Problems With Ford Bronco Roofs Delay Deliveries For Many Owners

It hasn't been a good week for Ford Bronco owners who have been patiently awaiting the delivery of their SUVs. The retro Bronco, which debuted last year, is built on a modern frame, but it looks like the iconic 4X4 SUV that first sold more than a half-century ago.

Latest Problem Plaguing SUVs

The latest problem plaguing the full-sized SUVs is the molded-in color hardtop roofs used on the SUVs. Webasto, a contractor to Ford, supplied the roofs. There have been quality problems reported for some time. The automaker confirmed that it had identified problems with the molded-in color hardtop roofs.

The roofs are parts of thousands of Ford Broncos built to date, said CNBC in a report. The problems will delay deliveries of the super-popular iconic vehicles by months.

Other soft roofs have been sourced through Haartz, as John Goreham, senior reporter, notes in an analysis of roof alternatives for the Bronco.

The problem boils down to one in which the Broncos will have an "unsatisfactory appearance when exposed to extreme water and humidity," a company spokesman confirmed. The message went out to dealers and customers recently. Ford emphasized that the roof problem does not impact the operation of the vehicle.

Ford expects to begin shipping replacement roofs beginning in October. The roofs will be shipped free of charge to owners who have already taken delivery of their Broncos. Those customers still awaiting delivery of their Broncos will be notified of their delivery dates in the coming months. Ford may move some deliveries from the 2021 model year to 2022.

Ford Acknowledges Need To Move Some Builds

"As a result of continued roof challenges, we will be producing fewer 2021 model year Bronco vehicles than initially planned," Ford said in an online Bronco forum.

The problem follows hard on the heels of Ford notifying Mustang Mach-E customers their vehicles will be delayed by at least six weeks due to the continuing semiconductor shortage.

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, "You Auto Know," an enterprise that I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.