Three of Ford's newest nameplates share a short record and a pattern: the first year is the one to worry about. The Ford Bronco Sport is the clearest case, with a 2021 that scores 33 on 678 owner complaints and 135.6 complaints for every year on the road, the highest rate on the three pages and the only AVOID among the fifteen model years covered here. The Ford Bronco has its trouble in its second and third years, the 2022 at 51 and the 2023 at 60, both CAUTION, while its 2021 scores 71 and its 2024 scores 76. The Ford EcoSport is BUY in every year, from 70 for the 2018 to 93 for the 2022, though its record has an engine pattern to read before trusting the label. The years to buy are the 2021 and 2024 Bronco, the 2024 Bronco Sport at 73, and the 2019 to 2021 EcoSport at 80, 77 and 84.
The Bronco: twelve recalls a year, every year
The Bronco has twelve recall campaigns on record for each of its five model years. The 2021 scores 71 on 225 complaints, 45.0 per year on the road, with Engine leading at 68 and then Electrical System 29, Suspension 24 and Back Over Prevention 23. Three of its twelve campaigns are safety-critical: 21V770000 (1 October 2021) for a passenger air bag vent that can open early, 22V928000 (14 December 2022) for side impact sensors that may not be secured, and 23V358000 (18 May 2023) for first-row seat belt latch plates on five-door trucks. The Engine count has a campaign behind it: 24V635000 (23 August 2024) covers 2021 and 2022 trucks with the 2.7-litre engine, whose intake valves may break while driving. The camera category has three: 22V825000 (3 November 2022) for a rearview image that stays on screen after reversing, then 23V165000 (10 March 2023) and 25V312000 (9 May 2025) for trucks repaired incorrectly under it.
The 2022 is the Bronco's worst year at 51 on 369 complaints and 92.2 per year, more than double the 2021's rate. The leading component changes to Visibility/Wiper at 65, and 22V451000 (24 June 2022) is the campaign for it: the windscreen may not have been bonded properly and could detach in a crash. Engine is second at 51, Service Brakes 42, Electrical System 39. 23V155000 (8 March 2023, safety-critical) covers steering gears on the 2022 Raptor and 2023 Wildtrak that may lock up. The 2023 improves to 60 on 218 complaints, and Visibility/Wiper leads again at 89; the matching campaign is 24V142000 (23 February 2024), for rear quarter glass panels that can detach from the hard top. Power Train is third at 20, and 23V546000 (3 August 2023) is for a park pawl damaged during assembly that can let the truck roll away.
The 2024 scores 76 on 74 complaints with medium evidence, and its twelve campaigns include three for front control arm fasteners that may be loose or missing, 24V770000 (16 October 2024), 25V308000 and 25V310000 (both 9 May 2025), and 25V164000 (14 March 2025) for a transmission valve body that can cause reverse gear failure. The 2025 has no complaints on file, twelve campaigns of which four are safety-critical, and scores 73 on low evidence.
Ford Bronco: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73 | BUY | 0 | 12 |
| 2024 | 76 | BUY | 74 | 12 |
| 2023 | 60 | CAUTION | 218 | 12 |
| 2022 | 51 | CAUTION | 369 | 12 |
| 2021 | 71 | BUY | 225 | 12 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Ford Bronco model page.
The Bronco Sport: the 2021 problem
The 2021 Bronco Sport's 678 complaints spread across four categories with more than a hundred complaints each: Electrical System 205, Power Train 176, Engine 141, Service Brakes 127. Each has a campaign on the record. For Electrical System, 24V267000 (12 April 2024, safety-critical) covers 2021 to 2024 cars whose control modules may fail to detect a change in the 12-volt battery's state of charge, 25V158000 (14 March 2025) re-does cars repaired incorrectly under it, and 25V019000 (17 January 2025, safety-critical) covers 2021 to 2023 cars whose 12-volt battery may degrade and suddenly fail. For Power Train, 21V011000 (15 January 2021) is for a rear drive unit that may seize for lack of lubricant. For Engine, 22V859000 (18 November 2022, safety-critical) covers 2021 to 2023 cars with the 1.5-litre engine for a fuel injector that may crack and leak fuel into the engine compartment, followed by 24V187000 (8 March 2024), 25V165000 (14 March 2025) and 25V467000 (11 July 2025) as the campaign was extended and re-done; 21V625000 (10 August 2021, safety-critical) is for a fuel delivery module that can leak and stall the engine. For Service Brakes, 21V922000 (23 November 2021, safety-critical) is for rear brake linings manufactured incorrectly.
The 2022 scores 54 on 349 complaints and 87.2 per year, with Engine 78, Electrical System 73 and Power Train 63, and it carries eight safety-critical campaigns, more than any other year on these three pages. The 2023 scores 65 on 151 complaints, with Fuel System and Gasoline at 30 each behind Electrical System (37) and Engine (32). The 2024 is the first BUY, at 73 on 103 complaints and eight campaigns, three safety-critical; 24V683000 (13 September 2024) repeats the battery-monitoring fault. The 2025 scores 78 on no complaints and seven campaigns, four safety-critical, with low evidence.
Ford Bronco Sport: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 78 | BUY | 0 | 7 |
| 2024 | 73 | BUY | 103 | 8 |
| 2023 | 65 | CAUTION | 151 | 12 |
| 2022 | 54 | CAUTION | 349 | 12 |
| 2021 | 33 | AVOID | 678 | 12 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Ford Bronco Sport model page.
The EcoSport: BUY on the label, engine on the record
The EcoSport's five years are all BUY, and the trend is the right way: 723 complaints and 90.4 per year for the 2018, then 457, 393, 257 and finally 10 for the 2022. But the complaint list is two categories deep. On the 2018, Engine is 353 and Engine And Engine Cooling is 311, the great majority of the total. The pair leads every year after: 215 and 191 in 2019, 179 and 165 in 2020, 134 and 84 in 2021. The recall that matches is 23V905000 (22 December 2023), for an oil pump drive belt or tensioner that may fail and cause a loss of engine oil pressure on every EcoSport from 2018 to 2022. The other campaigns are small: 20V791000 (17 December 2020, safety-critical) for a frontal air bag module missing its first-stage propellant, and 25V126000 (28 February 2025) for front half shafts that may disconnect from the transmission on 2021 and 2022 cars. The 2018's rate of 90.4 complaints per year is double the 2021 Bronco's 45.0, so the BUY label is doing a lot of work; the improving years, 2019 to 2021 at 80, 77 and 84, are the ones it fits.
Ford EcoSport: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 93 | BUY | 10 | 2 |
| 2021 | 84 | BUY | 257 | 3 |
| 2020 | 77 | BUY | 393 | 3 |
| 2019 | 80 | BUY | 457 | 2 |
| 2018 | 70 | BUY | 723 | 2 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Ford EcoSport model page.
Ranking the three
By the site's verdicts the order is EcoSport, Bronco, Bronco Sport. The EcoSport has five BUY years and one campaign that matters; its condition is that the oil pump belt work is done and the engine has never run low on oil. The Bronco has three BUY years, two CAUTION and no AVOID, and its recall count is heavy in every year, so its condition is a complete campaign history. The Bronco Sport has the worst single year and the most safety-critical campaigns; its 2024 is the first year the record supports.
What to check before you buy
- On any 2021 to 2024 Bronco Sport, confirm by VIN that 24V267000 and, where it applies, 25V158000 or 24V683000 are complete, then check the 12-volt battery's date and condition; 25V019000 exists because the battery can fail without warning.
- On a 1.5-litre Bronco Sport of 2021 to 2024, ask for the fuel injector campaigns (22V859000, 24V187000, 25V165000, 25V467000) and look for fuel staining or smell in the engine bay.
- On a 2021 or 2022 Bronco Sport, ask for 21V922000 (rear brake linings) and 21V011000 (rear drive unit).
- On a 2021 or 2022 Bronco with the 2.7-litre engine, ask for 24V635000.
- On a 2022 to 2024 Bronco, ask for whichever glass campaign applies (22V451000, 24V142000) and check the bonding at the edges.
- On a 2024 or 2025 Bronco, ask for all three control arm campaigns and 25V164000 (valve body).
- On any EcoSport, ask for 23V905000 (oil pump belt) and check the oil level and service history.
Summary
Avoid the 2021 Bronco Sport, which scores 33 on 678 complaints with twelve recall campaigns, and treat the 2022 Bronco Sport (54) and the 2022 and 2023 Bronco (51 and 60) as CAUTION. Buy a 2021 or 2024 Bronco (71 and 76), a 2024 Bronco Sport (73), or a 2019 to 2021 EcoSport (80, 77 and 84) with the oil pump belt campaign completed. The 2025 Bronco and Bronco Sport have no complaints on file yet.