Air Conditioning / Engine Cooling System / Belts and Pulleys My vehicle experienced a sudden failure of power while driving. When restarting the car as instructed by the vehicle to try and get it back home, it kept losing power. Eventually? there was a loud under-hood popping noise and visible smoke billowing from under the hood. Upon inspection by the dealership the A/C compressor locked up and broke a belt. The purge valve has failed and is leaking. This means the compressor, condenser, purge valve, and ac lines and txv valve needs to be replaced. A broken belt causes an immediate loss of power steering assist, loss of alternator charging, and rapid engine overheating. Experiencing a sudden loss of steering control at highway speeds drastically increases the risk of a severe motor vehicle crash. The vehicle has been taken to an authorized repair facility. Ford has not issued a safety recall for this defect. I would appreciate it if this issue was looked into.
2023 Ford Bronco Sport: sudden loss of power
8 of the 163 complaints about the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport describe sudden loss of power.
- owner complaints
- 8
- of this car's complaints
- 5%
- recalls
- 0
Sudden loss of power by model year
What owners say
My vehicle is currently experiencing drivability issues including: * Wrench warning light with “See Manual” message, * Hesitation during acceleration, * Intermittent reduced engine power, * Prior fuel odor concerns, * Unsafe acceleration response while driving.
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport. While the contact’s girlfriend was driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost power and stalled. During the failure, the exterior lighting became inoperable, and several messages were displayed, including the message "No Key Detected". After exiting the vehicle, the doors locked and could not be unlocked. The child and child car seat located in the rear seat of the vehicle were manually shifted to the front driver’s side door and removed from the vehicle. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 27,000.
The apparent failure involves the engine lubrication and/or cooling system. After approximately 30 minutes of driving, I noticed a strong burning oil/fluid/exhaust-type odor. Initially, I believed it was coming from other vehicles because my vehicle had passed inspection about two weeks earlier. Once parked and away from traffic, it became clear the odor was coming from my vehicle. About one hour later, I discovered a large puddle of oil underneath the vehicle. Upon inspection, the coolant reservoir was nearly empty and the engine oil level was almost completely absent from the dipstick. I added approximately four quarts of oil. The leak appears to occur or worsen once the engine reaches operating temperature. No warning lights, dashboard messages, or other indicators appeared before or during the failure. There were no visible leaks where the vehicle had been parked earlier that same day. The burning odor was the only symptom prior to discovering the fluid loss. This created a serious safety risk because the vehicle appears capable of rapidly losing oil and coolant without warning, which could result in engine seizure, loss of power, fire risk, or loss of vehicle control while driving. Oil leaking onto road surfaces could also create hazards for other motorists. The vehicle has never been off-road or driven on anything other than paved roads, and the leak does not appear to originate from the oil drain plug area. The vehicle and failed components are available for inspection upon request. Because this occurred during the weekend, the vehicle has not yet been inspected by a dealer or independent repair facility. I intend to contact the dealer on Monday for diagnosis and inspection. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives.
Dear Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, I am submitting this letter in support of a Texas Lemon Law complaint regarding my vehicle, which has experienced repeated mechanical failures that substantially impair its use, value, and safety. The vehicle has been subject to multiple manufacturer recalls and remains in the repair shop at this time. It is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle has exhibited a persistent knocking sound from the engine or drivetrain area, intermittent loss of power, and a brake system defect in which the brakes stick unexpectedly. These conditions have continued despite multiple repair attempts by an authorized dealership, including repairs related to manufacturer recalls. These defects constitute a serious safety concern. The loss of power occurred while driving and created a hazardous situation by preventing the vehicle from accelerating as expected in traffic. The brake sticking condition impaired my ability to maintain safe control of the vehicle and increased the risk of sudden or unintended braking, endangering myself, passengers, and other motorists. The issues have been reproduced and acknowledged by the dealership, as demonstrated by repeated service visits. The vehicle has been inspected and repaired by the manufacturer’s authorized service center on multiple occasions. No inspections have been conducted by law enforcement or insurance representatives. Prior to and following recall repairs, the vehicle continued to exhibit symptoms including the knocking noise and intermittent power loss. Any warning lamps or dashboard messages are UNKNOWN. Because these defects remain unresolved after a reasonable number of repair attempts and involve safety-related systems, I believe this vehicle meets the criteria for review under the Texas Lemon Law. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
In September my dad was driving my car in eco mode and the wrench light came on. I got an alert in my ford app that there was a transmission problem and lack of power issue. My dad and husband were in CO at the time with my car. They took it to a dealership and the light had gone off they said it was pulling turbo codes. They drove it back to AR and I took it in the shop and they said nothing was wrong and couldn’t find an issue. I did have the recall for loss of power fixed in May. When the light came on in the car in September there was a noticeable loss of power. I requested the redo the recall but they declined. I have not had a light come back on since then.
Vehicle has had continuous issues with loss of oil pressure. Vehicle has been to ford service dept multiple times and is still uncorrected. Issue arises when placed under mild to hard acceleration conditions, ie passing a vehicle on interstate conditions. Problem is able to be duplicated when at operating temperatures. Once oil leashed is lost, the vehicle goes into limp mode with an illuminated engine light and low oil pressure warning message in the display screen. Message will clear and vehicle will go back into normal operation once the vehicle has been shut down and restarted. The engine light will remain illuminated. This issue almost resulted in a motor vehicle collision while enroute to work this morning trying to avoid a semi that rapidly changed lanes to avoid another accident. When I went to accelerated to avoid the collision, I lost power and was almost hit.
Vehicle stopped running without any warnings. Lost power, power steering and I don't know what else.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Certain 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco, 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco Sport, 2020-2022 Model Year Corsair and...
- Customer Satisfaction Program 25M02 Certain 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape with...
- This article supersedes TSB 25-2428 to update the Parts List
- Customer Satisfaction Program 25N03 Certain 2021-2023 Model Year Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape with...
- Certain 2023-2025 Model Year Escape and Corsair, 2024-2025 Nautilus, 2025 Bronco Sport and Maverick...
- This article supersedes TSB 25-2063 to update the Service Procedure
- Some 2021-2024 Edge/Nautilus, 2021-2025 Bronco/Bronco...
- Water coolant pump leaks
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport loss of power
Is sudden loss of power a common problem on the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport?
8 of 163 owner complaints about the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport (5%) mention sudden loss of power. The model year with the most reports is 2021.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport?
There are 0 recalls and 14 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2023 Ford Bronco Sport
Fuel smell 13Check engine light 12Stalling 9Fire or smoke 6Jerking 6Transmission failure 5
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