Emergency Towing a Bronco Sport – How To

Image: Ford

The topic of flat towing the Bronco Sport behind an RV come up recently at Overland PNW by a member at Bronco Basecamp, and I realized that I did not know the answer to their question. Another person in attendance commented that there was a release next to the steering wheel that he thought could be pulled to place the car in neutral for flat towing. No one else had heard of this, and I was really curious as to what he was referring to. 

My husband Brian and I regularly tow a Bronco Sport behind our camper but have always placed it on a trailer with all four wheels up. So, I went to the Bronco Sport manual(s) to find out.

The quick and easy answer to the towing question is no. You cannot flat tow all four wheels down because all wheels are turning, and damage to the drivetrain and transmission will occur. Here is further explanation in the 2021 Bronco Sport manual.

After reading through the instructions on the Recreational Towing, it made sense. The Bronco Sport is an all-wheel drive vehicle, so it must be placed on a car-hauling trailer. But the heading at the top of the page entitled Emergency Towing caught my attention. You can flat tow in an emergency if you meet the following conditions listed, one of which states to “refer to the manual park release procedure.”

Going Through the Manual Park Release Procedure

What is a manual park release procedure? Is this the cable release that was mentioned at Bronco Basecamp?

After a few clicks, I found the instructions for the manual park release.

After reading this, I decided to go look for myself. Sure enough, there was the panel, just like in the diagram.

I took a small screwdriver and removed the panel on my 2021 Bronco Sport, to discover the cable described in the manual.

Obviously, this is not the answer for flat towing, but it is interesting to know that this panel and cable exist.

A review of the 2022 and 2023 Bronco Sport manual shows the same procedure for activating the manual park release cable, but the reference to emergency towing had been removed. The information replacing the emergency towing states to contact professional towing or roadside assistance if vehicle transport is needed.

One final interesting note in all of this: We currently have a 2023 Bronco Sport that we used as the lead vehicle during the All Bronco trail rides at the Overland Expo PNW Bronco Nation Basecamp. I decided to check for the cable in this vehicle as well. When the small panel was removed, the area behind was empty, with no cable. Whether this is something that has been removed for 2023 or just missing in this particular car because it is a marketing vehicle, I’m not sure. I’m wondering if anyone else with a 2023 can check to see what’s behind the panel?

Finally, I hope that someday the Bronco Sport will be able to be flat towed. Ford is certainly aware of the customer’s desire for flat towing and maybe we will see it someday soon. In the meantime, the Bronco can be flat towed. You can find out more information on that here … 2021-2022 Bronco Flat Tow Issue and Fix.