The Ford Bronco Badlands and Sasquatch Package-equipped models face a new suspension recall.
Over the fast few years since the Blue Oval resurrected one of its most iconic nameplates, the new Bronco has been incredibly popular with folks who want a go-anywhere, do-anything off-roader. It hasn’t all been sunny days and smooth trails, though, as Ford just launched a new recall for just under 150,000 examples because (*checks notes*) the external reservoirs on the rear shock absorbers could fall off. According to what the automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), certain 2021-2024 Ford Bronco models of both the two- and four-door variety could be susceptible to the problem.
“In some of the affected vehicles,” Ford says, “the rear shock absorbers may experience corrosion between the external reservoir, mounting flange and the damper body. This may result in degradation of the external reservoir welds causing fluid leaks near the rear wheels, noise, separation of the external reservoir and/or a bouncy ride.” The real safety concern, as you probably worked out reading that statement, centers around the “separation” part, wherein the reservoir can create both hazardous debris for other motorists, and a potential crash risk for the Bronco driver.
Overall, Ford tells safety regulators the issue impacts about 30% of the entire recall population, totaling 149,449 vehicles built between September 23, 2020 and July 23, 2024. The automaker’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) notes a design change with the mounting flange between the damper body and external reservoir from a long flange to a short flange assembly improves robustness on vehicles built after May 1, 2024 for Badlands models or July 23, 2024 for Sasquatch package-equipped Broncos addressed the issue in production.
As of December 2024, Ford says it’s received 551 warranty claims for the problem, one field report, and two customer reports related to the problem. Specifically, this corrosion issue concerns Bilstein shock absorbers on the above-mentioned models, and not the Fox shocks seen on the Bronco Raptor.
Ford already notified its dealers on January 21 and is sending notices like this out to impacted customers this week. The company says replacement parts are not yet available to fix the 150,000-or-so examples that may have the issue, but it expects a remedy to be available by later this summer or early fall (in the third quarter). Right now, it is not telling customers to avoid driving their Broncos, but you will want to keep an eye out for issues over the coming months. Namely, watch out for a bouncy ride, leaking fluid near the rear shock absorber reservoirs, or noticeable corrosion around the reservoir welds.
