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Bronco Sport PTU overheating??


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22 minutes ago, FR739 said:


While it may take a little longer than 15 minutes it’s still a possibility.  Even at -20 a car will still overheat with a stuck thermostat.  


A stuck thermostat is most definitely not a fully functional vehicle. 
 

All of these vehicles are engineered to withstand whatever climate it's intended to be sold in plus a few extreme circumstances to account for the occasional heat wave or deep freeze. Yes ambient temperature will effect performance but it shouldn't be detrimental . 

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

Read the quote from the Jeep owner above.  Ambient temp has a big effect.

 

1 hour ago, FR739 said:

While it may take a little longer than 15 minutes it’s still a possibility.  Even at -20 a car will still overheat with a stuck thermostat.  

 

1 hour ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Yes ambient temperature will effect performance but it shouldn't be detrimental . 

 

Thank you all for explaining the impact of ambient temperature for this issue.

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22 minutes ago, snooter said:

No, you dont run lightweight garbage intended for the escape then claim off-road ability via marketing advertising......

There has to be a line where that ability reaches a limit, otherwise purpose built off road vehicles wouldn't exist.

While  Bronco Sport fails to live up to your expectations, that may not be the case for all the folks actually buying one 

and at least those folks now know what they're buying eyes open going in.....

Edited by jpd80
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You have to know what you're buying. You can't expect a c car fwd platform to perform like a midsize pickup based utility in the same way I wouldn't expect a midsize pickup based utility to perform the same as my one ton axled 4 linked 78 bronco on one ton axles and 42s... People buying the bronco sport aren't going to be rock crawling and blasting around in the dunes with them. They might see a dirt road or unpaved park road on the way to park somewhere to go hiking or kayaking or whatever those types do. It's a "lifestyle" vehicle and even then, most of the people buying them won't ever leave pavement. Thinking of getting one for my gf to commute in.. but I have no delusions of her driving it on our next off road park trip and doing anything that we do offroad with our dedicated off road rigs. Did see an article on jalopnik about it where the write spoke with a Ford engineer about it.. the conclusion was basically "we built it for who we know is going to buy it and what their expectations are". I'll see if I can find it again.

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18 minutes ago, Captainp4 said:

You have to know what you're buying. You can't expect a c car fwd platform to perform like a midsize pickup based utility in the same way I wouldn't expect a midsize pickup based utility to perform the same as my one ton axled 4 linked 78 bronco on one ton axles and 42s... People buying the bronco sport aren't going to be rock crawling and blasting around in the dunes

True, but you forgot that Ford is marketing the Bronco Sport as being capable of doing so.  It may very well be capable, however, it’s up to Ford or the dealer to educate the customer on how to do it appropriately (or the customer to educate themselves on using the correct drive modes, etc).  Not every customer is as intelligent as we are.  ?

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11 minutes ago, Captainp4 said:


I read that when it published. I generally like David Tracy's writing (he's really the only one left at Jalopnik I enjoy. Everyone else seems to hate cars) but he's expecting way more than what this is capable of. 

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2 minutes ago, 02MustangGT said:

True, but you forgot that Ford is marketing the Bronco Sport as being capable of doing so.  It may very well be capable, however, it’s up to Ford or the dealer to educate the customer on how to do it appropriately (or the customer to educate themselves on using the correct drive modes, etc).  Not every customer is as intelligent as we are.  ?


I mean anything is fairly capable if you don't give a fuck about it enough, I've had buddy's run trails in 2wd trucks that I never thought would be possible, but enough speed and disregard for the vehicle will make it do lots of things lol. But you're right, education on the electronics and drive modes and their limitations are important factors. I'd note in all these articles the bronco sport never failed, it just gave itself a break to cool down so it wouldn't fail.

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5 minutes ago, Captainp4 said:


I mean anything is fairly capable if you don't give a fuck about it enough, I've had buddy's run trails in 2wd trucks that I never thought would be possible, but enough speed and disregard for the vehicle will make it do lots of things lol. But you're right, education on the electronics and drive modes and their limitations are important factors. I'd note in all these articles the bronco sport never failed, it just gave itself a break to cool down so it wouldn't fail.

Couldn’t agree more!  I have watched several reviews of the BS on YouTube where the vehicle was used as designed (I think @akirby linked a great vid in one of these threads).  I was impressed with how the BS made some “difficult” situations seem effortless when the correct drive mode was engaged.  Education is key, read the manual.  

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1 hour ago, snooter said:

No, you dont run lightweight garbage intended for the escape then claim off-road ability via marketing advertising......


It’s not lightweight garbage.  The badlands has liquid cooling and the PTU is not failing.  There is a limit to any system and these are not designed to stay in 4wd mode at high speeds for 10-15 minutes at a time.  Jeep has the same problem.  But how often is an actual owner going to encounter it?  And it doesn’t mean the vehicle isn’t fully capable in the other 99 scenarios.

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1 hour ago, Captainp4 said:


Wow.  That’s even more sad that this happened at an official Ford event.  You think they’d avoid that.  
 

Really good commentary in the comments too.  Dave Tracy is genuine and a great writer. 

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I'd liken it to the guy that bought a brand new raptor and launched it off a motocross sized ramp right after he bought it then complained he totaled it when it landed. Yeah, Ford advertised it as a desert truck that can jump in the dunes.. but does anyone really think they can jump a production full frame truck that high in the air and be fine? "real" baja trucks are full tube chassis with over double the suspension travel and shocks that probably cost as much as a raptor. Know what you're buying and what it's intended use is.

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15 minutes seems short enough that this should have been caught during testing.  Makes me wonder what the pass/fail criteria was.  If this was a press event, who knows how many drivers had hooned it for 15 minutes at a time before that to warm it up.

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3 hours ago, slemke said:

15 minutes seems short enough that this should have been caught during testing.  Makes me wonder what the pass/fail criteria was.  If this was a press event, who knows how many drivers had hooned it for 15 minutes at a time before that to warm it up.

The article also indicates that the lower trimmed Bronco Sports don't have cooling on the ptu, 

that feature seems reserved for the Badlands trim. I wonder if ford will repent and make the 

liquid cooled unit an option.....

 

This sounds similar to when the GT350 was introduced and transmission/differential coolers 

were not accessible when tech option was checked, Ford eventually corrected the error by 

making them compulsory standard equipment...

 

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40 minutes ago, jpd80 said:

The article also indicates that the lower trimmed Bronco Sports don't have cooling on the ptu, 

that feature seems reserved for the Badlands trim. I wonder if ford will repent and make the 

liquid cooled unit an option.....


The Jalopnik article also indicated this PTU failure also occurred on a Badlands model.   

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8 minutes ago, FR739 said:


The Jalopnik article also indicated this PTU failure also occurred on a Badlands model.   

OK but keep in mind that this wasn't a failure and that the reporter was able to continue after a short break.

I dunno, maybe Ford has set the overheat protection software too conservatively, maybe before first major service?

I remember GM gearboxes had this nanny software where three or four hard launches would send the car into limp mode..

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Matt VanDyke, Ford's U.S. marketing director. "This vehicle is designed for customers who are looking to go anywhere. They want capability. They've got versatility needs. They're not Point A to Point B people. They're seeking outdoor adventure."

 

Nuff said hahahahahahahaha

Edited by MKII
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33 minutes ago, MKII said:

Matt VanDyke, Ford's U.S. marketing director. "This vehicle is designed for customers who are looking to go anywhere. They want capability. They've got versatility needs. They're not Point A to Point B people. They're seeking outdoor adventure."

 

Nuff said hahahahahahahaha


I think some of you are missing the point here.

 

At no time did a Bronco Sport break down or become immobilized.  At no time did any parts fail or have to be replaced.  In all cases (3 total - 2 of which were pre production units and 2 which were not badlands) drivers were able to resume goat mode operation after a few minutes.  The hill climb was successful on the 2nd try.  It negotiated steep hills, rock crawling.  It negotiated deep sand just fine, just not for an extended time period.  There are no cases where it failed to conquer any terrain.

 

This not being a fanboi it’s being factual.

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Transverse engine FWD based vehicles provide efficient space utilization but all seem to have more issues when turning them into all wheel drive because the space available for packaging a ptu (instead of a transfer case) is very limited.

this drives many compromises especially the amount of lube that the units can hold.

All these on demand systems transfer some torque all the time which works the lube excessively. When driven on highway, most customers will not have issues 95 percentile!

I have found that most of the time, people do not select the driving mode at all. That is in normal default! If you go off road, especially sand, the system will overheat and the coupling will open until temps go into normal range.

Proper training is key to making these systems work as intended! Driver intervention to choose the right 4WD operating mode is questionable for most people.

In conventional RWD 4WD designs, in low range the front and rear axles were always locked so the inter axle coupling was never at risk!

maybe, if you want to go off road, you need the Bronco, Ranger, F150 !

edselford

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