![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/08\/12\/PDTN\/14938d12-a7eb-4807-9c5e-28e37e582726-FordBronco_2-door-yellow.jpg?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nThe automaker said it doesn’t expect replacement roofs until October, at which time updates will be prioritized for oldest units first.\u00a0The letter was first posted to Bronco 6G forum\u00a0and reported by Automotive News. A Ford spokesperson\u00a0affirmed its authenticity and the company has\u00a0posted an\u00a0FAQ sheet<\/a>\u00a0on its website to assist customers.<\/p>\n “Our customers who already have a Bronco with a hardtop can keep driving them in the wild and we\u2019ll get them a new hardtop roof at no cost as soon as we can,” said Ford in a statement. “Unfortunately, for some customers who have ordered two-door and four-door Broncos with a hardtop roof, they will need to wait a bit longer.”<\/p>\n Ford says the issue will impact future production of the Bronco as well as current customers and order holders. Fewer 2021 models will roll off the Wayne Assembly Plant and new Bronco orders will now be for the 2022 model year. Bronco customers who have placed an order but do not yet have a production date can update their 2022 hardtop order \u2014 or switch to a 2021 soft-top model.<\/p>\n The roof issue has been a consistent\u00a0thorn in the side for Bronco, delaying production of 2021 SUVs earlier this year. The removable roof is made by German supplier Webasto, which struggled to equip its Plymouth manufacturing facility due to COVID-related issues. The new, $47.9 million manufacturing plant opened last year to service Ford and other automakers.<\/p>\n Previously, Ford pushed off two other roof options \u2014 a modular painted hardtop and dual roof \u2014 until 2022 models so Webasto could concentrate on getting molded-in color hardtops and soft tops. The supplier will make the replacement roofs.<\/p>\n TFLCar.com, one of the auto industry\u2019s premier benchmarking publications, experienced issues with a Bronco\u00a0First Edition model it purchased this year for testing.<\/p>\n Andre Smirnov, a writer for TFLCar, said they replaced the roof after experiencing \u201can\u00a0annoying rattle<\/a>\u00a0near the B-pillar.\u201d TFLCar did not experience fitment\u00a0or\u00a0water leaking issues in its tests<\/a>,\u00a0though they did notice some discoloration. They replaced the Silver Gray roof (matched with a Cyber Orange body color) with a black soft top\u00a0acquired from aftermarket accessories\u00a0supplier Bestop.<\/p>\n Despite its production issues, the wildly-anticipated Bronco has received rave reviews from media and owners for its style, off-road performance, and high-tech features. The Bronco is aimed squarely at Jeep\u2019s Wrangler franchise \u2014 and has also spawned a Bronco sub-brand in a Ford Icons brand strategy that includes Mustang and F-150.<\/p>\n The Bronco Sport SUV, also released this year, has been selling like hotcakes. It shares Bronco style cues, but is built\u00a0not on the Bronco’s ladder-frame truck platform,\u00a0but on the same unibody architecture as the Escape SUV.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Ford spokesperson\u00a0said the company is determined to help Bronco customers with the roof issue. Dealers will pick up SUVs in order to make the replacement when the time comes, and Ford has also offered\u00a0owners Bronco design posters, ride-and-drive experiences, and Ford Pass reward points.<\/p>\n The Bronco hiccups follow the bumpy launch of anther key Ford SUV, the Explorer, in 2019. Bronco owner forums have been buzzing about the roof issue, but it does not\u00a0seem to have dampened enthusiasm for the SUV. Dealers say orders\u00a0have been off the charts.<\/p>\n Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ford Motor Co. will replace hardtop roofs on all Bronco SUVs\u00a0due to a quality issues, the automaker said Thursday. In a letter to customers, the Dearborn-based company said the so-called “molded-in color hard tops” on both two and four-door Broncos have been\u00a0identified with\u00a0a quality issue that does not impact performance, but creates an “unsatisfactory appearance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27757,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27756\/revisions\/27757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/08\/12\/PDTN\/478a07a9-3ac7-4ee3-a108-315d519d6bf0-FordBronco_hard-roof-off.jpg?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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