Bilstein Shock Reservoir Fell Off

nrlucas

May 14, 2024

Well...this is a new one by me. I went out to the garage the other morning and noticed a pool of oil under my passenger rear tire. I jokingly thought to myself "Well....I better pick up some tire fluid while I'm out today.". But my joking attitude was quickly squelched when I discovered that it was coming from my shock. And the entire external reservoir was completely missing. I say this with the utmost embarrassment....but I have not had this thing off road at all yet. I live in boring, flat Indiana. The most off roading I've done was on maintained dirt roads when we visited Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan last summer. I wholeheartedly plan on putting this thing through its off road paces...I just haven't gotten anywhere to do it yet. I drove to work. No leak. I drove home from work, not hitting so much as a pothole, and then woke up the next morning to it leaking. While having this thing just fall apart on me is not that surprising from a Ford quality perspective, it IS somewhat a surprise from a Bilstein perspective. I think of them as THE name in shock absorbers. To have one fall apart at 24000 miles seems nothing short of ridiculous. I have an appointment to get it looked at next week. I have found a few other examples of people running into this issue, and getting it replaced under warranty seems to be a crap shoot. Anybody else experienced this?

Deano Bronc, Bluestreak57

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May 14, 2024

I thought someone had that happen over at 6G. And the TFL guys had one bust on the first edition they were playing around with. But yes, definitely a Bilstein issue.

FWIW, I have been super happy with the stock Foxes. Maybe time to find a set of take offs?

2023 Wildtrak. "Sometimes you got to get lost, to get found" -J Bronco

Kenneth, Deano Bronc

May 14, 2024

Yeah, this is a "common" issue. Some dealers aren't covering it; some have reported theirs did. People who have had it happen suggest moving up to the Bilstein 6100s or another manufacturer.

~~2021 Oxford White 2-door non-Sas Mid package 2.7L/10-speed Badlands with MIC top~~
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Keeping the Jeep~~s: stock '89 XJ and~~ 3.5" lifted '00 XJ on 31s and '89 MJ

Speed Devil, Deano Bronc

May 14, 2024

Laura
Yeah, this is a "common" issue. Some dealers aren't covering it; some have reported theirs did. People who have had it happen suggest moving up to the Bilstein 6100s or another manufacturer.

Sounds like the plan of action if they say it isn't covered is to decline service and say "I'll go find a dealership that does right by its customers." There's just no excuse for a vehicle that is allegedly able to go rock crawling to have a major suspension issue at 24K miles of daily driving.

Speed Devil, Eninty

May 14, 2024

nrlucas
Sounds like the plan of action if they say it isn't covered is to decline service and say "I'll go find a dealership that does right by its customers." There's just no excuse for a vehicle that is allegedly able to go rock crawling to have a major suspension issue at 24K miles of daily driving.

I wouldn’t expect a shock to be done at 24K miles. I also would be surprised if it would fall into a warranty repair such that is a “wear” item. Brake pads, lights and muffler would be the same.
Good luck

Speed Devil, Kenneth

May 14, 2024

Sounds like you have a Bronco that identifies as an MG.

MG bumper sticker
"All the parts falling off this car are of the finest british craftsmanship. "

Joined May 29, 2020 Member 546
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raqball, RobWTx

May 14, 2024

I have heard of the leaking, but to have the reservoir fall off is crazy!

BroncoFred, Deano Bronc

May 14, 2024

Are you able to tell if there is corrosion where it broke off?

May 15, 2024

extra toasty
I wouldn’t expect a shock to be done at 24K miles. I also would be surprised if it would fall into a warranty repair such that is a “wear” item. Brake pads, lights and muffler would be the same.
Good luck

I totally get wear items. Your wiper blades wear out, you have to replace them. But if the wiper arm falls off the vehicle, with an otherwise still perfectly fine wiper blade attached, I would expect the dealer to replace that. Wear down your brake pads…of course you replace them. But if the caliper locked up and burned my brake pad up, I would expect the dealer to fix it. The actual pistons aren’t worn out and it’s not even a moving part of the shock that failed, so how could there be “wear”? Not to mention, I drove my previous vehicle for 12 years, in the exact same environment as I’m driving my Bronco, and had ZERO suspension issues in that 12 years. And that’s in a car that had adaptive suspension where you could ride in touring mode, sport mode, or grand sport mode and it would stiffen the suspension up. For a vehicle that can supposedly rock crawl, having a non-moving part fail after 24K miles is pathetic!

Sven, Kenneth

May 15, 2024

nrlucas
I totally get wear items. Your wiper blades wear out, you have to replace them. But if the wiper arm falls off the vehicle, with an otherwise still perfectly fine wiper blade attached, I would expect the dealer to replace that. Wear down your brake pads…of course you replace them. But if the caliper locked up and burned my brake pad up, I would expect the dealer to fix it. The actual pistons aren’t worn out and it’s not even a moving part of the shock that failed, so how could there be “wear”? Not to mention, I drove my previous vehicle for 12 years, in the exact same environment as I’m driving my Bronco, and had ZERO suspension issues in that 12 years. And that’s in a car that had adaptive suspension where you could ride in touring mode, sport mode, or grand sport mode and it would stiffen the suspension up. For a vehicle that can supposedly rock crawl, having a non-moving part fail after 24K miles is pathetic!

“While extended car warranties and vehicle service contracts (VSCs) are designed to protect your vehicle from unexpected breakdowns, many will exclude shocks and struts. Even your factory or manufacturer's warranty's “bumper-to-bumper” coverage won't include these types of heavy wear and tear components.“

Just saying…

Kenneth, Deano Bronc

May 15, 2024

#10

swooshdave
Are you able to tell if there is corrosion where it broke off?

Here is a photo of it. I can't even tell how it was held on. Maybe weld? The hole doesn't appear to be threaded and there appears to be no rails that it would have slid onto. Definitely some corrosion all the way around the perimeter of where it was mounted though.

raqball, Kenneth

May 15, 2024

#11

nrlucas
Here is a photo of it. I can't even tell how it was held on. Maybe weld? The hole doesn't appear to be threaded and there appears to be no rails that it would have slid onto. Definitely some corrosion all the way around the perimeter of where it was mounted though.

Just a bad design

raqball, nrlucas

May 15, 2024

#12

nrlucas
Here is a photo of it. I can't even tell how it was held on. Maybe weld? The hole doesn't appear to be threaded and there appears to be no rails that it would have slid onto. Definitely some corrosion all the way around the perimeter of where it was mounted though.

Indiana? So salted roads? You would think Ford would know how to test for those. If the dealer declines I'd call Ford (call, don't email) as they are very friendly when you call.

Kenneth, Deano Bronc

May 15, 2024

#13

swooshdave
Indiana? So salted roads? You would think Ford would know how to test for those. If the dealer declines I'd call Ford (call, don't email) as they are very friendly when you call.

In theory, we have salted roads. But we've actually had MAYBE two snows that were even worth talking about in the 1.5 years since we got it. Neither felt like they were putting the Bronco through its paces at all. And I always give her a bath after the salty slush has dried up.

Kenneth, TK1215

May 15, 2024

#14

When I upgraded my factory F-150 shocks, a lot said the Bilsteins rode great, but were more prone to rust. I went with Fox 2.0 (in 2019) and had no issues in 5 years of use.

extra toasty, Kenneth

May 15, 2024

#15

Yeah, not sure about this specific model, but Bilstein are steel vs Fox's alloy shock bodies. Both have advantages, obviously corrosion can be a problem for the steelies. We were very happy running Bilsteins in Texas & Louisiana. Here in heavily road salted Colorado, Fox seems to work well..

Cheers

Deano Bronc, extra toasty

May 15, 2024

#16

So I found a document outlining the 3 tiers of the Bilstein warranty. The shocks that are on the Bronco ARE covered under their Limited Lifetime Warranty. EXCEPT (because you know there's an except) for on "OE vehicle installations (manufacturer's warranty)". And Ford's probably going to pull the "wear item" BS. So basically, it's going to go like this...

Speed Devil, raqball

May 15, 2024

#17

Here's the warranty info by the way...

https://offroad.bilstein.com/en-us/understanding-bilstein-warranty-procedures-and-policy/

Deano Bronc

May 22, 2024

#18

Just thought I’d provide an update. The shock IS being replaced under warranty! But not without some hand wringing first. When I explained what happened to the service advisor (during my FIRST service at this dealership, mind you) I was met with immediate skepticism.

SA: “Well what were you doing when it fell off?”

Me: “No idea. I drove home, hitting no bumps on the way, and then woke up to a puddle under my tire.”

SA: “Well, they’re going to want to know what happened.”

Me: “Same bro. Same.”

Unfortunately, for him, I compiled 12 pages worth of screenshots of other people stating that the external reservoir had fallen off of theirs during regular driving. At which point, he said “Well, I don’t make the decisions.”. In my mind, I’m thinking “Well, if you don’t make the decisions, then perhaps you should keep your mouth shut and not make a bad first impression with a new customer.” I think he was just salty that my entire laundry list was all warranty work and no service.

Also got soft top side panel replaced due to it damaging my driver rear quarter panel, rear soft top panel replaced due to the tiny clips attaching the fabric to the corner piece breaking off, and they are replacing both rear seatbelt mechanisms because they don’t retract very well.

swooshdave, BroncoFred

May 22, 2024

#19

Way to bring the homework! I'm glad they replaced it under warranty

Unicorn, Jakob1972

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