On XXX, driving at a relatively low rate of speed coming off the on-ramp from [XXX] onto [XXX], the hood of our Thrifty rental vehicle, a 2024 Ford Bronco, suddenly and without warning, flew up and completely obstructed the windshield. As we had just entered the highway we were quite fortunate to have been in the right hand lane and able to safely pull into the breakdown lane. And even more fortunate that there were not cars immediately ahead or behind us that we could have hit. And third, very fortunate that the force of the hood did not shatter the windshield. The hood flew up with such force that it essentially "wedged" itself into the side edges of the car and had to be manually dislodged to be closed. Some tube or coil-like structure on the right side of the car had been split in two by the force (later learned this was the windshield wiper fluid hose). Two other points of importance - it was very windy that day. And there was absolutely no warning on the dashboard system that the hood was ajar or anything to that effect. We drove at a very low rate of speed to the next exit to find a service station where the car could be inspected before driving the 3 hours on to [XXX]. The mechanic stated the problem had been with the hood latch, but it appeared safe for us to drive. On returning the car to Thrifty, a verbal report was immediately given, but it seemed strange to me that no paperwork was filled out. The woman processing cars wrote down "windshield wiper hose" and left to move some vehicles. I waited for about 10 minutes, but she didn't return. Research upon my return home revealed similar problems reported with other Ford Broncos - both with the hood opening unexpectedly while driving and with faulty dashboard warning systems. [XXX] I was contacted by Thrifty's 3rd party vendor handling "damage incidents" - PurCo and related these events. They claim Thrifty sees no problem on their end. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI 11743267