2021-2026 Bronco owners: engine failure at highway speed, 8 camera recalls, hardtop panels detaching. California lemon law may entitle you to a buyback.
The sixth-generation Ford Bronco (2021-2026) arrived after a 25-year absence with off-road capability that genuinely impressed enthusiasts, and with a defect record that has genuinely punished early buyers. From its very first model year, the Bronco has accumulated recalls touching almost every major system: engine, transmission, suspension, steering, and the infotainment screen that controls the rearview camera. As of mid-2026, Ford has issued eight distinct NHTSA recall campaigns for the Bronco's rearview camera and infotainment system alone. The most recent, recall 26V124 (Ford 26S09), covers 528,168 Broncos built across model years 2021 through 2026. The most severe problem is the 2.7L EcoBoost engine defect that can cause complete, catastrophic engine failure at highway speeds without warning. NHTSA's investigation documented 328 customer complaints and 809 engine exchanges before Ford issued recall 24V635 in August 2024, nearly three years after the first complaints surfaced. Another 16,200 owners of 2021-2022 models are waiting for replacement hardtop roof panels after recall 26V299 (issued May 2026) found that the molded-in-color roof panels were manufactured defectively and can shed sections of outer skin at highway speeds, creating a hazard for everyone on the road. Remedy parts are not expected until November 2026. California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act gives owners the right to a buyback or replacement when a manufacturer cannot fix a defect after a reasonable number of attempts. If your Bronco has been back to the dealer for any of these issues, even for a recall service that turned out not to work, those visits may already be part of a qualifying claim.
The issues owners report most, ranked by severity — each one verified against a cited NHTSA source.
Sudden, complete loss of power while driving at highway speeds; engine may make knocking or grinding noise before dying; vehicle may not restart; check engine light may or may not illuminate before failure
Increasing steering effort required over time; steering wheel may lock up partially or completely while driving; driver cannot turn the wheel; vehicle fails to respond to steering input
Smoke in the air vents; instrument cluster warning message; burning smell; in severe cases, flames from the passenger side of the engine compartment while driving or parked.
Sudden loss of drive power while driving; engine failure, in reported cases discovered as complete engine failure during testing; check engine light or cluster warnings may accompany the failure.
Outer skin of the molded-in-color (MIC) hardtop roof cracks, bubbles, or peels away from the substrate; sections of the roof skin can separate and fly off at highway speeds; water intrusion at panel joints and seams; wind noise at panel gaps
Bouncy or wallowing rear suspension feel; visible fluid leaks near rear wheels; audible clunking or banging from rear suspension; external shock reservoir physically separates from damper body and may become airborne road debris
A settled Margarian Law case on this exact model, published with the actual settlement math.
Open any defect for the symptoms and why it matters for a California lemon-law claim. Each is tied to a cited NHTSA source.
Sudden, complete loss of power while driving at highway speeds; engine may make knocking or grinding noise before dying; vehicle may not restart; check engine light may or may not illuminate before failure
Strong lemon-law candidate: catastrophic engine failure requiring full engine replacement; safety hazard (sudden loss of drive power on highway); prior NHTSA investigation; 10-year extended warranty signals Ford acknowledgment of systemic defect. Multiple repair attempts for same symptom before recall issued strengthen claim.
Dealer performs high-RPM engine cycle accumulation test to identify defective valves; vehicles failing the test receive a full engine replacement at no charge. Extended warranty (Campaign 24N12) covers 10 years or 150,000 miles.
Outer skin of the molded-in-color (MIC) hardtop roof cracks, bubbles, or peels away from the substrate; sections of the roof skin can separate and fly off at highway speeds; water intrusion at panel joints and seams; wind noise at panel gaps
Viable claim for owners who had prior unsuccessful dealer repairs (roof leaks, cosmetic cracking) before recall: same root cause. Detaching panels are a safety hazard to following vehicles. Interim notification without remedy parts (6-month wait) extends the defect window. Broader population of 2021-2024 owners with leaking hardtops not covered by 26V299 may have separate warranty claims.
Dealers inspect and replace the hardtop free of charge under recall 26V299. Replacement parts not available at recall launch; anticipated ~November 2026.
Bouncy or wallowing rear suspension feel; visible fluid leaks near rear wheels; audible clunking or banging from rear suspension; external shock reservoir physically separates from damper body and may become airborne road debris
Safety recall with documented component separation incidents. Owners on Sasquatch/Badlands trims who had prior shop visits for rear suspension noise or handling complaints before recall may have repair history supporting lemon-law claim. Remedy parts initially unavailable at recall launch.
Dealer inspection: replace both rear shocks if corrosion is severe, or apply RTV silicone to flange and install redesigned retention clamp as preventive measure. All repairs at no charge.
Transmission shudders, jerks, or clunks during gear changes; delayed engagement when shifting from Park or Neutral into Drive or Reverse; harsh downshifts especially at 7-6 gear transition; MIL (check engine light) may illuminate with transmission-related codes
Strong drivability complaint supported by multiple dealer visits. TSB existence confirms Ford acknowledged the defect. If PCM/TCM updates fail to resolve symptoms and transmission replacement is required, meets substantial impairment threshold. NHTSA investigation EA22-002 into 10-speed transmissions across Ford fleet (including Bronco) remains open.
Per TSB 23-2352: dealer updates PCM/TCM software; inspects and may replace solenoids and valve body. Some vehicles require transmission replacement. Earlier TSB 22-2428 addressed a subset of the same population.
Center touchscreen goes black and reboots while driving; rearview camera fails to display when reversing, shows frozen image, or displays delayed image; infotainment system unresponsive for up to 5 minutes; navigation, audio, and climate controls inaccessible during APIM thermal shutdown
Repeated infotainment/camera failures across 5+ distinct recalls for the same system over 2021-2026 indicates a chronic systemic defect. Owners who made multiple dealer visits for camera or infotainment failures pre-26V124 have strong repair-history records. Safety implication (loss of rear visibility during reversing) meets substantial impairment standard.
APIM software update via dealer or OTA update at no charge (Recall 26V124). Earlier recalls 22V825, 23V165, 23V598 addressed related camera display faults with SYNC software updates.
Interior headliner fabric sags or peels away from the soft top material; exterior soft top fabric shows wear, abrasion, or tears above the B-pillar; water intrusion through soft top seams during rain; wind noise at highway speeds through soft top gaps
Owners with multiple repair attempts for soft top leaks or headliner issues that recur after TSB repairs have viable claims. TSBs confirm Ford knowledge of manufacturing defects. Water intrusion can cause secondary damage to electronics and interior. Absence of a recall does not preclude warranty claims.
TSB 23-2024: re-adhere headliner using Gorilla Heavy Duty Spray Adhesive and apply 3M Film Tape 9343 over cross-car seams; replace soft top material if adhesive repair fails. TSB 23-2229: replace both left and right B-pillar deflectors on the soft top frame.
Increasing steering effort required over time; steering wheel may lock up partially or completely while driving; driver cannot turn the wheel; vehicle fails to respond to steering input
Complete steering loss is a catastrophic safety defect. Do-not-drive advisory means vehicle is unusable. Any affected owner whose vehicle lost steering control has a strong lemon-law and potential tort claim.
Dealer replaces steering gear assembly at no charge. Do-not-drive advisory issued; Ford provided complimentary towing and loaner vehicles.
Water drips from left or right A-pillar area into the cabin; water enters at the windshield header seam; wet carpet or interior trim near front doors; water pooling inside front doors; mold or mildew odor
Water leaks that recur despite multiple repair attempts support substantial impairment and repeated repair history. Secondary damage to electronics (airbag sensors near A-pillar) may escalate severity. Dealers sometimes misdiagnose or only partially repair the leak, generating multiple service visits.
Dealer reseals affected body gaps using 3M Strip-Calk and replaces front header seal (Part No. M2DZ-7803110-B). Subsequent updated bulletin provides more comprehensive diagnostic and repair procedure.
Smoke in the air vents; instrument cluster warning message; burning smell; in severe cases, flames from the passenger side of the engine compartment while driving or parked.
An engine compartment fire risk is a substantial safety defect under California lemon law. Owners who reported electrical symptoms, warning lights, or burning smells before this recall and did not receive a lasting fix have a documented repair history that may support a Song-Beverly claim; the recall repair does not erase prior repair attempts. This is the second concurrent open safety campaign on the Bronco family alongside the fender flare recall (26V403), which may compound days-out-of-service.
Dealers install convolute sheathing with abrasion tape over the engine compartment wiring harness, free of charge, under recall 26V468. Remedy available now; owner letters expected August 24–28, 2026.
Sudden loss of drive power while driving; engine failure, in reported cases discovered as complete engine failure during testing; check engine light or cluster warnings may accompany the failure.
A defect that can cause total engine failure and loss of drive power is a substantial safety defect under California lemon law, and the fix, a full engine long block replacement, is among the most significant repairs a new vehicle can need. With no remedy available until approximately December 2026, owners experiencing symptoms should document every repair attempt now: 4-5 documented repair attempts, dealer visits, and remedy-status communications build the record that supports a Song-Beverly claim. A first-attempt fix completed within about 30 days generally does not support a claim, so the repair history is what matters.
No fix available yet. Under recall 26V548, dealers will inspect the engine pistons and replace the engine long block as necessary, free of charge; remedy anticipated December 2026. Interim letters were mailed September 3, 2026.
interim
The engine piston domes may have been manufactured incorrectly due to a bond failure between the piston's nickel-resistant (Ni-Ring) insert and the aluminum piston body, traced to a machining collision on a supplier production line. Piston dome failure can cause engine failure and a sudden loss of drive power while driving.
remedy available
The engine compartment wiring harness may chafe against surrounding components due to insufficient abrasion protection, exposing internal wiring. Exposed circuits can short to ground and arc, creating heat or spark that may ignite nearby flammable components, resulting in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.
open
The fender flares may not be properly secured and can detach from the vehicle while driving.
open
The outer layer of the 3-door and 5-door MIC hardtop roof panels was improperly manufactured by supplier Webasto due to production process and equipment issues, causing sections of the outer roof skin to crack, delaminate, and potentially separate and detach from the vehicle.
open
The APIM (SYNC4 infotainment controller) may reach approximately 105 degrees C and enter a thermal protection shutdown, disabling all infotainment output including the rearview camera display for up to 5 minutes.
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Rear Bilstein long-flange shock absorbers may experience crevice corrosion between the external reservoir, mounting flange, and damper body, degrading welds and causing fluid leaks or physical separation of the external reservoir.
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Engine intake valves manufactured from Silchrome Lite alloy may be excessively hard and brittle due to supplier machining process exceeding thermal control limits, causing valve-to-keeper-groove cracking and fracture while driving.
closed
An improperly adjusted assembly tool damaged the plastic ball nut retainer inside the steering gear during production. The damaged retainer allows ball bearings to displace and wedge, blocking gear rotation and potentially causing complete steering lockup.
closed
A loose bolt found inside certain automatic transmissions can block the park pawl from fully engaging the park gear. The gear selector may indicate Park position while the park mechanism is not actually engaged.
Every item below comes from this vehicle's documented defects. The more you recognize, the more a free case review is worth your time.
California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act — known as the lemon law — applies to any new vehicle purchased or leased for personal use when a defect covered by the manufacturer's warranty substantially impairs the vehicle's use, value, or safety and the manufacturer is unable to fix it after a reasonable number of attempts. The law presumes a vehicle may be a lemon if: the manufacturer made two or more repair attempts for a defect that could cause death or serious injury (such as engine failure at highway speed, loss of steering control, or rearview camera loss); or four or more repair attempts for any other substantial defect; or the vehicle was out of service for repairs for 30 or more calendar days (cumulative, not consecutive) during the warranty period. If your Bronco qualifies, Ford is required to either buy back the vehicle at the full original purchase price (minus a reasonable mileage offset) or provide a comparable replacement vehicle. Ford is also responsible for your attorney fees if you prevail — which means many California lemon law cases cost the owner nothing out of pocket. Days your vehicle spent waiting at the dealership for backordered recall parts count toward the 30-day threshold. The above is general information only and is not legal advice; your eligibility depends on your specific repair history and dates.
“Could not duplicate” doesn't mean the defect isn't real. Here's exactly what to do to protect a potential California lemon-law claim.
Document the moment it happens. Photos, video, and screenshots of any warning lights — with the date and the mileage.
Get a repair order every visit — even “found nothing.” That paperwork is the foundation of a claim.
Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Note any recall that has no available remedy yet.
Track your out-of-service days. California law counts the cumulative days your vehicle spends in the shop.
Keep loaner & rental records. Alternate-transport paperwork during long repairs matters.
Save everything in one place. Symptoms, dates, repair orders, and every repeat visit — the intermittent ones especially.
Ford dealers regularly close repair orders with 'unable to duplicate' (UTD) or 'no trouble found' (NTF) — this is especially common with the SYNC4 camera failures, transmission shudder, and water leaks, which can come and go depending on temperature or rain. Here is what to do when it happens to you: 1. Write everything down before the visit. Record the exact date, time, mileage, ambient temperature, and the specific symptom (for example: 'rearview camera showed black screen for 3 minutes when I shifted into Reverse at 2:00 PM — it was 95°F outside'). Photos and short videos of warning lights or the blank screen are extremely useful. 2. Ask the dealer to pull Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and print them — including stored and pending codes. Intermittent APIM faults and engine codes often leave a trace even after the symptom clears. 3. Point the service advisor to the relevant TSBs. For the 10R60 transmission, cite TSB 23-2352 by name. For soft top issues, cite TSBs 23-2024 and 23-2229. For water leaks on a 2021, cite TSB 21-2403. If the dealer has not checked these bulletins, the fix may have been missed. 4. For the APIM / rearview camera issue: recall 26V124 covers all 2021-2026 Broncos with SYNC4 Mid or High infotainment. If this recall is open on your VIN and the dealer says 'no problem found,' ask whether the APIM software update from 26V124 has been applied. An open, unperformed recall is itself a documented failure to repair. 5. Keep every repair order, including UTD visits. Under California law, a UTD service visit still counts as a repair attempt. The pattern of visits — not just successful repairs — is what builds a lemon law claim.
Ford sold the Bronco as a capable, adventure-ready SUV. For thousands of early buyers, the first few years of ownership have been defined by engine replacements, a rearview camera that has been recalled eight times, a hardtop that is literally coming apart at speed, and a suspension component that can detach and become a road hazard. The pattern of repeated recalls for the same infotainment system across five-plus model years — 22V825, 23V165, 23V598, 25V273, 25V315, 25V312, 25V888, 26V124 — is exactly the kind of documented chronic defect that California lemon law is designed to address. If your Bronco has been in for any of these problems during the warranty period, we encourage you to pull together your service records and speak with a California lemon law attorney before your warranty window closes.
— The Margarian Law team
Has your Bronco lost engine power on the highway, had its rearview camera fail repeatedly, or spent weeks at the dealer waiting for hardtop or suspension parts? If you own a 2021-2026 Ford Bronco and have had more than one dealer visit for any of the issues described above, your repair history may already support a California lemon law claim. The consultation is free — find out what your case is worth.
It depends on your model year and engine. NHTSA recall 24V635 (Ford recall 24S55, issued August 2024) covers 2021-2022 Ford Broncos equipped with the 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine, built approximately May through October 2021 — roughly 15,835 Broncos in the combined recall population of 90,736 vehicles. The defect: intake valves made from Silchrome Lite alloy can become excessively brittle and fracture, causing complete engine failure and sudden loss of drive power at any speed. Ford also issued Customer Satisfaction Campaign 24N12, which extends the powertrain warranty to 10 years or 150,000 miles on affected vehicles. You can check whether your VIN is included by entering it at nhtsa.gov. If the recall is open and your vehicle has already experienced engine failure, document all prior service visits — they may support a lemon law claim.
Yes. Ford and NHTSA have issued eight separate recall campaigns for the Bronco's rearview camera and infotainment system since 2022. The most recent — and the largest — is NHTSA recall 26V124 (Ford 26S09, issued March 2026), which covers 528,168 Broncos from model years 2021 through 2026. The underlying problem is the APIM (Accessory Protocol Interface Module) overheating to approximately 105°C, which shuts down the entire SYNC4 infotainment system, including the rearview camera, for up to five minutes. The remedy is an APIM software update at the dealer or via an over-the-air update. If your camera has failed repeatedly across multiple dealer visits or multiple prior recalls, that repair history may support a California lemon law claim — the eight-recall lineage for the same system over five years is a documented pattern of chronic nonconformity.
Yes. NHTSA recall 26V299 (Ford 26S32, issued May 2026) covers 16,200 Ford Broncos from model years 2021 and 2022 — 15,045 MY2021 and 1,155 MY2022 units — equipped with the factory molded-in-color (MIC) hardtop. The defect: supplier Webasto used an improper manufacturing process that caused the outer colored layer of the roof panel to delaminate from the composite substrate. Sections of the outer skin can physically separate and detach from the vehicle at highway speeds, creating a road hazard. At the time of the recall, Ford had not yet made remedy parts (replacement hardtop panels) available; they are anticipated around November 2026. If your vehicle has a cracking, bubbling, or peeling hardtop and you have already had prior warranty repair attempts for the same issue, those visits may count toward a lemon law claim even though a recall was not issued earlier.
Yes. Harsh and delayed shifting in the 10R60 automatic transmission is one of the most frequently reported Bronco complaints. Ford has acknowledged the problem through Technical Service Bulletin 23-2352, which covers 2021-2023 Broncos built on or before December 23, 2022, and directs dealers to update PCM/TCM software and, in more severe cases, inspect or replace the transmission valve body or solenoids. Common symptoms include shudder or jerk during upshifts and downshifts, delayed engagement from Park into Drive, and a 7-6 downshift clunk. NHTSA investigation EA22-002 into the entire Ford 10-speed transmission family — covering approximately 1.7 million vehicles — remained open as of early 2026. If software updates have not resolved the shifting issues after multiple dealer visits, that repair history may support a substantial impairment claim under California's lemon law.
It may, depending on your repair history. California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act presumes a vehicle may qualify as a lemon when: two or more repair attempts were made for a defect that poses a risk of death or serious injury (such as engine failure at highway speed or loss of steering control), or four or more repair attempts for any other substantial defect, or the vehicle was out of service cumulatively for 30 or more calendar days during the warranty period. For Bronco owners, the most common qualifying patterns involve repeated dealer visits for rearview camera or infotainment failures, engine loss-of-power incidents, transmission shifting complaints that persisted after a software update, or weeks spent waiting for backordered recall parts. Days waiting for parts count toward the 30-day threshold. If you qualify, Ford must repurchase the vehicle at the price you paid (minus a mileage offset) or provide a comparable replacement, and Ford pays your attorney fees. Gathering your service records and speaking with a California lemon law attorney is the best first step.
Yes. NHTSA recall 25V025 (Ford 25S01, issued January 2025) covers 149,449 Ford Broncos from model years 2021 through 2024 that are equipped with the Sasquatch Package or Badlands trim, both of which use Bilstein long-flange rear shock absorbers. These shocks are more susceptible to crevice corrosion between the external reservoir and the damper body than the short-flange variant. Corrosion degrades the welds and can cause the external reservoir to physically separate and detach, becoming a road hazard. Three reservoir separation incidents were documented before the recall was issued. Bronco Raptor models (which use Fox shocks) are not affected. If your dealer has already replaced or serviced your rear shocks under this recall and you still experience suspension noise or handling changes, document those visits and consult a lemon law attorney.
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