Ford Bronco Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Ford Bronco model year from 1990 to 2026, benchmarked against each other with 1,814 federal complaints, 59 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2021–2023. These years top the Bronco's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 1991–1993 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Bronco's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Brakes & stability tops the Ford Bronco file with 249 complaints, concentrated in the 1994–1995, 2022 model years. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Few reports | 7 | 7 | — | 2 |
| 2025 | Too early to call | 71 | 19 | Electrical | 20 |
| 2024 | Too early to call | 109 | 16 | Electrical | 29 |
| 2023 | Avoid | 260 | 18 | Visibility & wipers | 55 |
| 2022 | Avoid | 490 | 23 | Visibility & wipers | 100 |
| 2021 | Avoid | 300 | 20 | Engine | 68 |
| 1999 | Few reports | 5 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 1998 | Few reports | 2 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 1997 | Few reports | 1 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 1996 | Below average | 109 | 2 | Speed control | 51 |
| 1995 | Below average | 131 | 2 | Brakes & stability | 43 |
| 1994 | Typical | 114 | 5 | Brakes & stability | 33 |
| 1993 | Better year | 45 | 7 | Brakes & stability | 12 |
| 1992 | Better year | 56 | 4 | Brakes & stability | 13 |
| 1991 | Better year | 37 | 2 | Electrical | 18 |
| 1990 | Typical | 77 | 1 | Electrical | 26 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 1,559 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Ford Bronco. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Ford Bronco TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Ford Bronco years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2021–2023 as the Ford Bronco years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Ford Bronco problem?
Brakes & stability tops the Ford Bronco file with 249 complaints, concentrated in the 1994–1995, 2022 model years.
What are the best Ford Bronco years to buy used?
The quietest Ford Bronco years in federal records are 1991–1993 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Ford Bronco only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.