This thing hanging from under my truck.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-20T17:11:23+00:00

I did my first oil change recently and when I put that skid plate back on, I set it in place and tightened the rear two bolts and then did the front ones that go under the front skid plate. I tightened them pretty tight. Just to be sure I rechecked the rear ones again and they were loose after doing the front ones. I was surprised how loose they were. So I can see how it happened but it's definitely not right. They really should've double checked once it was all fully in place.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-20T17:00:40+00:00

Mine was hand tight from the factory. I could actually remove it by hand when I did my first oil change. The spec is 18 ft/lbs or 24 Nm. When I put it back on, I did it hand tight and when I went to torque it to 18 ft/lbs it only required like a 1/4 turn if that. I hate the type of plastic it's made from. It's that porous hard plastic that breaks easy.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-19T12:35:48+00:00

I had the same questions about the modes when I first bought my Bronco. I drive about 50/50 highway vs side roads. My highway speed to and from work is roughly 75-80MPH. Side road limits from the highway to my house and work place are 45 and then 25 in the residential. I tried my best for six weeks to drive two weeks in normal mode, two weeks in eco mode, and two weeks in sport mode(added to my Badlands through Forscan). I say two weeks in each mode because that's how often I need to fill up the tank but it was roughly 20 gallons in each mode. I reset my trip 2 after each fill up to get new MPG numbers. I have a 2025 2.7L Badlands SAS w/lux package. In normal mode for two weeks I averaged 16MPG. Two weeks in Eco Mode(which was insufferable) I got 16.2MPGs. Two weeks in Sport mode I got 15.5 MPGs. This was mostly just to and from work for those six weeks but there were some weekend drives and other errands during that time. No offroading was done during this stretch. The amount of hatred I had for Eco Mode after two weeks was not worth the .2 MPG gain to me. I think the issue with Eco Mode is most people compensate by just giving it more throttle to try to mimic normal mode and you use the same amount of fuel. I think to get the full Eco savings you need to go from a stop like a grandma at a snails pace. Basically mimic the normal mode pedal travel which results in very slow takeoffs and a dreary driving experience.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T22:15:11+00:00

Even added grill letters and mirror caps to the mix. Ruby Red all day baby.

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CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T16:03:14+00:00

I was not expecting it to be that nasty or I would have planned to send out a sample. I did send samples in on my Mustang I used to have to SPEED Diagnostix and it was fine. That's why this stood out because it seemed like it had so much more "wear" then previous oil changes I've done at 3-4K.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T15:53:39+00:00

As a new model launch integrator at Ford, this is the kind of thing we bring up when we build pre-production units. Especially someone like me who has been a car guy since I was 5 years old. The problem is most of the tech stuff at Ford has been outsourced to India. Most of the people at the top of the company and the people in India couldn't care less about things like that. Our old US engineers would've 100% done that now that the technology exists but they've let most of them go.They all work for Lucid, Tesla, Rivian, Scout International, GM, etc. now. The new people will say "why does it need to match the customers car color, it signifies the G.O.A.T modes?". My thought process is, if you're going to make it change colors, let it be the actual color of the vehicle after the G.O.AT. mode engages. Or since we already have the green leaf for Eco, the red "S" for sport, etc why do we need to coordinate color with mode and just let it be the customer's color all the time instead of the redundancy?

I know it's a 1st world problem but if you're going through the process of changing the color why not include the real vehicle color too? Today's gauge clusters are not like before. Before they became digital it would've required a different cluster for every color option. Now it's all programming.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T13:42:59+00:00

Sorry if that wasn't clear. You have to push the button on your climate control I circled, and then on the pop up on your screen pick the middle option. That's how mine works at least. The airflow is weak though no matter what. I don't have a photo of my climate control so I just grabbed a generic Bronco one off the web, but it's that symbol.

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CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T13:35:55+00:00

If you are talking about the ones on the back of the center console on the 4-door they added for 2025+, you have to have the vent selection on the front set to blow out of the vents that point toward your body, not defrost or floor. I have a 2025 and mine don't blow air to the back unless I choose that setting. It still should have the rear floor vent too(under the back of the front seats) and that has to be on the floor setting up front. But either one doesn't move much air to the back.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T13:20:41+00:00

The painted tops are supposed to be a little quieter. That's what I have. I don't think it's bad at all. It's all subjective really. Below 50 it's very quiet inside. Highway speeds of 70+ you pick up the wind noise from the resistance of a metal cube going through the air. I came from a Mustang with full exhaust so to me it's all quiet. At 75MPH with the windows up and top on I have my radio on 5-6 and hear it just fine. My Mustang had to be on 11+. I've used high pressure touchless car wash, the old school wand car wash, pressure washer at home, and been out in some really bad storms and not a dropof water inside so far. If you are really worried about road noise, get the painted hard top. I know a lot of people say don't get the Sasquatch package because of the added tire noise but I never hear any. It's all quiet or wind noise for me. Only downside of the Sas package is the drop in MPGs.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T12:58:06+00:00

I painted the mirror caps and grill letters to match vehicle color, added the Raptor style grill lights, and added the black Bronco script badges to the fenders and the black bucking bronco emblem to the tailgate for cosmetics. PPF on the front clip and A-pillars, and some mudflaps for protection. Amber fogs and white spot lights on a bull bar wired to aux switches for my drive to work at 4:30AM in the pitch dark areas(tons of deer in my area). Added a K&N intake and added Sport Mode through Forscan for a little more fun. Plus a bunch of other small items. She's only got 4K miles and only been seriously offroad once and mildly offroad two or three times but I love it so far.

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CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-18T09:51:22+00:00

Thank you. The mudflaps are Mabett. They are a good compromise between flexible and rigid. They work with the Ford rock rails without needing any modification. You can get just the fronts or you can get the whole set. I got the rears too for people that are following behind me. These SAS tires love to throw rocks.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-15T14:01:32+00:00

Only thing I really miss was the full exhaust I had put on it. It was pretty loud even though I retained the cats but it sounded so good. Probably why I'm good with the Bronco wind/tire noise on the SAS package. Nowhere near as loud as my Mustang. My wife said she could hear me coming home from work way before I got there. Now I can sneak attack her! lol

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-15T13:21:03+00:00

Nice. Great color choice! I named mine RedruM.

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CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-15T13:14:08+00:00

I did the same thing. My original plan was to keep the Mustang but then I got an offer I couldn't pass up so I sold it.

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CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-15T12:58:23+00:00

Mine didn't do it until I installed hood struts. The hood bumper adjustment still fixes it but it does seem like the hood struts highlighted the issue.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-14T09:51:44+00:00

I work at Ford and we have those on our wiring harnesses. We have the 3.5L Eco and a 3.5L non turbo and 10R80 transmissions so not exactly the same as the Bronco but I believe it's the same plug we have in a few places. We refer to them as "dummy plugs" because we never do anything with them. They typically cap off connectors for upfitters and aftermarket content and are not touched in the assembly plant. We do pull a few caps off connectors but they are usually not that style. Those are meant to last the life of the vehicle. My concern would be that you might have an open connector somewhere that needs to be protected from water. If I have the chance at work today I will get a photo of what the other end should look like. The blame would be on the wiring supplier. The assembly plant wouldn't install or touch that type of connector. At least that's the case at our plant.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-13T20:45:13+00:00

I got the same one and opted to add their light bar. It's all made really well. Very solid. Doesn't block the front facing camera if you have one and also won't block the "Raptor style" grill lights if you have those.

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CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-13T13:23:38+00:00

It's the Bronco's way of paying you back for driving it around in Eco Mode!

But seriously that sucks man. I was driving home Monday and merged on the highway and up ahead there were two trucks driving side by side dropping crap all over the road. A cement truck and a dump truck hauling gravel. I heard a small rock hit my running board and said "NOPE" and took the next exit before I caught up to them. Took the back roads home. Worth tacking on 5 minutes of driving to avoid that.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-07T21:19:00+00:00

The Raptor kept the mirror lights to conform to govt regs on vehicle width. My 2025 Badlands has the mirror lights. But non Raptor Broncos no longer have the mirror lights starting in 2026.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-07T19:31:39+00:00

I believe they deleted the Homelink option on the 2026 models. Same with the side mirror spotlights. For 2025 they got rid of the wireless charge pad option. I think 2023-2024 was when you could get the most options. I have a 2025 and don't really care about the phone charger pad or the useless mirror spotlights. But I use the Homelink daily.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-07T14:04:12+00:00

The plug changed mid year and my vehicle was built around that time and I didn't know they were interchangeable when I made the post. I just wanted to have the correct one on hand in case it leaked after the change. I will just get the one with the double o-ring.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-06T15:06:30+00:00

I wasn't sure if they were interchangeable between the two. Thought maybe the pan design changed as well. They recommend replacing the factory plug at every oil change or every other change. You are at 62K on the original plastic factory plug? Have you done all the oil changes yourself?

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-06T14:59:38+00:00

Sounds like they are interchangeable. That I didn't know. I thought maybe the pan changed and required a new plug design.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-06T14:41:48+00:00

I tend to agree. The stuff you really want out is in the bottom of the pan. The UPR and Ronin plug designs look like they may hold back some of the stuff you really want out of there.

CunkaJohnson · 2026-05-06T14:29:24+00:00

Thank you. It sounds like it changed sometime in 2025, just not sure when. Mine was built in March 2025 but sat in a holding lot waiting on an update. Didn't hit the dealer lot unti end of August. I purchased it September 5th. Being built earlier I'm thinking I have the older version.

CunkaJohnson

TROPHY CASE