2022 Ford Bronco Sport Powertrain (other) Problems

The rear drive unit (RDU) deteriorated at 78k miles. I began to notice a shudder during low-speed turns with high steering angle. Upon inspection, metallic flakes were discovered in the RDU’s fluid, apparently indicating mechanical degradation of the internal clutch packs. Two separate Ford dealerships recommended complete RDU assembly replacement at a significant expense. I am concerned that an important drivetrain component could deteriorate this quickly, from normal driving use. I believe this could result in wheel drag/lockup or seizure while operating the vehicle. I have not experienced it yet and I’m not sure whether a total mechanical failure would cause it either. Ford has numerous technical service bulletins on this issue, so it is known to them (TSB 26-2328). I am currently waiting for a dealership to receive parts so that the RDU may be replaced.

NHTSA ID

11771489

Incident

Sep 24, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate and lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. The contact stated that the failure was related to the powertrain control module (PCM). The dealer reportedly found a transmission failure, and the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The contact stated that there was sand and debris in the transmission. The vehicle had been driven on the beach. It was unknown whether any repairs were completed. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V267000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was notified by phone, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 46,580.

NHTSA ID

11770922

Incident

May 5, 2026

Mileage

46,580 mi

Stripped differential. I was told by a service tech that the vehicle is safe to drive until it isn’t that Ford is aware but does not have a fix. It is available for inspection. The vehicle is getting worse, and I only drive short distances. Olathe Ford did the inspection. They will not give me a copy of the inspection. I have never received any warning lights whatsoever.

NHTSA ID

11770867

Incident

Oct 1, 2026

after the dealership executed Safety Recall 25S76, the vehicle immediately began violently sputtering and surging on public roads, and the service department actively concealed the resulting diagnostic fault codes.

NHTSA ID

11770730

Incident

Oct 12, 2026

Front and rear axle, 4 wheel drive, and differential issues, causing steering, wheel, and driving issues. There is a nationwide back order on parts needed to repair this common, and known issue, leaving Ford service to return customers to continue driving unsafe vehicles until parts arrive. Despite Ford having knowledge of this safety hazard, there has been no recall.

NHTSA ID

11766030

Incident

Jul 1, 2026

I have a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport Outer Banks that I bought brand new. I special ordered it and had it delivered to a dealership in Jacksonville IL. The vehicle has 107,000 miles on it. On XXX while driving to work my car completely quite running in the middle of a busy intersection with cars speeding by us and me and my fiance were both in danger of being hit by multiple Semi trucks, this road leads directly to an industrial park. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest ford dealer who told me the Transmission failed completely. I have read online that this is a known issue with a series of Bronco products that ford has produced. there are endless online forums and from what i can find Ford has not addressed or notified consumers that their product may quit unexpectedly out of no where putting lives at risk. This could kill people. We had just got off one of the most busy interstates in the united states. [XXX] in [XXX] if my car would have quit on I24 its very likely me and my fiance would both be dead and possibly others injured as well. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11763332

Incident

Sep 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure associated with the recall. The contact stated that while turning at slow speeds and while turning while in reverse, the vehicle was vibrating and shaking abnormally with a loud grinding sound. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and was diagnosed with rear differential failure. The contact was informed that the rear differential needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired, and the contact was informed that parts were not available. The contact was concerned that the rear differential failure might cause the vehicle to become inoperable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was 41,000.

NHTSA ID

11761912

Incident

Mar 15, 2026

Mileage

41,000 mi

I first noticed noise from the rear of the vehicle in early July 2026, within days of picking it up from Louisburg Ford following a turbocharger repair completed June 29, 2026. The rear drive unit (rear differential) has since been diagnosed as failing at 82,053 miles, with a repair quoted at approximately $4,000. Ford documented this failure mode in Technical Service Bulletin 23-2335, issued October 2023 and superseded by 24-2185 and 24-2386, identifying the rear drive unit vent hose as an entry point for fluid contamination that destroys the unit. My vehicle is within the affected population — 2022 Bronco Sport Outer Banks with the 1.5L engine, delivered October 29, 2022. In October 2023, when Ford documented this defect, my vehicle had approximately 25,000 miles and was under its bumper-to-bumper warranty. The vehicle has been serviced exclusively at Louisburg Ford since delivery at 11 miles, and the records show the vent hose has never been replaced — the original design remains installed. This vehicle has also required repairs to engine sealing at three separate leak sources, the high-pressure fuel injectors, the exhaust converter, and a complete turbocharger and wastegate assembly, all before 83,000 miles. Ford has offered partial assistance, leaving $1,685 as my share. The vehicle is currently not drivable.

NHTSA ID

11761212

Incident

Jul 1, 2026

Both the valve included in Ford's TSB 24-2185 and the clutch pack included in TSB 26-2328 both defaulted in the vehicle, causing debris and metal shavings to accumulate in the RDU which resulted in pitting of the gears and parts. This has resulted in a complete RDU replacement. The vehicle has only 65,700 miles.

NHTSA ID

11757469

Incident

Jul 22, 2026

Oil pump solenoid has been replaced 3 times and the vehicle is under 100,000 miles. There is a low oil light illuminates on dash board in addition to acceleration lose and a white smoke coming from under the hood and the back end of the vehicle. The 6th or 7th time this happened the Bronco had to be towed. There were many more problems included in this tow, powertrain failure, engine misfire, loss of power, crackling, popping sound from under the hood.

NHTSA ID

11756393

Incident

Mar 14, 2026

I am reporting a safety concern involving the transmission in my 2022 Ford Bronco Sport equipped with the 1.5L engine and 8-speed automatic transmission (8F35). I purchased this vehicle new in May 2022 with approximately 6 miles on it. At approximately 83,000 miles, the vehicle displayed a “Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power” warning through FordPass. The notification stated that a transmission clutch had not applied within the expected amount of time and warned that I may experience limited functionality, including unavailable gears. I took the vehicle to an authorized Ford dealership, All Star Ford Denham Springs, for diagnosis. On August 4, 2026, the dealership informed me in writing that the vehicle has an internal transmission failure and metal in the transmission fluid. The technician determined that the transmission requires complete replacement. I was subsequently quoted approximately $13,000 for the repair. I am concerned that an internal transmission failure of this nature could result in reduced propulsion, unavailable gears, abnormal shifting, or loss of vehicle mobility. Which it did in the middle of a airline hwy in baton rouge, La I am requesting that NHTSA review this failure and determine whether similar transmission/clutch failures are occurring in other 2022 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with the 8F35 transmission and whether this represents a broader safety defect. Ford has previously issued Customer Satisfaction Program 22B38 involving certain 2022 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with the 8F35 transmission. That program described a manufacturing issue involving a transmission clutch component and a potential long-term durability concern. I understand that my vehicle has not been confirmed to be included in that program, and I am not claiming that it caused my failure. I am providing this information because of the similarity to the clutch-related warning and subsequent internal transmission failure diagnosed in my vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11756077

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

I am reporting a safety concern involving the transmission in my 2022 Ford Bronco Sport equipped with the 1.5L engine and 8-speed automatic transmission (8F35). I purchased this vehicle new in May 2022 with approximately 6 miles on it. At approximately 83,000 miles, the vehicle displayed a “Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power” warning through FordPass. The notification stated that a transmission clutch had not applied within the expected amount of time and warned that I may experience limited functionality, including unavailable gears. I took the vehicle to an authorized Ford dealership, All Star Ford Denham Springs, for diagnosis. On August 4, 2026, the dealership informed me in writing that the vehicle has an internal transmission failure and metal in the transmission fluid. The technician determined that the transmission requires complete replacement. I was subsequently quoted approximately $13,000 for the repair. I am concerned that an internal transmission failure of this nature could result in reduced propulsion, unavailable gears, abnormal shifting, or loss of vehicle mobility, particularly if the failure occurs while the vehicle is being driven. Thus being it did fail in the middle of a highway with the gas pedal no longer working. The car was then towed to the dealership and would not even go into neutral to remove the car from the trailer I am requesting that NHTSA review this failure and determine whether similar transmission/clutch failures are occurring in other 2022 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with the 8F35 transmission and whether this represents a broader safety defect. Ford has previously issued Customer Satisfaction Program 22B38 involving certain 2022 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with the 8F35 transmission. That program described a manufacturing issue involving a transmission clutch component and a potential long-term durability concern. I understand that my vehicle has not been confirmed to be included in that program

NHTSA ID

11755823

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

I've had a Blindspot warning light alert, told by dealership this is an electrical issue, after a web search, I see this is a common and known issue for Ford, yet no recall has been issued. I also have another know, common powertrain issue with my rear differential. The vehicle makes noise when turning, unstable when driving. The vehicle is less than 5yrs old and under 60k miles. Both issues are safety issues and could cause an electrical fires or vehicle stalling. I am scheduled for a 2nd inspection on 7/31 and hopefully repair.

NHTSA ID

11753350

Incident

Jul 16, 2026

Vehicle was parked in a parking lot. When starting the vehicle and trying to put it into reverse, it would not backup. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. The transmission had gears stripped and was due to a failure of the shift module of the vehicle. The vehicle had under 67,000 miles on it. There were no issues with the shift module or transmission up until this point.

NHTSA ID

11752441

Incident

Aug 7, 2025

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. While the contact’s daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud popping sound coming from the vehicle and the check engine warning light illuminated. After parking the vehicle, the contact discovered that the vehicle failed to reverse. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission clutch had failed and there were metal fragments inside the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000.

NHTSA ID

11751493

Incident

Mar 1, 2026

Mileage

76,000 mi

It was Memorial Day and I was picking my bicycle up from my brother’s house. As I turned out onto the main road, my car stalled. Battery light on, auto start/stop blinking and car rattling. The car also gave me a note on the dash saying it needed to be in park. Took it to the dealer and they told me that a new transmission was required but haven’t been willing or able to give me the finer details of what is wrong with the transmission until they disassemble it. They wanted to make me pay $5 just for that and that is way out of budget for me. I come to find out recently that Ford is in the news again. This time for faulty transmissions and they seemed to care less to help me out financially. They know these transmissions are bad. I know that my car is not tied to the recall regarding transmissions in the 2018-21 Navigators, Expeditions or Explorers, but the dealer gave me an error code of P07E4 which sounds VERY SIMILAR to this issue with these 2018-21 cars referenced earlier. I feel lucky that i wasn’t on the highway or anything when this happened.

NHTSA ID

11748793

Incident

May 25, 2026

The vehicle is experiencing powertrain performance issues, including a persistent stutter, vehicle shuddering, and erratic RPM jumping while driving at 45-55 mph. These symptoms began immediately following the latest software flash in January 2026 and have progressively gotten worse. An Independent mechanic and a transmission specialist have inspected the vehicle and are unable to resolve the issue because no diagnostic trouble codes are being generated. There is a safety and engineering concern that the continuous reprogramming of the PCM & BCM has altered the vehicle’s operations outside of its initial factory design parameters. The vehicle has suffered an immediate drop in performance and fuel economy. In June 2026, I received another notification about Recall 25S76, not being completed yet by Sam Leman Ford. After several attempts to reach someone, I called an authorized secondary Ford dealership, Heller in Bloomington, who pulled the VIN data and stated they could not verify if the 25S76 recall was properly completed by the original servicing dealer. It seems as if there is a tracking failure on the manufacturer's side. While she stated there were notes by a service tech for mobile repair, the fact that I got another notification about the same recall’s intermediate repair not being completed, that signified to her it may not have been. Heller Ford stated the only way to know, is to attempt a 4th PCM reprogramming. If the manufacturer rejects the warranty reimbursement, the cost of the diagnostic labor hours will be billed to me. Consumers should not be held financially responsible for verifying faulty manufacturer documentation, nor should software patches be used as a substitute for replacing a physically defective, fire-prone component. By allowing the manufacturer to alter the vehicle's electrical and powertrain architecture rather than mandating a hardware replacement, consumers are left driving vehicles with degraded performance and an active hazards.

NHTSA ID

11743680

Incident

Jun 12, 2026

After coming to a complete stop at a stop light, my engine began to shudder and then stalled out. I received a message on the dashboard to shift to P and restart my engine. After shifting to P I was able to start my engine. When shifting to R my engine acted normally. When shifting to N my engine acted normally. When shifting to D my engine began to shudder and stalled a second time. After waiting for a light cycle I attempted to restart my engine and shift to drive a third time and my engine stalled when shifting to D. I required a tow truck to take my vehicle to my dealership. While waiting on the tow truck I had to shift the car to neutral and push the car onto the shoulder from the center lane where my car stopped working. My dealership was able to replicate the issue and informed me my torque converter had failed.

NHTSA ID

11736885

Incident

May 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions, and the dealer related the failure to the recall. The dealer cleared the check engine warning light; however, the failure persisted. The contact then stated that the vehicle was jerking more frequently while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact drove to the destination with the failure. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was possibly related to the transmission. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11734814

Incident

Apr 1, 2025

Brakes moan when reversing at low speeds. Was told it was “normal.” Complete transmission failure—car sputtered and died at the stoplight. Then it would not shift into a gear other than park without dying.

NHTSA ID

11734693

Incident

Apr 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated that while driving with the RPM at 2,000 RPM, the vehicle sputtered and skipped, with the check engine and power train warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed, and determined that the fuel injectors needed to be replaced, but parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11724042

Incident

Sep 15, 2025

I was driving on the highway and my entire car shut down right in the middle of the highway and would not turn back on or shift into any gears. It was making horrible sounds and was really scary to be dead in the middle of the highway. The shop called and just informed me a bearing broke loose and sent metal shards throughout the entire transmission and it needs fully replaced. This appears to be an issue with BRONCOS, but my vin# is not included. Hoping other people report this claim so this issue can get resolved. I hope no one else experiences this safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11720362

Incident

Feb 11, 2026

Below recall was issued but Ford says that my vehicle VIN is not included. Dealer says I have to pay out of pocket to replace the leaking engine oil separator on my vehicle. Oil leakage was observed around engine area and could have had an increase risk of engine catching fire when hot and running. MARCH 25, 2022NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 22V191000 Engine Oil Leak An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape and 2021-2022 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines. The engine oil separator housing may crack and develop an oil leak.

NHTSA ID

11716885

Incident

Feb 4, 2026

On 12/22/2025, my fiancé and I purchased a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport from LaFontaine Ford in Lansing, MI. During the initial purchase, we were not aware of any recalls or vehicle defects with the Bronco Sport. Roughly one month later, the check engine light came on, and after a thorough vehicle inspection, we were notified that there was a recall on the vehicle in regards to bad fuel injector(s), and that we needed to bring the vehicle back to the dealership for a computer update. After dropping the vehicle off at the dealership, we were notified that the engine was blown due to a cylinder misfire as a result of a bad fuel injector. We were also advised that the dealership had already completed the computer update prior to our purchase and cleared out the codes (critical misfire). The negligence of the dealership put my fiancé in extreme danger with selling us a vehicle with a critical fault that could cause a vehicle fire! The problem still has not been remedied as Ford is asking up to pay $3,483.00 for a new engine with them covering $4,457.00. I believe all of this should be covered under the recall and/or powertrain warranty since this issue has been well documented with Ford Bronco's prior to us purchasing the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11716583

Incident

Jan 26, 2026

The car sputters when fuel is added but will drive. Went to get it checked out. Ford said it was spark plugs and a canister purge valve stuck. Got it looked at for a second opinion and they said the plugs were fine and the note saying the canister purge valve was stuck, but the canister purge valve was operating fine. Second opinion said it was throwing a transmission fault code. Possibly solenoid somewhere or an issue with the PCM, TCM or BCM. Then the car started shifting really hard, getting stuck in gears and shutting off. I had to get it towed to my house. I’m thinking there’s a bad PCM, TCM or BCM in this model and it just hasn’t been mentioned yet. Historically, Ford says it’s the spark plugs often and other issues and take several times to fix the issue. Last time it has a shut off problem, they tried two different things before replacing a solenoid somewhere and it lasted for a while up until now. Seems like they can’t really determine what’s wrong with it even after paying for the professional diagnostic fee

NHTSA ID

11714603

Incident

Jan 8, 2026