Last year, during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Ford CFO Kumare Glahotra made a promise to investors.
“Improving quality is the single biggest driver to close our cost gap. Better quality lowers warranty expense and reduces recalls,” Galhotra said.
But so far this year, Ford once again leads all manufacturers in recalls by a wide margin.
The Blue Oval has issued 36 recalls so far this year, nearly triple the 14 recalls Hyundai, General Motors and Chrysler have all had in second place, according to NHTSA data.
This time, Ford is recalling its popular Bronco SUV due to a safety issue with the hardtop roof.
Ford is recalling 16,200 3-door and 5-door Molded-in-Color hardtop Ford Broncos due to the possibility that the roof panel’s exterior skin may crack, potentially causing the outer layer to fly off while you are driving.
The Bronco has become Ford’s second-best-selling SUV behind the Explorer as the company begins to phase out the Ford Escape.
But now this popular SUV is facing a recall for yet another quality-control issue the company hasn’t been able to get a handle on.
2020 – 2022 model year Ford Broncos recalled for hard-top cover malfunction
This week, Ford is recalling its popular Ford Bronco for yet another manufacturing issue that could become dangerous
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safety Recall Report, Ford Broncos built between September 23, 2020, and January 13, 2022, for the 3-door body styles and between September 23, 2020, and October 22, 2021, for the 5-door body models are subject to inspection due to the issue.
Ford says it won’t send notifications to all affected owners until November 5, 2026, so in the meantime, if you’re a Bronco owner, look out for progressive delamination across sections of the hard top cover, or you may even hear increased wind noise.
You can also use the NHTSA website to search your VIN number or license plate number to see if your Bronco is affected by the recall.
As of March 19, Ford has received 25 warranty claims, two field reports and two customer complaints in the U.S. due to the issue. The company says it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries related to the faulty part.
Ford promises to fix quality control issues
The Molded-in-Color Hardtop is Ford’s standard removable roof for the Bronco. “MIC is textured molded in color with three removable panels. Two over the front seats and one over the rear seats. Back shell is also removable,” according to the Bronco Nation message board. “Painted tops take two (or more) stages in the manufacturing process. Because painted tops take longer to get out the door, most car manufacturers may have MIC (or other non-painted parts) at a vehicle’s launch.”
But Ford has had more than just trouble with its hard top roofs recently.
Ford sets recall record it doesn’t want
Ford set a record last year for the most recalls in a single year, but the company has had quality control issues for longer than that.
In 2023, Ford spent $4.8 billion fixing customer vehicles, a 15% increase from the previous year. It set aside $1,203 for warranty repairs on each car it sold that year, according to Warranty Week.
A recent study by iSeeCars.com, analyzing 31 years of recall history, found that Ford is the least proactive car brand in issuing recalls. Fewer than 30% of the cars recalled over the last three decades were due to a problem Ford found on its own.
To remedy this problem, in 2024, Ford initiated a new quality assurance program that incorporates “testing vehicles to failure,” running them “at extremely high mileage” to find potential problems before customers do.
At the time, CEO Jim Farley said the new approach would “reduce warranty (costs) over time.”
But according to Galhotra, the company is dealing with quality issues from a bygone era.
“You need time to clear the car park of old issues. It all starts with a clean launch,” Galhotra said. “A bad launch creates years of warranty and recall problems. Over the past two years, we have radically improved our launch quality.”
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