Jan 28, 2026
Folks,
I wanted to document the saga of my Bronco Badlands suffering a catastrophic engine failure while out 4-wheeling.
My Bronco is a 2022 Badlands Sasquatch, built in January 2022, with just over 20,000 miles. Ironically, I had just picked it up from the dealer after completing the 20K service 4 days earlier.
In some ways, I was lucky with the timing. I had already driven about 2.5 hours on the highway to reach the trailhead without any issues. The trail itself was nothing extreme — essentially a dirt fire road, no obstacles, nothing technical. About 15 minutes into the run, I heard a loud BANG. The dash immediately lit up like a Christmas tree and the engine shut off.
I got out, walked around the front, and quickly saw oil pouring from the underside of the Bronco. After a quick assessment, it was clear there was nothing that could be repaired in the field. We ended up dragging it back to the trailhead, and I had AAA tow it to my dealership’s service department.
It took a few days to get the Bronco looked at, but it’s now confirmed that this was a catastrophic internal engine failure. Further inspection showed that a connecting rod exited through the oil pan, so there was significant internal damage.
Discussions with my dealer and @Ford Motor Company are now underway regarding a warranty engine replacement.
After nearly two weeks, I’ve finally been provided a loaner, so at least I’m mobile again. The loaner is currently approved for 10 days, which I don’t expect will be sufficient. Realistically, I’m anticipating at least a month, possibly longer if engines are backordered — but we’ll see. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
I’ll continue to update this thread as things progress, in case it helps anyone else down the road.
I wanted to document the saga of my Bronco Badlands suffering a catastrophic engine failure while out 4-wheeling.
My Bronco is a 2022 Badlands Sasquatch, built in January 2022, with just over 20,000 miles. Ironically, I had just picked it up from the dealer after completing the 20K service 4 days earlier.
In some ways, I was lucky with the timing. I had already driven about 2.5 hours on the highway to reach the trailhead without any issues. The trail itself was nothing extreme — essentially a dirt fire road, no obstacles, nothing technical. About 15 minutes into the run, I heard a loud BANG. The dash immediately lit up like a Christmas tree and the engine shut off.
I got out, walked around the front, and quickly saw oil pouring from the underside of the Bronco. After a quick assessment, it was clear there was nothing that could be repaired in the field. We ended up dragging it back to the trailhead, and I had AAA tow it to my dealership’s service department.
It took a few days to get the Bronco looked at, but it’s now confirmed that this was a catastrophic internal engine failure. Further inspection showed that a connecting rod exited through the oil pan, so there was significant internal damage.
Discussions with my dealer and @Ford Motor Company are now underway regarding a warranty engine replacement.
After nearly two weeks, I’ve finally been provided a loaner, so at least I’m mobile again. The loaner is currently approved for 10 days, which I don’t expect will be sufficient. Realistically, I’m anticipating at least a month, possibly longer if engines are backordered — but we’ll see. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
I’ll continue to update this thread as things progress, in case it helps anyone else down the road.
OnX Expert Trail Guide and Tread Lightly Member.
4 Door BadSquatch | Soft-top | Velocity Blue | 2.7 Auto
4 Door BadSquatch | Soft-top | Velocity Blue | 2.7 Auto
Steve_In_29, raqball