Flat Tow 2021-2022 Bronco

Yup, flat towing is a definite requirement for mine as well. Pulling fuses is not going to cut it. No RV'r will find it acceptable to tie up the campground's hitch zone with extra steps under the hood yanking fuses in the weather or darkness with rigs waiting behind you. A recipe for accidents.

We've been trying to get Cedar City Ford in Utah to submit a warranty claim for our transmission which was damaged while flat towing. The dealer tells us Ford automatically denies claims if the car is flat towed. End of storyThey suggested I submit a claim to my auto insurance provider and say we incorrectly towed even though the service writer agrees we did not. They tell me I have to dispute with customer service. Been on this Merry go round. Nobody return calls, cannot escalate, no attempt to resolve. Just pay us. And they cannot tell us the cause. Today I called again and the customer service notes say that the dealer told them we towed and excessive distance. We towed 316 miles. We bought specifically to tow behind RV. 24,000 miles and we will be out of pocket approx $7000 and are not confident we can tow it now. The battle continues and now I guess we loop in attorney. We are not alone. Many have similar complaints. I haven't found any class action suits around this complaint yet.

Roadtrippin

We've been trying to get Cedar City Ford in Utah to submit a warranty claim for our transmission which was damaged while flat towing. The dealer tells us Ford automatically denies claims if the car is flat towed. End of storyThey suggested I submit a claim to my auto insurance provider and say we incorrectly towed even though the service writer agrees we did not. They tell me I have to dispute with customer service. Been on this Merry go round. Nobody return calls, cannot escalate, no attempt to resolve. Just pay us. And they cannot tell us the cause. Today I called again and the customer service notes say that the dealer told them we towed and excessive distance. We towed 316 miles. We bought specifically to tow behind RV. 24,000 miles and we will be out of pocket approx $7000 and are not confident we can tow it now. The battle continues and now I guess we loop in attorney. We are not alone. Many have similar complaints. I haven't found any class action suits around this complaint yet.

I'm wondering how this is going for you? I have the same problem almost verbatim but with way less mileage on it. 7900 mi. If you say flat tow it will be denied. They stated that I must not followed precautions. When asked what precaution they could not say. Asked if they could prove it and they said no. Asked if I could prove that I did it right and they said no. I'm actually meeting with the Dealer's general manager today but don't expect too much.
I've started the arbitration with BBB online as required by the Ford manual. I don't expect much out of that but I have to cross that off before we can move into lawsuit. And the only reason I can even dream of doing a lawsuit is because a family member is a good consumer protection lawyer.

I wish you the best and I'll keep you updated if anything I do works. I'm reaching out to several people who have posted with the exact same problem as us.

In my opinion we need to start a class action lawsuit. There are plenty of people with similar experiences. I also reached out to folks on iRV2 forum and found more. I wonder if your consumer protection lawyer can describe the process and prerequisites for a class action? Please do let us know how it goes and if there us anything we can do together to help.

So a small update. I was supposed to meet the GM of the dealer at 3pm last Thursday. I went, I was told he was out of the building but they would text him. 30 minutes later no one had spoken to me again so I left as I had another appointment and I feel I gave him plenty of extra time. I then found my service tech and asked him for the letter he sated he had from Ford that stated they where denying my claim. Instead he provided me with a copy of a GSB that basically stated that if it was flat towed and the damage looked like any of the attached photos then the claim will be denied. The first pic is of a transmission pan with some red oil and fine silver shaving and a "clump" of them on the magnet on the pan...

I never was contacted by the GM to apologize for missing the meeting.

I began the Ford sanctioned arbitration as stated in the first few pages of your manual. That was a fairly simple process and is handled by the BBB.

Since then I asked them, by email, to retain my old transmission since I had started Ford sanctioned arbitration and that would be a piece of evidence. The service tech did not respond. After a few days I texted and asked that he would acknowledge receipt of the email. The then called and said he had it, but I would have to pay a $1,500.00 core charge.

Today I sent a little stronger worded emailing asking that they preserve it until the arbitration and all other suites are concluded. They have not responded. Important to note, I have taken no legal action, nor am I currently threatening any legal action against the dealer and have never been rude or upset with them. Everything has been handled by my self and the service tech with civility and maturity. Even given that and the purchase of 10+ vehicles, including the Bronco, from them over the years...they would not even meet with me just so I could get some solid info. That is sad.

Will continue to keep you posted.

Soooooooo...I flat towed my bronco from Md to Maine and back going MD to CT for an over night, then CT to ME for a week and the same trip on the return. I did have battery charge issues towing for 7+ hours without the alternator charging the battery. My fix for this going forward will be to use a battery minder and an anker battery pack that I also use to power the 12v brake control booster. When we got home, the battery was completely dead and a jump box would not start it...hence why I have updated to a battery minder while traveling and not relying on just the jump box. Had to use my wife's bronco to jump it and once it started, I never had another issue out of it until I towed it again. It has been fine since, no transmission issues and no braking issues to note. If anyone has questions about the setup I'm using or wants more info, DM me and I can run it down. I don't think my rig is setup wildly different from any other flat tow setup, IMO. I'm sorry you folks are experiencing this, though and I HATE when dealers won't return your calls.

BroncoBetty21

Soooooooo...I flat towed my bronco from Md to Maine and back going MD to CT for an over night, then CT to ME for a week and the same trip on the return. I did have battery charge issues towing for 7+ hours without the alternator charging the battery. My fix for this going forward will be to use a battery minder and an anker battery pack that I also use to power the 12v brake control booster. When we got home, the battery was completely dead and a jump box would not start it...hence why I have updated to a battery minder while traveling and not relying on just the jump box. Had to use my wife's bronco to jump it and once it started, I never had another issue out of it until I towed it again. It has been fine since, no transmission issues and no braking issues to note. If anyone has questions about the setup I'm using or wants more info, DM me and I can run it down. I don't think my rig is setup wildly different from any other flat tow setup, IMO. I'm sorry you folks are experiencing this, though and I HATE when dealers won't return your calls.

Good morning. I'm glad it's going well for you. Doing well for me for quite a while too.
I don't hahave a tender on mine. I bought a deep cycle battery that sits in the floorboard of the passenger seat and I hook my brake Buddy up to that. Just bought a cigarette lighter adapter from the hardware store and crimped on some connectors make it work. You do have a battery to deal with, but I like the idea of having an extra Deep Cell in case anything happens to my other batteries. I bought one that would fit the engine of the RV and the house batteries in a pinch. Just an idea. With 30 to 40 hours of towing on our trips I never have to recharge that battery to run my break buddy.

I love the Bronco, I'm just not liking the way Ford's handling this.

Jorgrover

So a small update. I was supposed to meet the GM of the dealer at 3pm last Thursday. I went, I was told he was out of the building but they would text him. 30 minutes later no one had spoken to me again so I left as I had another appointment and I feel I gave him plenty of extra time. I then found my service tech and asked him for the letter he sated he had from Ford that stated they where denying my claim. Instead he provided me with a copy of a GSB that basically stated that if it was flat towed and the damage looked like any of the attached photos then the claim will be denied. The first pic is of a transmission pan with some red oil and fine silver shaving and a "clump" of them on the magnet on the pan...

I never was contacted by the GM to apologize for missing the meeting.

I began the Ford sanctioned arbitration as stated in the first few pages of your manual. That was a fairly simple process and is handled by the BBB.

Since then I asked them, by email, to retain my old transmission since I had started Ford sanctioned arbitration and that would be a piece of evidence. The service tech did not respond. After a few days I texted and asked that he would acknowledge receipt of the email. The then called and said he had it, but I would have to pay a $1,500.00 core charge.

Today I sent a little stronger worded emailing asking that they preserve it until the arbitration and all other suites are concluded. They have not responded. Important to note, I have taken no legal action, nor am I currently threatening any legal action against the dealer and have never been rude or upset with them. Everything has been handled by my self and the service tech with civility and maturity. Even given that and the purchase of 10+ vehicles, including the Bronco, from them over the years...they would not even meet with me just so I could get some solid info. That is sad.

Will continue to keep you posted.

It's been a minute. Wondering if you made ant progreas on transmission issue or, if like me, you gave up for sanity purposes.
Best regards

I just bought a 2024 Bronco with plans to flat tow, and I'm a bit shocked and afraid to tow it after reading this thread.

Maybe I should take photos or a video of my set up before every tow so I have evidence it was done properly. Or maybe I should consider getting a dolly instead of installing the flat tow gear on my Bronco.

My understanding from the owners manual is that the set up is pretty straightforward. What set up process did you all use and what happened with it?

davethenomad

I just bought a 2024 Bronco with plans to flat tow, and I'm a bit shocked and afraid to tow it after reading this thread.

Maybe I should take photos or a video of my set up before every tow so I have evidence it was done properly. Or maybe I should consider getting a dolly instead of installing the flat tow gear on my Bronco.

My understanding from the owners manual is that the set up is pretty straightforward. What set up process did you all use and what happened with it?

Our model and probably yours cannot be dolly towed. It is either 4 down or trailer. Many people have no problems or have made minor additions to flat tow, successfully. Some have suggested video recording the tow enabling process before every tow. I dont know how this will hold up if something goes wrong. The dealer in Cedar City UT was so dismissive that I doubt it would matter. We will be purchasing a car hauler trailer which just adds another $10-$15k. It's infuriating since Ford markets these vehicles as flat tow friendly.