From TheDrive.com - Ford’s CEO Doesn’t Want You Fixing Your New Bronco. He Says It’s About Safety

[motorolas]

Ford’s CEO Doesn’t Want You Fixing Your New Bronco. He Says It’s About Safety
A quiet fight in Washington over vehicle data could decide whether independent mechanics can still fix your car at all.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/fords...xing-your-new-bronco-he-says-its-about-safety

Another reason I'm looking forward to Slate (U)niversity. Encouraging owners to think about what they can do with their vehicles.
https://www.slate.auto/en/slate-u

Would be fun to see if they can get the Slate trucks into schools and trade shops to show incoming students and staff on what's possible.
I enjoyed hands on work during my academic years.

"And someone from the Detroit Free Press caught Jim Farley at another event and they asked him point blank, “So you don’t want people repairing your own vehicles?” And you can watch the video on on Freep’s website. He kind of does these like Homelander eyes and is like, “Well, you know, no, it’s it’s a safety issue. Oh, you know, I can work on my old Bronco but I wouldn’t want to work on a new Bronco.” And as I was listening to that, I was thinking like, what a weird car to pick. Like if he had said Ford GT or like even Mustang Mach-E, I might have been like, yeah, okay, I guess. But a freaking Bronco, man, that’s like caveman technology."

 

[Buzzboxman]

This is one of the biggest reasons why I picked the Slate, less technology, more right to repair and actual ownership.

The maverick is a nice dollar to dollar comparison but it falls short when actually compared in detail.

The slate is a more energy efficient. Significantly easier to maintain and repair. Less tech is means less things to have issues down the road. For my personal needs it's smaller which is fantastic. It also has a cooler vibe for me.

 

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

Yeah, in a nutshell - F Ford.
And no, I didn’t stutter.

 

[E90400K]

Oh good Lord, this again? He's talking about the software based safety systems, not the frickin brakes or spark plugs. Lol.

Ford has a complete Ford Accessories website for the Bronco where you can buy and add Ford-desiged accessories and 3rd-party designed accessories to your Bronco. Ford publishes the instructions (via .pdf) on how to install the accessories via DIY by the owner.

Just like Slate plans to do.

Oh, and certain trim levels of the Bronco come with the "upfitter" switch bank (or you can option it), which are six (6) pre-wired electrical switches that activate electrical circuits pre-wired to a junction box under the hood and into the front and rear of the Bronco. These switches are intended for owner-installed aftermarket electrical accessories. The switch/wiring information is provided, get this, in the Bronco's owners manual.

And... if you want to bump the horsepower of any of the EcoBoost engines in the Bronco, Ford sells a software tune that can be owner installed via an OBDII port dongle.

But Ford doesn't want you working on your own Bronco.

LOL.

 

[Ruff]

Oh good Lord, this again? He's talking about the software based safety systems, not the frickin brakes or spark plugs. Lol.....................But Ford doesn't want you working on your own Bronco.

LOL.

I have added a ton of "software based safety systems" to my 2022 Land Rover Defender to include: Adaptive Cruise Control, Driver Assist Mode, Advanced Parking Assistance and Advance Tow Assist while sitting in my own garage. It did not have any of these features when I bought it. I have been flashing ECU's in my Land Rovers for years (and yes back in the 2000's Ford owned Land Rover so there are a lot of Ford parts and software in them.

Are these not the "software safety systems? he is talking about that is too complex and dangerous for us to work on?

I do not believe that the drunken monkeys working at the dealers are any better than the drunken monkeys at the local independent shops. Well expect in one area.... They are much more adapt at just throwing (expensive)parts at it until it works.

 

[E90400K]

I have added a ton of "software based safety systems" to my 2022 Land Rover Defender to include: Adaptive Cruise Control, Driver Assist Mode, Advanced Parking Assistance and Advance Tow Assist while sitting in my own garage. It did not have any of these features when I bought it. I have been flashing ECU's in my Land Rovers for years (and yes back in the 2000's Ford owned Land Rover so there are a lot of Ford parts and software in them.

Are these not the "software safety systems? he is talking about that is too complex and dangerous for us to work on?

I do not believe that the drunken monkeys working at the dealers are any better than the drunken monkeys at the local independent shops. Well expect in one area.... They are much more adapt at just throwing (expensive)parts at it until it works.

And I changed the oil in my Bronco yesterday with the Ford filter and oil I bought from my local Ford dealership. Even reset the oil life monitor.

Jim Farley didn't stop me.

 

[Ruff]

Yes, and B P Balaji did not stop me from working on my Land Rover either.

I understand.
Good for you for taking an active role in your car ownership. I wished more people were capable of doing that. I have the same attitude about my cars. It is good that Ford offers a lot of factory based options. Not so much with Land Rover. I remember when the new Bronco launched. It was squarely aimed at Jeep owners. I liked them, some of my friends liked them, some of them bought them, but in the end I have stayed with Land Rover despite them turning their back on a large segment of their customers.

BUT, did you add or remove any features that were software defined? Safety related or not?

I did agree with most of what you said ( just cut that part out of my response) Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Ford anymore than any other Legacy automaker. As far as connectivity and nanny monitoring go, my Defender is probably worse than your Bronco (you never said, but I hope you got the full sized model and not the square bodied Edge in "Sport" badging).

As an example of what I am talking about, my Defender had a "feature" called fake engine noise which plays a fake engine sound thought the audio system. It is gone now.........

I know the Mustangs had that at one time, does the Bronco have the same thing?

 

[Ali]

"President Donald Trump says he had a "great meeting" with the heads of General Motors, Ford and racing team legend and businessman Roger Penske this week about legislation that, in the president's words, would prohibit people from repairing their own motor vehicles."

 

[Paul]

Ford’s CEO Doesn’t Want You Fixing Your New Bronco. He Says It’s About Safety
A quiet fight in Washington over vehicle data could decide whether independent mechanics can still fix your car at all.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/fords...xing-your-new-bronco-he-says-its-about-safety

Another reason I'm looking forward to Slate (U)niversity. Encouraging owners to think about what they can do with their vehicles.
https://www.slate.auto/en/slate-u

Would be fun to see if they can get the Slate trucks into schools and trade shops to show incoming students and staff on what's possible.
I enjoyed hands on work during my academic years.

"And someone from the Detroit Free Press caught Jim Farley at another event and they asked him point blank, “So you don’t want people repairing your own vehicles?” And you can watch the video on on Freep’s website. He kind of does these like Homelander eyes and is like, “Well, you know, no, it’s it’s a safety issue. Oh, you know, I can work on my old Bronco but I wouldn’t want to work on a new Bronco.” And as I was listening to that, I was thinking like, what a weird car to pick. Like if he had said Ford GT or like even Mustang Mach-E, I might have been like, yeah, okay, I guess. But a freaking Bronco, man, that’s like caveman technology."

Ford’s CEO Doesn’t Want You Fixing Your New Bronco. He Says It’s About Safety
A quiet fight in Washington over vehicle data could decide whether independent mechanics can still fix your car at all.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/fords...xing-your-new-bronco-he-says-its-about-safety

Another reason I'm looking forward to Slate (U)niversity. Encouraging owners to think about what they can do with their vehicles.
https://www.slate.auto/en/slate-u

Would be fun to see if they can get the Slate trucks into schools and trade shops to show incoming students and staff on what's possible.
I enjoyed hands on work during my academic years.

"And someone from the Detroit Free Press caught Jim Farley at another event and they asked him point blank, “So you don’t want people repairing your own vehicles?” And you can watch the video on on Freep’s website. He kind of does these like Homelander eyes and is like, “Well, you know, no, it’s it’s a safety issue. Oh, you know, I can work on my old Bronco but I wouldn’t want to work on a new Bronco.” And as I was listening to that, I was thinking like, what a weird car to pick. Like if he had said Ford GT or like even Mustang Mach-E, I might have been like, yeah, okay, I guess. But a freaking Bronco, man, that’s like caveman technology."

The biggest profit maker at dealers is the service shop followed by the used cars... It's kind of like an added bonus that should be reflected in the slate price "the right to save money. Just an oil change at a local Ciocco Ford dealer for semi-synthetic on a Fiesta runs almost $100. Let's add the lack of oil changes as another bonus.

 

[Ruff]

Look at the troubles Rich Repairs went though on You Tube to repair a wrecked Tesla on his own. Tesla fought him every step of the way.

 

[Ruff]

It's a Bronco, not a Bronco Sport.

Good, I am glad to hear that.

If I had my druthers, I'd have zero software-defined anything (well not the ECU of course; it wouldn't run, nor the CANBUS), so I've not addressed any such systems. I have the crash avoidance system set to the lowest sensitivity*, I have the modem turned off (it's running on the same software suite it left the factory with). It's not connected to my home internet. The Sync 4 screen went away. I deleted Android Auto from my phone.

* I'd keep the crash avoidance turned off but it illuminates an icon on the instrument panel.

If I know my wife will driving the Defender next, I turn it up full. Why is it that women have a tendance to always brake late. On the street, I like to let it coast down and save the brake pads since I am the one changing them.

The Bronco does not make fake engine noises; it's all pure 2.3L EcoBoost bolted to a manual transmission. I Bought the Bronco because at the time in 2022 it was the most "raw" manually shifted vehicle on the market and I wanted to get back into a removable-top ORV.

The Bronco6G forum member say yes, it has Engine Sound Enhancement (ESE) , but maybe only on the LUX trim level, or when in "sport mode". There is a feature that is supposed to be a noise cancelling system, but I could not completely verify that.

And as far as, "Good for you for taking an active role in your car ownership"... Does this work for you? LOL



Yes, that qualifies. I had a challenger 2 post in my last garage. When we retired and moved to the woods in 2023 build a 40x80 metal building with 12 ft walls. I am now debating on a 2 post vs a 4 post as I can gain some space for parking my Mini Cooper in the air when something is not being worked on.

 

[Medicfrost]

because all Ford mechanics are good at what they do?

 

[sodamo]

"President Donald Trump says he had a "great meeting" with the heads of General Motors, Ford and racing team legend and businessman Roger Penske this week about legislation that, in the president's words, would prohibit people from repairing their own motor vehicles."

Good thing he supports right to repair 🤙

 

[slatefan53]

Ford is/has moved past being an automaker and into the Enschittification Subscription model, and surveillance capitalism economy. They don't want people working on their vehicles or dare I say "Hacking" their vehicles to UNDO they spyware, nanny-state, keep paying us business model.

I honestly hate trucks, but am buying a SLATE in support of them being the OPPOSITE of the modern auto-industry.

Our Ford Mach-E was FANTASTIC, until the Telematics model failed hamstringing the car for 2 months, and then we realized surveillance of "You MUST share DRIVING DATA, to simply charge the car on a schedule or precondition it."

Edit to add: Just look at what Ford is trying to patent. Ford Global Technologies, LLC has published multiple vehicle-monitoring-related patent applications, including US-2025-0005632-A1 for in-vehicle voice feedback that transmits occupant speech feedback and vehicle-operation data to cloud systems for categorization and analysis; US-2026-0095520-A1 for enhanced hands-free communication using lip-reading/gesture interpretation under high-noise conditions; US-2025-0104469-A1, now U.S. Patent No. 12,639,979, for biometric identification in a vehicle environment against stored security-event cohort records [are you a criminal, or criminal in the car]; and US-2024-0239352-A1 for detecting speeding violations using enforcement vehicle sensors and transmitting identifying information to other enforcement systems. However, Ford has been quoted by multiple media outlets as saying patent applications do not necessarily indicate product or business plans. (Yeah, OK). Even if well intended, this is simply unnecessary. I would like to keep my 4th Amendment rights thank you very much.

 

[AZFox]

I honestly hate trucks, but am buying a SLATE in support of them being the OPPOSITE of the modern auto-industry.

To quote (paraphrase?) Chris Barman at the launch event,

"We looked a what the industry was doing and did the opposite."