What 143 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Later Release

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver stopped to make a turn and another vehicle crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. No warning light was illuminated. The rear-ended collision caused the front driver's side headrest to detach and fly off into the trunk of the vehicle. The contact's son suffered a sore leg, a small cut above the right ear, and confusion after the crash. Medical attention was received. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard but was not yet deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11744685

On May 15, 2006 I was turning slowly into a parking space perhaps 3 to 5 miles an hour. My vehicle suddenly surged forwarded and accelerated on its own. I hit a wall. No warning lights appeared. No crash warning or any beeping of any sort. My car had a recall for the fuel injector. In October 2025 Ford sent out someone to adjust the software at my home. I do not believe a tube was ever inserted. Witnesses reported I was going slow and the car accelerated. I eat at the location almost every day so they watch for my car and whether there were 1 or 2 people. So it is not just a random witness. I do not know what parts are involved other than to say there was an un commanded acceleration and engine surge.

NHTSA ODI 11741370

I was at a complete stop and a car rear ended me going 45 MPH. The airbags did NOT go off. Causing me to hit my head on the steering wheel. The car then gave warning on the Ford app saying " Your air bag warning is on due to an issue with the front passenger air bag system. The front passenger airbag may not work properly." Another notification says " Your air ab warning is on because the system has detected a crash." The police and paramedics at the scene where very shocked that the airbags did not deploy. I was taken to the ER by ambulance due to this. Please look into it, I would hate for someone to get hurt or killed due to this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11734095

The contact owns a 2023 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 contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that after filling the fuel tank and driving approximately 70 MPH, they noticed a fuel odor coming from the vehicle. After parking the vehicle for approximately 40 minutes, they returned to the vehicle that had been on fire. The fire department was contacted, which had put out the fire. The vehicle was towed and totaled. The fire had caused damage to the grounds on which the vehicle was parked. There was fuel contamination and burned areas in the yard and on the porch near where the vehicle was parked. There were no injuries. The dealer was contacted, who then referred them to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a claim was filed. The failure mileage was 50,268.

NHTSA ODI 11727949

The contact owned a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact received a 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 driving approximately 73 MPH, the vehicle experienced an unknown failure 16-18 minutes later. Based on the contact's memory, the vehicle caught on fire, rolled down an embankment, crashed into a tree and came to a stop. It was unknown whether a warning light was illuminated. All the air bags deployed. The contact stated that while the vehicle was burning, the contact's legs were trapped due to the impact of the crash. The local rescue squad arrived at the scene and assisted the contact out of the vehicle. The rescue squad transported the contact to the ambulance, which transported the contact to the hospital. The contact stated that the vehicle burned completely and the fire extended to the surrounding woods. The fire was extinguished by the local fire department. It was unknown whether a fire department report was filed. A police report was filed, but the police report information was not available. The contact received medical assistance and was informed that she had sustained a fractured sternum, 7 fractured ribs and cuts and bruises on the legs. The contact was also diagnosed with traumatic amnesia. The vehicle was towed by the insurance company to a local tow yard, where it remained for further investigation. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the vehicle insurance company for assistance. No further information was available. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11691052

The car in front of the car ahead of me slammed on their breaks so I slammed on mine. The car directly in front of me hit their breaks last but my car never stopped until it hit the car. I was pushing on the break as hard as I possibly could and it just felt like the car wouldn’t stop

NHTSA ODI 11678401

The bronco sport badlands has a purely cosmetic strip on the dash that is a reflective bright orange. Its like a thin ribbon that travels around the drivers area, when the sun is raising or setting that strip reflects back onto the inside of the windshield blocking vision. It changes depth perception massively and creates a line straight across the drivers field of vision. When the sun is up and clear it just normal reflects and can be blocked with sun glasses or such but the reflection periods absolutely can not. I am not alone in this, reddit, ford forums etc have multiple mentions of this. I have already been hit twice (both accidents other driver at fault) but I believe I could have avoided them with clear field of visions.

NHTSA ODI 11653594

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that the seat belt mechanisms for the rear driver's side and rear passenger side seats had malfunctioned and did not properly retract to secure the [XXX] child inside the car seat. On one occasion while making a turn the child's head made contact with the rear passenger side door window causing a mild head injury. No medical treatment was required. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the failure was not able to be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 3,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11619051

The alarm was going off when I opened the lift gate to put bags in. The alarm would not turn off so I opened driver’s door and stepped on brake and started the car. Alarm went off but car suddenly went into reverse and catapulted me out of the car. Driver four was open and I got pinned under the care while it continued to Move in reverse. The vehicle ran over my left lower leg both knees and R thigh. It kept moving about 35-40’ in reverse. My brother was there and he tried to stop the care but was also knocked down by driver four and his R foot was run over.

NHTSA ODI 11618629

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at 5 MPH, the rubber brake pad detached, the driver's foot slipped on the metal and crashed into a freezer, located in the garage and the bumper detached. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment, police report or fire. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a claim and referred her to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000.

NHTSA ODI 11610160

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport.The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the four-wheel drive engaged and disengaged independently. The contact stated she heard a loud clanking noise coming from the front tires as the four-wheel drive warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over and noticed smoke and a small fire coming from the front of the hood. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with some water from her water bottle. The fire department or local police department was not contacted. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and the following day to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V267000 (Electrical System, Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. 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 failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11598003

Break locked during turn and ABS system failed, as a result, cash crashed into a rock. This could have been very serious had the car been going faster. The car ABS system needs to be recalled on ALL BRONCO SPORTS. The car will go to the dealer for review. There were no warning lamps or other symptoms prior to the crash

NHTSA ODI 11588216

I was in a accident where I was not at fault. I had my car 3 weeks. Brand new, it took on right under 20k in damage. Both airbags deployed. They have had my car in the body shop for 7 months. I paid 34k for the car. They won't offer depreciation. They are making me pay a 7k rental bill. The person who is fixing my car has never worked on a bronco. So I am I'm a situation and I really need some help please. I don't feel my car will be safe to drive after all this

NHTSA ODI 11569238

Our brand new 2023 Ford Bronco Sport was destroyed by a spontaneous under-the-hood fire that occurred within thirty days of delivery and with less than 50 miles on the odometer. An independent examination found this consistent with a fuel injector fire. Ford Motor Company has publicly acknowledged similar problems with the Bronco Sport models and purportedly has recalled and "fixed" all effected vehicles. We notified Ford of this incident, that the production and delivery dates of our Bronco Sport were well AFTER these recalls had been completed, and that the VIN of our Bronco Sport does NOT appear on Ford's recall registry. In the overwhelming interest of public safety, we have urged Ford Motor Company to recover this vehicle and conduct its own investigation. Despite awareness and prior efforts by the Ford Motor Company to identify and correct defects in the design of the Bronco Sport, the catastrophic failure of our vehicle indicates a persistent problem and a significant ongoing consumer safety hazard. Ford Motor Company has not responded to our repeated requests and we are asking the NHTSA to conduct further inquiry.

NHTSA ODI 11566257