2021 Ford Bronco: sudden loss of power

Filed Aug 13, 2026 · Brakes, Electrical · GA

While driving, I experienced the brakes beginning to fail, followed shortly by a complete loss of engine power. My 2021 Ford Bronco is subject to recall 25S75 (the federal safety agency 25V455) for a low pressure fuel pump defect that can cause loss of fuel pressure or flow and engine stall. I was stranded on the side of the interstate in 100 degree heat with my newborn in the vehicle. This was a dangerous situation, not a minor inconvenience. I had the vehicle towed to an AAA Car Care Center in Charlotte, NC, where the fuel pump failure was diagnosed. AAA could not perform a repair because the issue falls under an open safety recall. I contacted the Ford Recall Assistance Center and was told no remedy is currently available for recall 25S75. I also visited Capital Ford Charlotte, who confirmed the same, that no remedy exists yet. With the vehicle inoperable and no repair available anywhere, I paid out of pocket for private transport to move the vehicle to my home in Newnan, GA, since Ford could not confirm coverage for towing to my home dealership. As of August 12, 2026, the federal safety agency materials still list the remedy for 25S75 as under development. My vehicle remains inoperable with no path to repair. This is now also preventing me from selling or trading the vehicle. A dealership (Buford Toyota) declined to even appraise it because it will not run. I am filing this complaint to document that an open, unremedied safety recall directly caused a vehicle failure that endangered myself and my infant child, and continues to leave the vehicle unusable and unsellable months later.

Filed Feb 18, 2026 · Engine · VA

A Safety Recall was issued on the vehicle with no remedy. The recall was in reference to the Engine Intake Valves and stated; "The engine intake valves may crack and break, which could result in loss of motive power and increase the risk of a crash". It also stated, " Prior to losing motive power, an engine malfunction indicator lamp may illuminate in the cluster and the driver may notice that the vehicle is running rough". This issue was the result of Ford manufacturing using a material that had "hardness issues". This all came out prior to the vehicle reaching the end of its warranty mileage. A test was required on the engine at the dealership at which time, the technician determined there was no need to perform the "recall test" (confirmed by video sent to us). On or around Dec. 17th, while my wife was driving the vehicle and entering a gas station, the check engine light came on, and the vehicle began losing power. She parked and immediately contacted the Ford dealership. They advised her to not drive the vehicle and have it towed to the nearest dealership (She was in Pennsylvania picking up our daughter from college). It was determined by the dealership in Pa. that compression in a cylinder was down 5% and the vehicle needed a new engine. We had the vehicle towed back to Virginia and inspected by the dealership who services the vehicle. Parts of the engine were removed for visual inspection at which time a crack intake valve was found, confirming the engine was no good. Also, confirming the issue Ford had stated in its recall. All information and pictures were sent to Ford manufacturing for determination on fixing the problem. Ford has said they will not cover the total cost to make good on their recall because the vehicle was out of warranty (miles were exceeded). How are consumers protected from manufactures taking advantage of mileage? The SAFETY recall was issued long before the warranty ran out. What if my wife had crashed w/ our daughter?

Filed Aug 10, 2025 · Engine · OK · crash

Ford has issued a recall (24S55) stating the Intake valves on the ford bronco with engine2.7L and 3.0L will harden and crack or break and loss of power. I had the same issue in my 2021 Ford Bronco with the 2.3L engine while I was driving in the highway I got a check engine light then it started cutting out horribly so I slowed down to pull off the road through a metal gate that was open with a cattle guard and the engine died as I was turning in and loss power steering trying to turn the wheel back in time I didn’t and ended up side swiping the pole and knocking off my side mirror and damaging my front quarter panel along with the front door. No damage to the solid metal pole. But I took my vehicle to the local ford dealership to see what the issue was and at the time they should have gotten the recall and at least put two and two together and let ford know about the issue in the 2.3L also but they didn’t mention anything about the valve being broken but said it had no compression and the spark plug diode was broke off. I’ve never seen a diode and the diodes ground hook break off on its own it’s always been broken off from being hit by something but they said it needed a whole new engine for $13,000 so I took it to another mechanic since that’s always that dealerships go to answer for everything is it needs a new engine so the new mechanic did the same stuff and also used a bore scope but instead of just saying the cylinder was bad he seen the hole in the valve and said it just needs a new head with new valves so since I needed my ride to be able to get to work and for half the price they tore it down and sure enough the valve was cracked with a hole just as they said and just like the recall (24S55) but had that dealership paid attention to safety alerts and ran the issue up with ford and let them know the same issue had happened in the bronco with the 2.3L engines also I wouldn’t be writing this right now. I’d be putting a 5 star review on their page not a 1.

Filed May 25, 2025 · Electrical · TN

I have a new issue with my Bronco. While it drives well most of the time, I now regularly encounter a problem where multiple error messages pop up on the screen (sequentially) while I am driving, causing the vehicle to effectively, stop responding. The engine remains on, and I don't lose power to the brakes or steering, but the car won't react when I press the gas pedal. It seems like it's some critical failure safety measure, though feels critically unsafe when it occurs. When surrounded by other vehicles, at speed, I am forced to coast to a stop (with a prayer). Usually, when I put it in park, turn off the vehicle, and get out, it will reset all of the errors and work again. This situation is quite dangerous, especially when I'm around other cars. I contacted Ford, but they fit me in for two weeks. Here are the error codes that appear in order: -4x4 Off -Service Vehicle Soon -Service advance Trac -Check 4x4 -Pre-collision assist not available -Service advance track

Filed Aug 21, 2024 · Fuel system · CA

While driving my family of 4 the week before last, our Bronco without warning began shaking and then lost all power / ability to accelerate. I was able to pull to the side of the road before the engine completely shut off. A warning light then showed indicating “manual restart required” for which I could not locate any information in the manual. This happened in 110 degree heat and with young kids in the car. There was no previous warning and the engine would not reengage. Vehicle had to be towed 100 miles to Ford dealership nearer to our home. Dealership diagnosis indicated the problem was the fuel pump which then was replaced, although they did not acknowledge that this was a “known” issue. We were fortunate this happened in an area where we were able to pull over outside of a direct traffic lane and did not happen 15 minutes later where we would have been traveling at high speed on a busy freeway.

Filed Jul 15, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · WA

Bronco lost power, crank no start, 24 miles from a maintained road. Left us stranded and required 5 Jeeps to recover vehicle to pavement before having it towed to dealer 172 miles away. Extremely dangerous situation to lose power descending a steep hill and leaving vehicle stranded miles off road in 100+ degree weather. Low Fuel pressure DTC captured, possible loss of fuel pump, several similar reports on [XXX] . Currently at dealership for diag and warranty work. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Dec 27, 2023 · Brakes, Electrical · PA

Four hours into a drive today, going down a fairly steep hill @ ~30mph into a 4 point intersection my Bronco lost all power, brakes and steering. I mean it had nothing. We barely made it thru the intersection because the cars coming directly at us slammed brakes. I had no control and went off the road into someone’s yard, barely missing their fence. It was the scariest thing we’ve ever encountered. My son in the back screaming STOP at the top of his lungs is burned in my brain. What makes all of this worse is that Ford just had it in the shop for 3 days because the week before when they had my Bronco in the shop for yearly inspection/oil change and under their care it had the first symptoms of this issue. I received an app notice of a battery failure AND at their request because of this new issue they wanted my car for a “longer look” the following week. Today was first time driving it since they handed it back to me (I use the valet service that picks up and drops it back to me). Ford could come back and say they will give us a new car and there’s no way I can ever convince my wife to get back in this car. She was absolutely freaked out as the cars coming towards us would have drilled her door. It took Ford 4 hours to come 17 miles to tow us (probably a contractor) to the local Ford dealer that was closed by the time it arrived. We had to Uber to Enterprise and then drive the rental home four hours.

Filed Jun 14, 2023 · Engine · IL

Driving on the highway, the check engine light came on. I felt a loss of power in the vehicle, and couldn't accelerate. I was able to pull over put the car in park and turn it off. When I tried to turn it on, there was no power. Had to get it towed to the dealership to replace the engine.

Filed Sep 30, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · CA

In November 2021, I received delivery of my new Ford Bronco 4WD Badlands vehicle. I went for a road trip with my family and friends in my new car. While driving back, the car engine light appeared on the dashboard, along with the service alert, and the car began to make noise. I pulled over and tried to restart the car, but it never started. We were in the mountains, where there was no signal for more than ten miles. We were completely stranded, along with my kids, who were 13 and 16 at the time, and one of my friends' 8-year-old daughter. We were fortunate to be with our friends and he was able to take us to a near-safe area where we could contact Ford and the dealership. After 5 hours of waiting in a safe zone, we received a towing truck. I picked up the car with the towing driver and parked it at a nearly Ford dealership. We had to book a hotel room in the area, and the next morning I went to the local Ford dealership to request an appointment to see the problem, but they said they didn't have any appointments available for another three weeks and insisted I call Ford customer service again. Ford customer service arranged for the same towing company that came last night to help haul the car to my dealership, where I purchased this car. My local Towne Ford dealership was nice enough to inspect and repair the car, but after a few days, I had a similar issue and they suggested that they replace the engine with a new one. The dealership took nearly a month to ship and repair the engine replacement. A few weeks ago, as my family and I were driving from SF to LA, my car suddenly lost power. I kept getting the message, "Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power fault detected," and later, "Service Engine Soon warning," which states that the engine control system has determined that the turbocharger is producing less boost than normal.It was shocking because I was on vacation with my family in LA, and the kids were terrified to even be in the car. this are some experiences

Filed Sep 22, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · CO

my car went from 50 mph to nothing. lost power. coasted to the side of the road barely avoiding traffic. dark road, sheriff had to sit behind car so I was not rear ended in pitch dark had to be towed to the dealer. one week later dealer uncertain. likely complete engine failure maybe fuel valve less than one year old. 11,000 miles

Filed Aug 2, 2022 · Engine · IL

July 15, 2022 - lost power on I80 during heavy traffic. I had to pull to the side as I could not accelerate. Luckily it restarted and I was able to get home. I took it in for service at the dealership the next day (engine light did not come on until the next morning). I was told it was an issue with the catalytic converter and parts were on backorder but it was safe to drive until the part came in. 3 days ago, on Saturday July 30th, I was in my driveway getting to leave and my Bronco wouldn't start, it turned over briefly and then died. The engine made a loud 'knocking' noise and then complete silence. This was a Saturday so they couldn't schedule a tow until until Monday, its been at the dealership for 2 days and they are waiting to hear back from an engineer. I know it's covered under warranty but I think a recall should be issued before someone dies. I was driving about 60-65 mph when I lost acceleration. There was construction ahead but thankfully, it happened before an off ramp. If it hadn't happened in that spot, I wouldn't have had a shoulder to pull over to.

Filed Jun 22, 2022 · Fuel system · CA

On June 9, 2022, while traveling on an Interstate Highway at about 80 mph, the engine sputtered and died without any warning light activation. The vehicle failure caused an extremely unsafe condition which caused me to navigate without power, in moderate traffic, from the #1 lane, across the #2 lane and onto the shoulder. The failure caused me to perform this high risk maneuver in front of an approaching big rig traveling in the #2 lane. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Ford dealership where an inspection determined the fuel pump had failed. The fuel pump was replaced but the dealership did not know if the replacement had been redesigned to prevent such catastrophic failures in the future. The loss of power was sudden and immediate without any prior warning messages and/or warning lamp activation.