Reliable Auto DB

2026 Ford Bronco Sport reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2026 Ford Bronco Sport has 7 complaints with NHTSA after 1 year, or 7 per year. It is too early to rank against other Bronco Sport years: a year is compared here only after 3 years on the road. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Internal engine parts, Structure, body, and Front lower ball joint.

2022 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend
Photo by MercurySable99, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

7

Per year

7

Recalls

6

Years on the road

1

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Adaptive cruise control (1 of 7), then Electrical system (1) and Engine (1).

Next to 2025

The 2025 Bronco Sport has 38 complaints, 19 per year.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2026 Ford Bronco Sport. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (6)

Recall engine and cooling, engine, internal engine parts 2026-08-25 · NHTSA campaign 26V548000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Explorer, Bronco, Bronco Sport, Mustang, and Ranger vehicles. The engine piston domes may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in piston dome failure and lead to a loss of drive power.
Remedy Dealers will inspect the engine pistons and replace the engine long block, if necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed September 3, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in December 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S61. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on August 28, 2026.
Vehicles affected 10,001
Recall structure, body 2026-08-25 · NHTSA campaign 26V550000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Maverick, F-150, and Bronco Sport vehicles. Certain vehicle joints may be improperly tightened. This can lead to detached parts, unsecured cargo, degraded crash protection, electrical system failure, or a loss of vehicle stability.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and tighten the vehicle joints or repair and replace the joint retention mechanisms as necessary, free of charge. Owner notifications letters are expected to be mailed September 21, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S60. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on August 26, 2026.
Vehicles affected 23
Recall Front lower ball joint 2026-05-27 · NHTSA campaign 26V340000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2026 Bronco Sport and 2022-2026 Maverick vehicles. The front lower control arm ball joints may have been incorrectly installed or incorrectly repaired at the vehicle assembly plant, allowing the control arm to disconnect from the front wheel knuckle.
Remedy Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is completed. Dealers will inspect and repair the front lower control arm ball joints as necessary, free of charge.Owner notification letters were mailed September 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S36. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 29, 2026.
Vehicles affected 4,653
Recall equipment, electrical, engine block heater 2026-04-14 · NHTSA campaign 26V239000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Maverick and 2026 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with a 1.5L or 2.0L MPC engine and an engine block heater. The engine block heater may overheat when the vehicle is parked with the block heater plugged in.
Remedy Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, and inspect and replace the electrical cord if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have an alternative option to replace the engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Owner notification letters were mailed June 10, 2026. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 25V343. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S52. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 14, 2026.
Vehicles affected 55
Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-03-31 · NHTSA campaign 26V201000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles. The Occupant Classification Sensor (OCS) unit may fail to correctly detect the presence of an adult or child in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy Dealers will replace the passenger seat occupant classification sensor, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 25, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C19. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 2, 2026.
Vehicles affected 3,170
Recall electrical system, instrument cluster 2025-11-14 · NHTSA campaign 25V788000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Bronco and Bronco Sport vehicles. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) may fail at startup.
Remedy The instrument panel cluster software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SC3.
Vehicles affected 229,609

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (7 total)

Adaptive cruise control
1
Electrical system
1
Engine
1
Engine and engine cooling
1
Powertrain
1
Wheels
1
Crash-flagged

0

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

0

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

72026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "We were driving our 2026 Ford Bronco Sport (Badlands Edition) on [XXX] in the [XXX] area of [XXX]. The location was in town and the speed was 45 mph. The day was Friday, XXX, at 5:10pm, when the closed moonroof glass…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-15
  • "The contact owns a 2026 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V548000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact…"
    Engine and engine cooling · filed 2026-09-08
  • "I was stranded on the side of the road due to a routine tire puncture on the morning of Sept. 5, 2026. I immediately called AAA for emergency roadside assistance. AAA explicitly informed me that their safety policy…"
    Wheels, Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-06
  • "2026 Bronco Sport Badlands Sasquatch edition with less than three-thousand miles that we purchased brand new had a major transmission failure and was rendered inoperable. The Bronco Sport transmission pan cracked and…"
    Powertrain, Unknown or other · filed 2026-08-31
  • "Information panel warning lights on dash or wiring system short I was driving at a slow speed and without warning my hood flies up and shatters the windshield and truck flies open dropping all my luggage out"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-08-02

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2026 FORD BRONCO SPORT SUV N/A 4WD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Bronco Sport four-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Four-wheel drive 21 27 23 MPG $2800
Bronco Sport four-wheel drive 1.5L, 3-cyl Automatic 8-speed Part-time four-wheel drive 25 30 27 MPG $2400
Bronco Sport Sasquatch four-wheel drive 1.5L, 3-cyl Automatic 8-speed Four-wheel drive 23 26 24 MPG $2700

Specs and fitment

1st generation, 2021–present
Body styles SUV
Oil 5W-30 synthetic blend (2.0L EcoBoost) , 5.5 qt capacity
Tire size 225/65R17 (Base/Big Bend/Badlands) to 235/65R17 (Badlands optional/First Edition); 225/60R18 (Outer Banks)
Towing capacity 2,200 lbs

Known issues for this generation

Ford is recalling 2021-2024 Bronco Sports built with the 1.5L engine after a fuel injector was found to crack and leak fuel inside the engine compartment, which in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire (NHTSA campaign 25V467; the campaign covers 694,271 vehicles in total because it also includes 2020-2022 Escapes). It expands and replaces three earlier campaigns, 22V-859, 24V-187 and 25V-165. Dealers update the engine control software as an interim repair and replace the high-pressure fuel rail assembly and the fuel injectors as the final remedy. A separate 2025 recall covering the same 2021-2024 model years updates the rearview camera software after a software error could leave the camera image blank or leave it on the display after the backing event ended (NHTSA campaign 25V442).

Compare

Previous year 2025 Ford Bronco Sport See every Ford Bronco Sport model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2026 Ford Bronco Sport reliable?

The 2026 Ford Bronco Sport has 7 complaints with NHTSA after 1 year, or 7 per year. It is too early to rank against other Bronco Sport years: a year is compared here only after 3 years on the road. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Internal engine parts, Structure, body, and Front lower ball joint.

What are common problems with a 2026 Ford Bronco Sport?

The complaints owners file most often name Adaptive cruise control (1 of 7), then Electrical system (1) and Engine (1).

Is the 2026 Ford Bronco Sport more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2025 Bronco Sport has 38 complaints, 19 per year.

Has the 2026 Ford Bronco Sport been recalled?

The 2026 Ford Bronco Sport has 6 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2026 Ford Bronco Sport?

Owners have filed 7 complaints about the 2026 Ford Bronco Sport with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2026 Ford Bronco Sport get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2026 Ford Bronco Sport is 24.7 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the Ford Bronco Sport?

1st generation, in production since 2021.

Does the Ford Bronco Sport have fuel injector problems?

Yes; 2021-2024 models with the 1.5L EcoBoost were recalled after injectors could crack and leak fuel, a fire risk (NHTSA 25V467).