normal duty. That is in fact considered extreme duty. How many times has the transmission fluid been changed in the last 3 years? How many times has the CVT and differential fluid been changed? You are still not telling us how well you maintained your Bronco Sport.

As for finding a trans from LKQ it won't be easy this is issue happening to a lot of people and there is more demand than supply.

Toyota, Honda, Subaru rely on their past reputation. Heck ask yourself this, "If Toyota and Honda are so reliable then why do they have a service department?" They simply are not the same as they used to be. A couple of techs I know won't even work on a Subaru anymore they immediately turn them away. My neighbor has a Toyota Tundra and has had more problems with it than all 6 of my Fords combined. Needless to say he isn't falling for the "Toyota is more reliable" BS anymore.
Very True.
 

BLUEOVALRACER

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Well, it’s Christmas 2025 and I can’t begin to tell you what a disappointment my 2022 Ford bronco sport Big Bend is.



I’ve been a die hard Ford customer having owned F1 50s, Mustang, fusion, transit and bronco.



As a road salesman I ran into some of the usual little bumps along the way with this vehicle up until I retired in April 2025.



Today I’m a senior citizen living on a fixed income and apparently the transmission has failed.



Although the vehicle has 130 some odd thousand miles with over 80% being highway miles on it, I don’t think a transmission should go away in three years on a new vehicle.



The dealer quote to fix this is $8200 for a rebuild for 11,000 and change for another one. In either case I just cannot afford it. I have a $17,000 plus balance on my Ford credit loan and 36 months to go.



So I’m faced with a few options. The only ones that are available to me;



Park a useless vehicle and continue making a $537 a month car payment.



Take a credit hit and tell Ford to come pick it up.



Wait for a new class action lawsuit since this vehicle is known for tranny issues.



In any case, while I am still weighing these options. In the meantime if you’re looking at a Bronco Sport I would caution making that choice.
That sucks but 130,000 miles is still a lot of miles!! A guy on here traded His BS BL that He had no problems with in on a Hyundai Santa Fe. I told Him Car & Driver didn't care for the transmission in the Santa Fe when they tested it. He replied back months later and guess what the transmission in the Santa Fe took a shit at only 5,000 miles. So if You think Your transmission sucks imagine how he felt.
 

BLUEOVALRACER

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First of all, 130k is nothing these days. I have run cars to 180k and swapped them out in mint condition, just as this Bronco is. And as much as Toyota has a good reputation, I really try to stay with American brands.
Having run a Mustang Drag Car for many years, I am mechanically inclined.
I run synthetic oil and changes get done routinely and religiously.

Symptoms; similar to the recall for Software upgrades- where the car goes into limp mode and shifts right back into park.
I went to back out of a parking spot and the car would not move. Then a huge jolt.
Moved forward fine for about 1/4 mile then raced and would not move. Pulled into a parking lot and same thing- car went right into park.
Dealer did not take the car apart but provided quotes for rebuild and replacement from their in house “tranny expert, the best around” I was told.
The next option is to pick up a low mileage used tranny from LKQ and tackle this myself. $2500 beats Fords Dealer pricing for sure.
Is there a warranty on that used tranny? If not no way I would go that route!! I wonder how much a rebuild would be from a tranny shop?
 


Escape2Bronco

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No car manufacturer has excellent quality reputation anymore. Toyota recalling all Tundra engines. Honda recalling hundreds of thousand of engines. Even Range Rovers and Rolls Royces have issues. I've followed Ford for years and they have a lot of recalls but, unlike most other manufacturers, they do recalls for even small numbers. They currently have one for 6 cars over 4 lines. Others would just contact those owners directly with a letter instead of a recall. I owned Wranglers when they switched to aluminum bodies and some Jeep posts had meltdowns when some paint started to peel (aluminum is very hard to paint) but every aluminum car has those problems.

I've had a lot of new cars (34 at last count) over the last 56 years of buying and only had a few minor issues, like a valve on the fuel tank canister sticking shut a couple of times on a VW and all the engine main bearings burning out on my 1969 muscle car (turns out you can't run an engine like that at redline for a continuous 20 miles) but it was covered under warranty. Plus the first year the Camaro Z28 came out with a computer chip for the engine, my engine would stall if starting out normally but go fine if you floored it. Chevy even sent out an engineer with a corvette chip to see if that would fix it. It didn't so they lemoned it and gave me a new Blazer. So I have been very satisfied with the 14 car brands I've had.

You may have gotten a bad transmission (the vast majority of them are fine), maybe you didn't maintain it right, or maybe the car gods rolled the dice and your BS came up. Planned obsolence is built into just about everything these days from cars to electronics to appliances by every industry and company. You can accept it as universal or become Amish.

But I do have a hard and fast rule - I never keep a car for more than 5 years. I then don't have to worry about big repair bills. Other rules are not keeping a house more than 10 years old and wife more than 8 years.
I’ve broken all three of your rules. None of my cars or homes ever failed me or left me broke other than a timing belt at 200k plus on a 15 year old Escort. First wife on the other hand……..
 

Chiefthepup

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Set up an appointment this week to get ready for a 24 hr road trip.
getting the dealer to understand that I want a transmission drain and fill and RDU fluid change and to look at the brake fluid is annoyingly harder than it should be.

i inquired in those services and I’m asked how many miles I’m at. I say just about 30k. Than they go into “the 30k service includes oil change, multipoint inspection, and air filter checks”

I worked at a Toyota dealer and I can tell you that a bunch of stoner kids making minimum wage are doing the work. They are expected to get x amount of cars through their bays which prohibits true inspections etc.

So I’m unsure if I need to set up an appointment under the guise of “failing transmission “ to have the fluid changed lol.
 

Sojourner

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Joins and first post (on the same day as joining) is this post...?

Many grains of salt am taking I this with (using my Yoda voice).
 

Escape2Bronco

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Joins and first post (on the same day as joining) is this post...?

Many grains of salt am taking I this with (using my Yoda voice).
Many lurkers until a problem shows up. Sort of typical with many forums. One of the reasons it seems like there are so many problems as most don’t jump on just to say how great it is running after 4 years.
 

Whpony96

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The OP is hoping someone from Ford is in this forum and will throw him a bone if he's the squeaky wheel in a public setting. I do understand his frustration, but you simply can not blame the manufacture if you did not conduct the proper maintenance. He is going to have to swallow his pride and chalk it up as a "Lesson Learned".
 


rugedraw

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Maintenance or not, the vehicle has 130k+ miles and is well past all warranties. Sure.....these transmission are known to have their issues, but if it lasted 130k miles, then Ford is not to blame here. The owner put 13 years of mileage on the vehicle in 3 years time and the transmission failed 80k miles past the powertrain warranty coverage limits.

How much money did this vehicle make him before it failed? I am sympathetic to his situation, but to blame the manufacturer for the transmission failing after over an 1/8 of a million miles is ridiculous.

I would recommend he seek out an independent shop where labor rates are less expensive than the dealer to rebuild/repair his tranny. That's if he even comes back to check on the thread he created.
 

Quashish

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That sucks but 130,000 miles is still a lot of miles!! A guy on here traded His BS BL that He had no problems with in on a Hyundai Santa Fe. I told Him Car & Driver didn't care for the transmission in the Santa Fe when they tested it. He replied back months later and guess what the transmission in the Santa Fe took a shit at only 5,000 miles. So if You think Your transmission sucks imagine how he felt.
i remember this lol
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