Since it came out, the Ford Bronco has been praised for how well it can go off-road. It is powerful because it uses both technical and mechanical ideas. But now, a few truck owners are grumbling about the Trail Turn Assist feature, saying it has hurt their trucks. Cars coops says that the trouble is with a part of the back axle. On the Bronco 6G forums, two owners noted that the plug welds on the axle tubes had broken and that the boxes had moved away from the differential system. In one reply, the owner said Ford wouldn’t cover the warranty because he drove the car off-road. Another reader says they couldn’t get a warranty fix because a third party changed the suspension. Ford’s Trail Turn Assist technology is built into the Bronco. This technology locks the brake on one of the rear wheels to make the vehicle’s turning radius smaller. Trail Turn Assist is meant to help the driver make tighter turns in complicated situations when going off-road on soft surfaces. Owners have blamed the problem on the new feature. In the words of one expert, “the forces from one brake being locked up and the other side being unlocked, combined with the forces that want to cause axle wrap or pinion lift (twist), is too much for Dana spikers [differential] housing.” Trail Turn Assist could worsen this problem because the Broncos rear brakes are connected to the axle tube. When the feature is used, the joint’s weaker or damaged plug welds may fail, mainly if the part is misused on sealed surfaces. Even though the Dana differential has been attacked for not being good enough, this points to a big mistake by Ford. The Bronco wasn’t an exception to the rule that OEM vehicles are tested strictly and thoroughly. Stranger things have happened, but it isn’t likely that the Trail Turn Assist option would be too much for the stock differential to handle. Of course, we still need to find out what started this problem. Some forum users think that the bigger wheels, tires, and aftermarket suspension parts on the affected cars may be putting more stress on the differential system. Manufacturers often make mistakes when it comes to guarantees on customized vehicles. Ford told The Drive that it is now looking into the insurance claims that were turned down. Ford’s claim that the Bronco can be used off-road is backed up by the clear design goal of the vehicle. The rules are entirely different when it comes to cars with aftermarket lift kits and much bigger wheels. Since the company has said for a long time that the guarantee does not cover problems caused by modifications, the root cause of the problem is likely to be a factor in this case.
