Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2021 Ford Bronco submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 20 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
There is multiple anti lock braking faults that pop up while driving and then go away the next time the vehicle is used. Brake fluid, pads, rotors and calipers all seem to spec and are working at the moment, but major concerns with the software or possible release and reengagement of the emergency brake.
I was driving on the highway with standard cruise control (I don't have adaptive cruise) and I went to press the brakes and the brake pedal was SUPER stiff and I had to press unreasonably hard to disengage the cruise control and slow down. When the pedal finally gave, I ended up slamming on the bakes so much that my passenger was startled and we both lurched forward due to our momentum. Afterwards, my brake light light came on, on the dashboard. I went to AutoZone to get a reading and it said it was the brake assist vacuum or something like that. This could have caused a very bad accident in too different ways. One, if I didn't stop in time due to the delayed braking from the stiff pedal or getting rear ended due to inadvertently slamming on the brakes at highway speed.
Brake fault warning occurring continuously. Seems to be a wide issue with Broncos 2021-2025. The brakes become “squishy” and have to push them to the floor to stop.
Brake Light issue: Red Brake Light appears when driving over 40 MPH. To fix issue Tube Vacuum had to be replaced. Part# MB3Z 2420 This seems to be an on going issue with 2021 Broncos.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The failure had occurred while driving from a stop or while driving uphill. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, an unknown message about the brake system was displayed on the instrument panel. The local dealer was not contacted after the most recent failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that water was entering the vehicle through the roof. While the vehicle was parked, the vehicle started rolling down the hill. The contact stated that the brake pedal was continuously pumping while being depressed. The contact stated that the brake lights were illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally failed to start. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the battery. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the battery was replaced. The vehicle was returned to the contact with rust and mold throughout the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a case and discussed a buyback. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.
Car began flashing multiple warnings including power steering, brakes, basically all warnings. Power steering and brakes both failed. Took to dealership. Found wires and wire harnesses burnt and melted. Delaliship says it was due to a pinched wire on an after market winch however the winch was installed in 2022 and never had any issue before. They cited damage underneath on the skid plate which is very minor in nature and should not be able to cause such egregious errors.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the brake warning lamp remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the brake booster vacuum line was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.
2021 FORD BRONCO MILES: 34,247 BOTH REAR CALIPERS ON THE INSIDE "LOCKED" AND CAUSED IRREGULAR PAD WEARING ON THE INSIDE. I AM CONCERNED THE ROOT CAUSE MAY BE A CALIPER ISSUE OR ELECTRONIC BRAKE ISSUE NOT RELEASING THE BRAKE COMPONENTS. REAR OUTSIDE BRAKE PADS AT 80% REAR INSIDE BRAKE PADS AT 2% VEHICLE FIRST LOOKED AT BY A LOCAL MECHANIC 3 WEEKS AGO. FORD DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE TODAY 11/27/24. THERE WAS ONE WARNING 2 WEEKS AGO THAT THE BRAKE WAS FAULTY AND TO CONTACT A DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY. THE REAR BRAKES ARE NECESSARY TO SAFETLY STOP THE VEHICLE. I AM CONCERNED THAT I WILL NEED TO CONTINUALLY NEED TO MONITOR THE REAR BRAKE COMPONENTS REGULARLY IN ORDER TO SAFELY OPERATE MY VEHICLE OR THAT THE CALIPERS WILL "STICK" AGAIN CAUSING THE ISSUE TO BE ONGOING. WAY SCARFF FORD CURRENTLY HAS THE VEHICLE AND HAS RECOMMENDED ME TO REPLACE THE REAR CALIPERS, BRAKE PADS AND TURN ROTORS FOR $1100 STATING VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY BY 3 MONTHS.
Four hours into a drive today, going down a fairly steep hill @ ~30mph into a 4 point intersection my Bronco lost all power, brakes and steering. I mean it had nothing. We barely made it thru the intersection because the cars coming directly at us slammed brakes. I had no control and went off the road into someone’s yard, barely missing their fence. It was the scariest thing we’ve ever encountered. My son in the back screaming STOP at the top of his lungs is burned in my brain. What makes all of this worse is that Ford just had it in the shop for 3 days because the week before when they had my Bronco in the shop for yearly inspection/oil change and under their care it had the first symptoms of this issue. I received an app notice of a battery failure AND at their request because of this new issue they wanted my car for a “longer look” the following week. Today was first time driving it since they handed it back to me (I use the valet service that picks up and drops it back to me). Ford could come back and say they will give us a new car and there’s no way I can ever convince my wife to get back in this car. She was absolutely freaked out as the cars coming towards us would have drilled her door. It took Ford 4 hours to come 17 miles to tow us (probably a contractor) to the local Ford dealer that was closed by the time it arrived. We had to Uber to Enterprise and then drive the rental home four hours.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to stop the vehicle immediately. The brake pedal was extremely stiff while depressed. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle struck a speed sign, causing the front driver's side mirror to shatter, and glass shards flew inside the vehicle, cutting the contact's son's left hand and arm. Medical attention was not received. The air bags did not deploy. No police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the brake vacuum hoses, front driver's side mirror, and quarter panel needed to be replaced. Only the brake vacuum hoses were replaced by the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that prior to the accident, the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the same issue; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 20,553.
Kepts getting hills stop brake malfunctioning anti collusion failures ant lock brake failure
We were on vacation in Miami, Florida in February 2022 driving in stop and go traffic when our 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7L Ecoboost engine suddenly shut down. The entire electrical system shut down and the emergency brake was applied. We were unable to start the vehicle with the ignition button or key fob. Traffic was backing up behind us and we couldn’t put our hazards on to let them know we were having vehicle trouble. A pedestrian tried assisting us with pushing the vehicle but due to the parking brake being applied it wouldn’t move. As a last ditch effort I decided to try to start the vehicle through the Ford Pass app. Thankfully, that worked and the vehicle started. We called a dealership in Miami to see if they could look at the vehicle before we traveled on to Key West. They were unable to get us in so we traveled to Key West. The Ford dealership in Key West was gracious enough to look over the vehicle and errors we received on the Ford Pass app. They did not find anything that would have caused the issue. We were just thankful we were on a side road in stop and go traffic when this happened rather than driving on the highway at 70 mph!
I was pulling into a residential driveway and as soon as the front tires entered the driveway the pre-collision alert warning went off and when I applied the brakes they did nothing. I proceeded to roll 25+ feet and crashed into the back of a parked car in the driveway. There were people standing just to the right of the parked car I hit. The Ford dealer has had the vehicle for over 4 weeks now and all they've said is certain modules aren't communicating properly.
-I bought the Ford Bronco to Flat-tow behind my Motorhome. (All 4 wheels on the ground) -Per Ford this is permitted, they outline a procedure in the owner's manual on how this must be performed. -At least 48 states require a supplemental braking system on towed vehicle. -The Bronco has an Electronic Break Booster (EBB) -When the Bronco is placed in the Flat - tow mode, the last step is to turn the key off. -Ford has set a timer (30 to 45 minutes) to shut down power to the EBB, when the key is turned off. -After timer expires, the brakes have no boost. This causes any after-market braking system installed on the Bronco to be useless. -In these circumstances, The Bronco is providing no help to the motorhome for braking, causing longer braking distances. Also, If the Bronco were to become detached from the motorhome, the emergency braking system that should come on and stop the vehicle, would not work. Could cause injury or death by having a runaway. -Ford has been unresponsive in attempts to remedy the situation.
Flat Towing 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After connecting my Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in the tow mode the following will occur. About 45 mins after turning the ignition off and closing the doors the EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system ineffective. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental brake system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working. This is extremely dangerous as a break-a-way tow vehicle would have no brakes and become a missile, or the additional weight with no assisted braking could cause a 40,000lb Class A RV to lose it's brakes down a steep grade.
When Flat Towing 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After we connect our Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in Tow Mode we lose Electronic Brake Boost about 45 minutes after turning the ignition off and closing the doors. The EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system not working. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental braking system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working. This is dangerous and potentially life threatening.
Flat Towing 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After connecting my Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in the tow mode the following will occur. About 45 mins after turning the ignition off and closing the doors the EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system ineffective. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental bakes system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working. Also, if for some reason the Bronco becomes detached from the motorhome that is towing it, then the Bronco becomes a missile waiting to hit what ever is in it's path as the emergency braking from the supplemental braking from the Coach would not engage and stop the Bronco.
Flat Towing my 2021 Ford Bronco with 2.7 V6 engine. After connecting my Bronco to the motorhome and putting it in the tow mode the following will occur. About 45 mins after turning the ignition off and closing the doors the EBB (Electronic Brake Boost) in the Bronco shuts down leaving the Bronco without any brake boost and leaves the supplemental brake system ineffective. When first connecting the Bronco to the motorhome the brake boost is active and the supplemental bakes system must be set to match, or it will lock up the brakes on the Bronco when you stop. After the boost shuts down the supplemental brake system cannot apply enough force to the Bronco brakes to assist in stopping and all at once it takes a much greater distance to stop the motorhome than it did when the boost was working.
The 21 Bronco is sold and marketed as being set up and safe to flat tow recreationally. The problem is with the 2.7l engine which has an Electric Brake Booster. After 45 mins the Battery Management system turns the Electric Brake Booster off. Thus the brakes are not powered and the required by law, brake system (3rd party) can not apply enough pressure. This is a SERIOUS design flaw. I have reached out to FORD, they denied that there is a global problem and asked me to contact my dealer. The dealer search TSB's and other systems and saw no notations and thus did not want to see the vehicle. I have asked to speak to a Bronco engineer and was denied. This is a known and confirmed issue to be found on any RV or Bronco Forum using search. PLEASE help me put pressure on FORD to fix this SERIOUS safety issue. This an on going issue thus date information below is irrelevant. 3rd party braking system is an Airforce One by Demco and was professionally installed, it functions as it should.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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