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The Ford Bronco has been in the news a lot since its debut last year, often for the right reasons, but sometimes not. While its off-road prowess and the amount of variants offered have been lauded, issues with the roof have cropped up as well.
Now add to that an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency is looking into reports of “catastrophic engine failure”. The federal agency confirmed it has received three petitions requesting an investigation into the alleged problem.
The issue is that some Broncos equipped with the 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine suffer from a problem with the valvetrain that manifests itself as a loss of power at highway speeds. This would make it impossible to restart the engine due to what is described as "catastrophic engine failure. There is no specific mention of what the failed component is, however.
On its website, NHTSA explains, " This defect petition has been opened to evaluate the issue and determine whether to grant or deny the petitions”. In other words, the investigation is not a recall, it does not require Ford to issue a recall, and it does not confirm the existence of a problem with the V6.
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The fact that NHTSA has received only three complaints might lead us to believe that the problem isn’t that widespread. However, the Bronco6G discussion forum has been documenting engine failures since the model began shipping out to customers; so far, 50 of the forum’s members report having experienced the problem described in the NHTSA documents.
That's a bigger red flag.
Some owners describe it as a collapsed valve, a problem that typically damages the cylinder and cylinder head. Many of the affected SUVs have received new engines. Ford said it is aware of the problem.
“We are aware of a select number of engines with this concern and we are investigating. If any customers are experiencing issues, they will be covered under the vehicle's five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty,” a company spokesperson told The Drive.
This is an issue meriting close attention and, especially, more detailed information from the NHTSA; the problem could affect only certain models, a defective part on a number of units, etc. Especially since, as far as Ford engines go, what we've been hearing about the 2.7L V6 since its inception is generally quite positive. This unit serves other models and the situation does not seem to have been arisen in any of those other models.
We will have further details for you as soon as they become available.