Cracked Hardtop

Danny1430

May 08, 2026

My ‘23 Black Diamond Hot Pepper Red Bronco has cracks in the hardtop passenger side near the tailgate. Dealer acknowledged it is a Ford defect, but because it is out of the 36k warranty, Ford is only willing to put 4K toward a 7k replacement! Even though there are thousands of the same issues with other hardtops! I read that there is an active tsb but dealer couldn’t find it. If you know what it is, please share. I’m going to try one time with customer care and then straight to BBB and internet. No excuse for not fixing your problem. Should’ve stayed with Jeep!!!

the poacher, Kenneth

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May 09, 2026

Sad to see your post and understand your frustration. How did Ford come to a $4k offer? Suggest constructively working with dealer & Ford rep to get to a solution that can get this repair/replacement done. I mean, getting into an angry pizzing match isn't gonna get you where you need to go.

May 09, 2026

@Danny1430 This may help you out. I bookmarked this Ford General Service Bulletin when it was released. It targets model year 21-23 Broncos with hardtops and has pictures of possible forms of damage to address warranty repair.

https://www.fordservicecontent.deal...ironment=&country=USA&isolang=EN-US&masterid=

Gyoja

May 09, 2026

h2sxse
@Danny1430 This may help you out. I bookmarked this Ford General Service Bulletin when it was released. It targets model year 21-23 Broncos with hardtops and has pictures of possible forms of damage to address warranty repair.

https://www.fordservicecontent.deal...ironment=&country=USA&isolang=EN-US&masterid=

Thank you!!

May 09, 2026

Kenneth
Sad to see your post and understand your frustration. How did Ford come to a $4k offer? Suggest constructively working with dealer & Ford rep to get to a solution that can get this repair/replacement done. I mean, getting into an angry pizzing match isn't gonna get you where you need to go.

Very frustrated is all. When I purchased mine, people were paying 5-10k over MSRP to get one. Huge profit and no assistance is frustrating.

May 09, 2026

Remember - these are outsourced and agree it’s frustrating but sounds like Ford is willing to work with ya. Use the Service Bulletin in your documented communications and see if that leverage gets you replacement.

Still - don’t think the Wrangler hard tops didn’t go through some teething issues and bad batchrs over the years too.

Agreed frustrating - let us know final verdict please!

John "JFScheck" Scheck
Bronco 60th Anniversary Edition
Mountains to sand - enjoy the trails, tread light, leave it better!

May 09, 2026

Danny1430
Very frustrated is all. When I purchased mine, people were paying 5-10k over MSRP to get one. Huge profit and no assistance is frustrating.

Not sure how they came to that. The quote came from the service guy at the dealer. I wasn’t to educate myself about the large scale problem before I contacted them. My intent is resolution, but I’m not paying for something that will crack again. Yes, very frustrated.

May 09, 2026

Danny1430
My ‘23 Black Diamond Hot Pepper Red Bronco has cracks in the hardtop passenger side near the tailgate. Dealer acknowledged it is a Ford defect, but because it is out of the 36k warranty, Ford is only willing to put 4K toward a 7k replacement! Even though there are thousands of the same issues with other hardtops! I read that there is an active tsb but dealer couldn’t find it. If you know what it is, please share. I’m going to try one time with customer care and then straight to BBB and internet. No excuse for not fixing your problem. Should’ve stayed with Jeep!!!

Hi there, Danny1430. If and should you are looking for further help, could you send us a message with your VIN and mileage? I can look into things on my end.

May 09, 2026

If you read enough about these cracked hard tops you will find even the replacement have issues. There are lots of folks on their 3rd and 4th replacement top. I to have the cracking issues and was out of the 3 years 36k warranty ( the extended warranty doesn’t cover this) I was told to kick rocks. I love this vehicle and plan on keeping it forever. Bought some Raptor liner and plan to just bed liner the top. It should seal the cracks and protect it from scratches. You can play with the air pressure when spraying to get a different texture, more pressure = finer texture. I am planning on doing this next weekend. For reference here are the pics of my cracks.

Good luck with your top. But before I put any money on a new one I would put that money towards an aftermarket soft top or aftermarket hardtop like Armadillo tops.

BN 1100, Desert Sand Everglades. Reservation 7/30/20. ordered 1/22/21, reordered 10/15/21 dropped tow and hard top, reordered 3/9/22 changed to Everglades. production date 9/7/22 rescheduled 9/14/22 completed 9/26/22, shipped 10/7/22, arrived 10/31/22, delivered 11/03/22

the poacher, SAVEUP

May 09, 2026

JFScheck
Remember - these are outsourced and agree it’s frustrating but sounds like Ford is willing to work with ya. Use the Service Bulletin in your documented communications and see if that leverage gets you replacement.

Still - don’t think the Wrangler hard tops didn’t go through some teething issues and bad batchrs over the years too.

Agreed frustrating - let us know final verdict please!

I wonder if it is due to more aggressive off road stress/twist. I had two Jeeps for over 20 years. An 04 TJ Sport, and a 09 JK 4 dr. Sahara. Never had issues with the tops. Lots of off road. I'm an easy off road person as well. Just curious.

May 09, 2026

#10

Danny1430
Very frustrated is all. When I purchased mine, people were paying 5-10k over MSRP to get one. Huge profit and no assistance is frustrating.

Yep, and I still say Forest said it right for those folks. I want to talk to the folks that sold them for their original over MSRP. Chirp....chirp....chirp!!

May 09, 2026

#11

Danny1430
My ‘23 Black Diamond Hot Pepper Red Bronco has cracks in the hardtop passenger side near the tailgate. Dealer acknowledged it is a Ford defect, but because it is out of the 36k warranty, Ford is only willing to put 4K toward a 7k replacement! Even though there are thousands of the same issues with other hardtops! I read that there is an active tsb but dealer couldn’t find it. If you know what it is, please share. I’m going to try one time with customer care and then straight to BBB and internet. No excuse for not fixing your problem. Should’ve stayed with Jeep!!!

Well $4k is better then a stick in the eye. I agree with you that these tops are known issues. It is very frustrating when you have the money invested in them. Probably need to take the money and run. I like my F-150, but will not get another Bronco. For my type of off road a Toyota 4 Runner, or other vehicles they have should do fine. Folks I spoke with in the same arena as me enjoy them. Good luck.

May 12, 2026

#12

Frustrating. I was just at the dealership for the recalls and asked about the tops. He said the tsb is there, but Ford will not cover outside of warranty or with an extended warranty. He did say they Ford has offered 'X' amount of money for a new one, but even those have cracked. He was also frustrated with the known top problems and having to deal with upset customers, all the time. Ford should cover these knowing there is known issues that are no fault of the owners.

2024 Bronco Raptor www.brapflap.com

May 12, 2026

#13

Lou Maldonado
Frustrating. I was just at the dealership for the recalls and asked about the tops. He said the tsb is there, but Ford will not cover outside of warranty or with an extended warranty. He did say they Ford has offered 'X' amount of money for a new one, but even those have cracked. He was also frustrated with the known top problems and having to deal with upset customers, all the time. Ford should cover these knowing there is known issues that are no fault of the owners.

We would be happy to look into this for you. Could you please send us a DM with your VIN and mileage so I can investigate this further?

May 14, 2026

#14

Ford Motor Company
We would be happy to look into this for you. Could you please send us a DM with your VIN and mileage so I can investigate this further?

My top is okay, we were talking about past customers and their cracked tops and what I should do if my top has issues. I'm sure we all are wanting to know why Ford does not cover these tops outside of warranty if it is a known manufacturing defect from the source making these tops. For the price we pay for a Bronco/ Bronco Raptor, customers should not have to worry about defects, that are no fault of their own, especially outside of warranty. Can we get an answer to why Ford takes this stance?

2024 Bronco Raptor www.brapflap.com

May 14, 2026

#15

I have a friend who is a regional service engineer. He pointed out the cracks in my 2023 while it still under the factory warranty. Ford covered the replacement.

May 14, 2026

#16

Danny1430
My ‘23 Black Diamond Hot Pepper Red Bronco has cracks in the hardtop passenger side near the tailgate. Dealer acknowledged it is a Ford defect, but because it is out of the 36k warranty, Ford is only willing to put 4K toward a 7k replacement! Even though there are thousands of the same issues with other hardtops! I read that there is an active tsb but dealer couldn’t find it. If you know what it is, please share. I’m going to try one time with customer care and then straight to BBB and internet. No excuse for not fixing your problem. Should’ve stayed with Jeep!!!

I ordered my '24 in Dec 2023, and took delivery in April 2024. I knew about this issue in advance, but I know it doesn't happen to EVERY rig. Less than a year later I noticed a small crack in the mid-section of the top. It wasn't bad, but I took it into the dealership, just to establish I had a issue. They actually asked me if I ever ran it through a car wash, like that would be the cause of the cracking. I only hand wash it, except one time at the dealership, they ran it through their own car wash after service.

Sure enough, late last summer it turned into a larger crack with a gap that wouldn't be good in our PNW weather. I took it in and they ordered me a new section top. When it arrived, it didn't have the liner in it, and at first they said that's how it came and said the liner was no longer available.

I looked on-line and found the liner part number from Ford parts and took it to them and they ordered it. After several weeks, I called and asked about the liner, and they had forgotten to order it, and I had to wait another 2 weeks.

They eventually received it and installed it. As we get closer to summer, I'm going to keep an eye on the entire top when I wash the rig. I don't live is a super hot climate like Texas or Oklahoma, so they can't blame the heat. That shouldn't matter anyway.

Very frustrated with this dealer. It's not the one I ordered through, but it's by far the closest. I don't even want to talk about the issue I had with them about lug nuts on aftermarket wheels. I'll save that for another post.

Jeff Ross

May 14, 2026

#17

According to a post on FB Bronco 6th Gen, Ford is coming out with a communication for Dealers tomorrow 5/15 regarding MIC top issues for 21-22 Models.
@Laura have you heard anything about this?

Lt. LAGER = 2 Door Badlands, A51, High pkg, 2.3, 7 Speed, Non-SAS. Prod week 8/8/2022 - Picked up 12/5/2022.

bmasterson01

May 26, 2026

#18

I have a '23 Black Diamond, Sasquatch daily driver. Even though it is garaged, not taken off road and resides in a normal climate, I've just had the THIRD rear cap replaced due to cracking/delamination. My Ford warranty covered each replacement. I was not given an option to replace the hard cap with a canvas one although I inquired. I added an extended warranty at the time of purchase so I am hoping that the next 1, 2 or 3 caps are covered. I am looking into this now.

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