The hardtop of the Ford Bronco has several parts, and, although it is easily retractable, its structure remains complex. While we might have believed in sealing issues, it’s more the plastic it is made of that complicates matters.
Rumors have been heard about the roof design of the Ford Bronco for a long time. Initially, it was said that the waterproofing of the roof was a problem. For now, owners of the next-gen Bronco don’t seem to be struggling with the issue, so that’s a positive point. Some of them are rather experimenting with delamination of the plastic that constitutes the bulk of the roof panels.
The roof panels are made of several different layers of plastic, resin and mesh to ensure their rigidity. On the Bronc6G forum, we discover more images where plastic seems to be expanding. These anomalies are particularly apparent on the edges of the panels, the most exposed places.
In other cases, it is the very mesh of the structure which is apparent. This reality illustrates the thinness of the recovery. Necessarily, Ford or the design team sought to keep weight as low as possible, but it seems to have gone a bit too far. In this case, we can even wonder about the rigidity of the roof structure.
Ford will likely have to go through a replacement of faulty or damaged roofs. Initially, Ford was to offer the option of ordering the hard top in body color. This option has been canceled for the 2021 model year, only gray, unpainted, is available. In the case of the four-door version, it is still possible to opt for the soft top, but not with the Bronco 2-door which only receives the hardtop.
It is the German supplier Webasto, which also manufactures sunroofs and, among other things, convertible tops, which is responsible for making the Bronco panels. Heavily hit by the pandemic, production has been at maximum capacity for months. Ford suggested that Webasto set up another plant in the region of Detroit in Michigan to pick up the pace. The two companies are still in negotiations on this matter. However, even with the opening of new facilities, the problem of the roof plastic design remains to be solved.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Ford’s management should not appreciate the situation. Ford is known to go to great lengths to increase the initial quality of its products, which until recently was a real problem. It’s all the more irritating given that the Bronco is a model that hobbyists have been waiting for a long time, and the list of controls is long. Ford can’t afford a false start with this truck.
