2021 FORD BRONCO — Complaint #2084025
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR:INTEGRATED STARTER(OTHER THAN PROPULSION) filed April 18, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2084025 (ODI reference 11655385) concerns a 2021 FORD BRONCO and was filed on April 18, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on April 18, 2024. The vehicle had 28,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Pennsylvania based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator:integrated starter(other than propulsion), one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD BRONCO cohort independently describe similar electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator:integrated starter(other than propulsion) failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2021 FORD BRONCO shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electrical system and the engine seized. The contact noticed fire and smoke which exited from the engine compartment. The contact was the only occupant of the vehicle when the failure occurred. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was inspected and diagnosed with a faulty alternator. The contact was informed that the seized gears overheated the alternator motor, which caused the fire. The vehicle was repaired. In addition, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke exiting the engine compartment. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact stopped and parked the vehicle. The contact turned the vehicle off. The vehicle was started, however, the vehicle did not start. The contact stated several unknown warning lights
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2084025 |
| ODI Number | 11655385 |
| Date Filed | April 18, 2025 |
| Failure Date | April 18, 2024 |
| VIN | 1FMDE5BH7ML |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.