Ford Delays 2025 Bronco Sport and Maverick Shipments for Additional Quality Checks

As per a recently published Detroit News report, additional quality checks are in store for the facelifted Bronco Sport and Maverick as well. Because Farley is fed up with Ford being first in recalls, the second-largest automaker of the Detroit Big Three will delay shipping new and refreshed vehicles by no more than six weeks.

By making sure that everything is up to the required standard from the outset, Farley expects to reduce warranty costs through fewer safety recalls, therefore improving reliability and customer satisfaction. Picture this: warranty costs at FoMoCo jumped from an average of $591 per vehicle in 2019 to a startling $1,203 in 2023.

That's a total of $4.8 billion left on the table last year, amounting to almost 4% of the company's automotive revenue, which is around three times the industry's rate. Ford recalls totaled 58 campaigns in 2023 for the US market, of which the largest recall was issued in March 2023.

Back then, Ford Motor Company recalled 1,280,726 examples of the Fusion and technically similar Lincoln MKZ over a potential rupture in the front brake jounce hose. The Office of Defects Investigation started looking into this matter back in August 2022 after no fewer than 50 vehicle owner questionnaires alleging front brake hose failures were filed with the federal watchdog.

Turning our attention back to the 2025 model year Bronco Sport and Maverick, both are coming to a dealer lot near you by year's end. As far as the Maverick is concerned, information on the 2025 redesign should be published in July. That's also when the order banks are supposed to open, with deliveries kicking off in September or October.

Because the Maverick is joined at the hip to the Bronco Sport, you shouldn't expect much in the way of mechanical changes. Think a bit more oomph from the 1.5- and 2.0-liter EcoBoost. With a bit of luck, a hybrid will be added to the lineup as well. Camouflaged prototypes captured by the carparazzi further show a 360-degree camera system, a larger touchscreen, and an off-road spec that seems related to the Bronco Sport Badlands.

The Maverick definitely needs a hybrid setup with all-wheel drive, which also means that said configuration includes rear independent suspension. The only Maverick specifications with rear independent suspension are 2.0-liter EcoBoost models optioned with all-wheel drive.

Still the most affordable new truck in the United States, the Maverick carries a starting price of $23,920 with the four-cylinder turbo and front-wheel drive or $25,420 with the fuel-sipping powertrain. The front-drive Maverick Hybrid is good for up to 37 miles per gallon (6.4 liters per 100 kilometers) on the combined test cycle, whereas the 2.0-liter EcoBoost is listed by the EPA at 26 to 21 mpg (9.0 to 11.2 l/100 km).