2025 Ford Bronco Electrical Problems

Flat towing a 2025 Bronco behind a 2025 Newmar Dutchstar using a Blue Ox tow bar with Demco AirForce Braking System. Ford has a setting called neutral towing. It allows you to tow behind a motorhome with brake lights, braking, etc. When the Ford is in neutral tow, and in neutral gear, all 4 wheel roll freely and you can tow safely. What's happening is the Ford is waking up out of neutral tow when the 12V battery gets low. This isn't supposed to happen as there is a 7 Pin electrical connector from the motorhome to the 6 pin electrical connected to the Bronco. Once the 12v battery gets low, the Ford computer wakes up, see's it moving the back tow tires, so the system is applying the emergency brake locking up the 2 back tires. This has now happened three times as we have traveled from [XXX] to [XXX] (had it looked at Crossroads of Ford of Apex where I bought it). I took it in to Schmop Ford in Denver and after almost a deadly accident on XXX near [XXX], to XXX. They found the back two tires destroyed. Ford replaced the tires at no charge, but the issue remains. THIS SUV SHOULD NOT BE APPROVED FOR FLAT TOWING. It is dangerous and could be deadly. You have no way of knowing unless someone else tells you. Thanks to the stranger on XXX on XXX. They told us of our issue so we pulled over. If we were to continue driving the motorhome, the tires would've been totally destroyed, a fire, or cause us to flip over. There are so many complaints on the internet about this issue. You must make Ford fix this issue with a software fix immediately. Don't make my complaint for another unlucky traveler like myself. I have enclosed the back tire picture. You can see one tire with the tread completely gone, the other tire tread missing is not shown. You can also see how the tires are mis-shaped from rubbing across the highway cement. I AM TRYING TO UPLOAD PICTURES BUT YOUR SYSTEM IS GIVING ME AN ERROR FOR A JPEG LESS THAN 10MB INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11753632

Incident

Jul 28, 2026

On June 22, 2026, my 2025 Ford Bronco caught fire while parked outside a store. The vehicle had been parked for approximately five minutes when the fire began. There were no warning lights, alerts, unusual odors, or other indications of a problem before the incident. The fire and heavy smoke appeared to originate from the center console area near the gear shifter. The flames quickly spread throughout the driver’s side, center console, front passenger area, and the rest of the vehicle’s interior. The entire interior sustained severe fire and heat damage and was substantially melted. The responding fire department advised that temperatures inside the vehicle were well over 300 degrees. Firefighters disconnected the vehicle’s battery, after which the vehicle began to cool. Based on their initial observations, they indicated that the fire appeared to be electrical in nature. The vehicle had recently been filled with gasoline, which made the situation even more dangerous. Fortunately, no one was inside the Bronco, no other vehicles were parked nearby, and the fire department responded quickly. The vehicle has been transported to a repair facility but has not yet been inspected to determine the precise cause of the fire. I am extremely concerned that a nearly new vehicle could suddenly catch fire while turned off and parked, without any warning. This could have occurred while I was driving, with passengers inside, or while the Bronco was parked in my garage. Under those circumstances, the fire could have caused serious injury or death, destroyed my home, or endangered other people and property. I am submitting this complaint because I believe this incident presents a serious public-safety concern. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate whether other 2025 Ford Bronco owners have experienced similar electrical fires and whether a defect exists that could place drivers, passengers, families, first responders, and the public at risk.

NHTSA ID

11745907

Incident

Jun 22, 2026

Sunday April 19 2026, in a drive thru while stopped, the following alerts popped up with their corresponding dash lights: Check Brake System Park Brake limited service function Pre-collision assist not available Service Advance Track Brake pedal lost vacuum / pressure and became hard. Brake would not engage and needed to use electric park brake to stop vehicle. Got out of the drive thru and into an empty parking lot. I tried accelerating and then stopping but vehicle would not stop while pressing the brake. Used e brake again to stop. I turned vehicle off and back on. All errors did not pop up again and there were no lights on the dash. While driving home less then a mile from original incident location, the same errors and brake failure occurred while going 30+ miles per hour. Same issue with a hard brake pedal occurred. This time, if brake pedal was depressed far enough, the e brake would engage but only the rear wheels would lock up and vehicle would skid/slide in order to slow down. I have video recordings of these incidents. Brake system failed as vehicle lost ability to brake at low and high speeds. The loss of brakes could result in a car crash and deaths. The vehicle has been towed to a ford dealer and they are in possession of the vehicle. They are currently investigating the issue. The vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer or authority agency. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to the brake system failing. The brakes worked normally and then suddenly failed.

NHTSA ID

11732854

Incident

Apr 19, 2026

This vehicle had an open safety recall at the time the dealership sold it to me. The recall existed before the sale and the dealership knew or should have known about it. The dealer submitted loan paperwork and accepted funding but never delivered the vehicle to me. I was not informed of the open recall before signing. This is a safety and compliance issue involving a dealer selling a vehicle with an unrepaired recall

NHTSA ID

11727443

Incident

Mar 11, 2026

While slowly backing into our home garage, the vehicle accelerated brakes were not working and smashed into the side of the house, put the car in drive to move it. It accelerated forward over correcting and drove into our power box and came to a halt. No brakes were working and the wheels/steering locked up.

NHTSA ID

11711063

Incident

Jan 15, 2026

While driving, after a missed downshift that causes engine bogging, the vehicle experiences a loss of engine power. The engine remains running but will not produce usable torque and will not rev above approximately 800 RPM, despite clutch disengagement and selecting the correct gear. Holding the clutch fully depressed does not immediately restore power; instead, after approximately 4 seconds, the engine stalls or cycles/resets, after which normal operation resumes. The condition persists until the vehicle nearly stops, the engine stalls, or the ignition is cycled. This has occurred in traffic and adverse weather conditions and is repeatable.”

NHTSA ID

11709688

Incident

Jan 6, 2026

Accident Statement – Instrument Panel Cluster Failure & Collision While driving my 2025 Ford Outerbanks, the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) screen suddenly went completely black without warning. At the time of the malfunction, I was attempting to merge into traffic on my left with my left turn signal activated. Simultaneously, an 18-wheeler in the lane beside me was merging to his right. The sudden loss of my IPC screen meant I could not see my speedometer, warning indicators, safety messages, or any visibility cues needed to safely judge traffic speed and spacing. This created an immediate hazardous situation and made it extremely difficult to manage both my own speed and the surrounding traffic patterns. As I recognized the danger, I attempted to brake and avoid a collision. During this moment, my steering wheel began to shake slightly—possibly due to the lane-keeping or lane-safety system responding. Despite my efforts to correct and avoid impact, the 18-wheeler collided with my vehicle. At the time of the crash, I had no visibility of any dashboard warnings, alerts, vehicle speed, or safety notifications due to the IPC failure. My insurance representative has inspected my vehicle and deemed it a total loss.

NHTSA ID

11703800

Incident

Nov 30, 2025

The display panel for the speedometer and gas would not work or display anything.

NHTSA ID

11692761

Incident

Oct 11, 2025

Description of the Problem: The issue involves the speakers and radio system in my 2025 Ford Bronco. The audio system intermittently cuts out completely, resulting in a total loss of sound. This includes music, phone calls via Bluetooth, and most importantly, navigation voice instructions. The component (the vehicle’s speaker/radio system) is still installed in the vehicle and available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: This malfunction poses a safety risk while driving. When using navigation, if the sound cuts out unexpectedly, I am forced to look down at my device for directions, which distracts me from the road and increases the risk of an accident. In modern vehicles where navigation and hands-free systems are standard for safe driving, losing audio output directly impacts driver safety. Reproduction and Confirmation: The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by my local Ford dealership on two separate visits. The service department acknowledged that they are aware of the issue affecting multiple vehicles but stated that there is currently no available fix from Ford. Inspection: The vehicle has been inspected by the Ford dealership twice. They ran diagnostics and confirmed the issue originates from the speaker/radio system, but no replacement or repair has been offered at this time. The manufacturer (Ford) has not provided a technical service bulletin or recall to address it. Warning Signs or Messages: There were no warning lamps, error messages, or prior symptoms before the failure. The sound loss occurs randomly while driving, without any visible indicator or pattern. The first occurrence was shortly after purchasing the vehicle in September 2025, and the issue has continued intermittently since.

NHTSA ID

11691762

Incident

Sep 19, 2025

Repeated cross traffic alert and blind spot alert fault message.

NHTSA ID

11681145

Incident

Aug 17, 2025

When starting my commute to work and when returning home, the instrument panel and gauges display would not turn on. After power/engine restart and open/close driver door, I drove off and about 10 minutes into drive the instrument panel and gauges display started working. On the way to work I pulled over and took a photo. On the way home I sat in parking lot at work and videoed trying to get display to work. Vehicle security system was installed the day *after* the display failure, 04/18/2025.

NHTSA ID

11655457

Incident

Apr 17, 2025