zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
Some Ford Bronco Owners Are Reporting Their Hardtops Are Falling Apart, Growing Scales
Some Ford Bronco Owners Are Reporting Their Hardtops Are Falling Apart, Growing Scales-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:30

The Carbonite Gray molded-in-color hardtop, mounted on a red four-door Bronco.

The Bronco’s roof has been a point of frustration for Ford and prospective owners since well before the SUV started being delivered to the first customers last month. Production snags pushed vehicles optioned with body color-matched and contrasting hardtops to at least 2022. Those with molded-in-color Carbonite Gray roofs are leaving the factory now. Unfortunately, it seems at least some of those could’ve used another quality assurance check or two.

Two owners on the are reporting various issues, from “snakeskin-like” patterns showing through the plastic top, to headliner separation, warping around the screws that fasten the roof to the chassis and decomposition of “raw,” unfinished edges. Both owners say these defects weren’t present on their Broncos when they received them, and one mentioned he had his example for three weeks before he started noticing flaws.

At the moment, the cause — or causes, considering the range of issues at play here — are unknown, as is the number of vehicles affected. Respondents theorize the honeycomb texture could be related to problems with lamination that wouldn’t have been visible upon application, but later revealed themselves in time.

Jalopnik reached out to Ford for comment. Jiyan Cadiz, Ford Communication Manager, told us the following:

We continue to build and ship the all-new Bronco two-door and first-ever Bronco four-door both with hardtops and soft top roof configurations. If these couple customers haven’t already reached out to their dealer, we’ll happily help them with their dealer for any warranty-related service.

The hardtop in question is manufactured by Webasto. The German company builds tops — as well as glass panels, air conditioning systems and other components — for a variety of manufacturers, including Jeep, BMW and Mazda.

Webasto set up shop in a new facility in Michigan in part for Bronco production. A report from in December indicated the supplier was lagging behind in tooling the new factory due to COVID-19. That pushed deliveries of those aforementioned hardtop Broncos to 2022 and beyond.

As for these early examples, they don’t look stellar. The shared images of the scaly texture, apparently smooth to the touch but nevertheless visible on some roof panels. Meanwhile, the other owner seems to have avoided that problem for now, but instead has found inconsistent gaps between the sides and top of the roof, and that sagging headliner — something you certainly wouldn’t expect or want to see on a $30,000-plus truck.

Perhaps owners can spin it into a mark of pride, and flip their early-run Broncos for top dollar. The snakeskin roof is how you know they’re true first editions.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
Which One Of You Suckers Is Going To Pay Over $32,000 For A 25-Year-Old Toyota 4Runner
Which One Of You Suckers Is Going To Pay Over $32,000 For A 25-Year-Old Toyota 4Runner
The (and Tacoma) have a death grip on used values. It’s been this way for years. Go ahead, go try and buy any TRD trim that’s a couple of years old; it’ll cost you as much as a new one — not that you could buy a new one...
May 1, 2025
At $8,600, Would You Go Topless In This 1994 Cadillac Eldorado?
At $8,600, Would You Go Topless In This 1994 Cadillac Eldorado?
The seller of today’s Caddy claims they should be selling it at auction but says who’s got time for that? Let’s see if we have the time for this custom convertible at its non-auction price. Many of you agreed that the $950 asked for yesterday’s was “chump change.” Even...
May 1, 2025
At $18,500, Would You Lean Toward Buying This 2022 Ford Mustang?
At $18,500, Would You Lean Toward Buying This 2022 Ford Mustang?
Today’s Mustang is being sold by a towing yard, which means it’s probably a lien sale. Let’s see if this clean title convertible is priced to put a new buyer on the hook. The general consensus on last Friday’s was that it would be the perfect car for someone...
May 1, 2025
At $5,900, Is This 1984 Nissan 720 4X4 A Solid Deal?
At $5,900, Is This 1984 Nissan 720 4X4 A Solid Deal?
According to its seller, today’s Nissan 4X4 shows “pride of ownership.” Let’s see if it would take swallowing one’s pride to pay its asking price. Opinions were split on how well the design of yesterday’s has held up over the years. Some of you commented that the design still...
May 1, 2025
Someone Willingly Paid $16,000 For A Maserati Ghibli On Cars & Bids. Don’t Make The Same Mistake
Someone Willingly Paid $16,000 For A Maserati Ghibli On Cars & Bids. Don’t Make The Same Mistake
Let’s cut right to the chase: buying a is not a good idea unless you have deep enough pockets for the upkeep. For those not in the know, they’re sirens. They draw you in with their premium Italian image and sweet songs of and then go in for the...
May 1, 2025
At $950, Would You Go All-In On This 1984 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo Project?
At $950, Would You Go All-In On This 1984 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo Project?
One of the calling cards of today’s Plymouth Colt is its “Twin Stick” overdrive gear change, which gives the car eight speeds going forward and two in reverse. Let’s see if this project car has anything else to offer. Just as Goldilocks discovered when appropriating Papa Bear’s lifestyle and...
May 1, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved