Many people have had the same issue. We bought the vehicle new so we know what it was like coming from the factory. The braking was excellent.

But when the spongy problem develops, the brake pedal goes nearly to the floor before any braking resistance. Note that you do get some braking near the top of the stroke but it is velocity sensitive. i.e. if you punch the pedal quickly you get some decent initial braking near the top of the stroke, but the pedal is heading towards the floor and you don't get solid braking until it is nearly at the floor. We tried with professional service and got some degree of improvement, but the problem has recurred in full force like it was a year ago when it started.

History:

Started a year ago... scared my wife a couple times thinking she may not be able to stop. I tried pulling all three the ABS fuses (one at a time) to see if defeating ABS would cure it. It did not. Ford for $150 diag fee said we needed a new master cylinder and the ABS valve assembly ~ $3000 total. ~ $2300 of that for the the ABS. We got a second opinion from local place called Network Alignment (NA) in Gilbert that had done decent honest work for us in the past with other cars.

NA did not think it was the ABS controller. But due to age/milage of vehicle, we thought it would be most cost effective to replace the master cylinder as they had no other ideas. I asked about front pads/rotors and rear drums and they said fronts were good and backs were worn but OK. I elected to replace rear shoes and drums because it was really inexpensive to do so and that way take front and rear braking hardware out of the equation. After NA finished replacements it was improved but not like it was when new. I got good braking half way to the floor. I tried pulling fuses again with the ABS and it made no difference. I tried the old trick of backing up and braking hard to activate the rear drum adjustors and that made a noticeable difference. Not as good as brand new but it was improved.

A year has gone by and over the course of the year brakes have gotten a bit spongier. Today it scared the wife as she thought she would not stop at the bottom of highway ramp. The fluid levels were fine, so I tried ABS fuses again. Pumping helped a bit temporarily but 30 seconds later it would be spongy near the floor. I also tried reversing and braking in order to tighten up the rear brake shoe to drum clearance. It did not help.

I was almost out of ideas.

So I am thinking sponginess (excessive pedal travel) can be caused by some slack in the system. Air in the line, or the gap between pads and the rotor and/or gap between the shoe and the drum.

So I tried something I had not done before. At idle in park, I put the parking brake on really hard thinking it would to take up some slack in the drum system in the rear. I seemed to make a very small difference in the brake pedal take up. I cycled the parking brake several times, pressing it really hard each time. In AZ there is little corrosion so I did not worry about getting the parking brake on a 12 year old car stuck in the engaged position. In the north, this may well be a worry.

Anyway my parking brake trick did not seem to affect pedal takeup while the parking brake was on. I greased parking brake and put car in reverse to back out of driveway for another drive test. I braked a couple times reversing out of drive way, and each time the brake pedal action improved. In drive, the brakes was like new.

It seems that the auto adjusting action of my new (a year ago) drum brakes failed. The hard cycling of parking brake seems to have cured the failure of the rear drum brake auto adjusters.

This should be a major RECALL. Ford sucks for not taking care of this problem, and now yet again after waiting 4 hours for a tow truck. I'm missing work! My brakes go all the way to the floor, which now will cost me???

This is my second time with the same issue. I'm really surprised nobody has died from this!!! Is that what Ford is waiting for? Would FORD owners let their child drive this DEATH TRAP??!!! Very disturbing too see all the complaints on this vehicle and NO RECALL - WHAT THE HELL. When driving, you better pray the brakes don't go ALL the way to the FLOOR and CRASH.

Same issue many Escape owners are reporting. Brakes seem to come and go. Get soft and barely stop the car. Replaced everything but the ABS module due to the cost. Car is parked now, afraid to drive it.

Update from Oct 10, 2021: Ended up finding a website who specializes in abs control modules, https://carpartsource.com/. Bought the part after consulting with them. Had a local mechanic install and program it. All for a fraction of what a Ford dealer wanted. Issue finally resolved.

While attempting to stop, the brake pedal went to the floor and the brakes would not engage (luckily no one was in front of me). Took it to my local mechanic who replaced the master cylinder, as well as brake pads and rotors ($725). He bled the brakes several times but said he still could not get the pedal as tight as it should be. The brakes do engage, however the pedal is at the floor.

I suppose the ABS module may need to be replaced but I have also read complaints from people who have had that done and still the problem persisted. It's a rather costly thing to replace ($2000 from what I have seen) so I don't know how worth it it would be at this point. This is a huge safety issue that Ford should be looking in to based on the amount of similar complaints I have seen.

My brake pedal started depressing to the floor with a delayed stop on April 27, 2020. The vehicle has not reached 100,000K miles and has practically been kept in the car shop (for regular maintenance and...because it's a Ford). The front brakes were replaced recently (a month ago) and the rotors have been resurfaced. The brake pedal now goes all the way to the floor and this is very dangerous in regular driving conditions and unexpected stops. I would not feel comfortable driving at high speeds on the highway or freeway. I took the vehicle to the car shop and they figured the master cylinder needed to be replaced. Upon testing the car out, the same spongy brake feel and brake pedal depression to the floor symptoms remained. The car shop informed me that they'd have to go through the Ford dealership for the part and repair of the ABS, which would cost around $2,100. No sir. This is a safety issue. This needs to be a recall.

Bought this "thing" new in 2009. Ford Escape XLS and yes it only has 31,000 miles. It's like new, even has the original tires that are still good.This morning I went to the local grocery store 1 mile from my house and it was OK. Went to leave store and brake pedal went almost to the floor with a severe loss in stopping power. Made it home and it was still like that when I pulled into my garage. This was around 11AM today on 9/28/2019.

I started researching this immediately online and the amount of complaints and problems associated with the braking system on this "thing" freaked me out!!! Apparently it is the ABS system/module and the repair costs are off the charts around $1700 to $2000 and FORD will not repair it for free. I have never encountered anything like this. Usually the master cylinder by-passes and that can cause a pedal going down like that,from everything I have read this is not the problem on this "thing",it is the ABS module assembly.

This vehicle is not user friendly in the sense of DIY and the part costs from $700-$1500 from what I have read so far Ford should legally be compelled to repair any and all faulty brake systems not just on the Escape but all the others that have a similar issue probably using the same components. What is it going to take? Maybe a major crash with deaths involved?

I am a retired old guy with fixed income and this is really making me angry. I have a hospital appointment next week and have to drive 50 miles on the interstate. I don't think this "thing" is safe to drive. I will never buy another Ford product ever again. Legal action is in order. Is that happening yet?

Update from Feb 27, 2020: It did it again on 2/08/20...Then again last night on 2/27/20. It is intermittent.I see Ford is recalling other vehicles with the exact same problem but the Escape is not among them.It is the ABS control module that fails.The part costs $1700.00 at the Ford dealer,plus labor to install..I have found the part online for 2009 Ford Escape for less than the dealer charges. Around $1100.00...This part fits the vehicle you selected:

1FMCU02779KD00188 2009 Ford Escape 4 Cyl 2.5L Duratec (110kW/150PS); 6-Speed Automatic Transmission 6F Mid-Range; Front-Wheel Drive; 5 Door The vehicle options this part fits:

Fit Note: For Unleaded Fuel Production Date: 12/2008-07/2009 Ford Part No.: 9L8Z-2C346-C Module - Abs Control

Ford 9L8Z-2C346-C Module - Abs Control Base No. 2C346 Part Description Module - Abs Control HCU & ECU

Manufacturer Ford. This genuine Ford part is guaranteed by Ford's factory warranty. Your Price: $1154.95Retail Price: $1688.52You Save: $533.57 Qty: 1 Ford needs to get their rear end sued for this defective and extremely dangerous defect...I have filed a complaint withe the NHTSA...

I have been experiencing the same problems that a lot of people have been having, spongy brake pedal, pedal goes to the floor. It started out doing it just a little here and there, but lately it has been worse, every day, but not always. Scary to drive. Didn't know what was wrong originally, replaced all rotors, drums, pads, wheel cylinders, and calipers and it was still happening. Was about ready to replace the master cylinder, but I went online and saw all the complaints about the brakes on the 2009 escape. My vehicle has 165,000 miles on it and isn't worth much more than it would cost to have the abs control module fixed, (over 1,000 dollars). So I disabled the abs by removing the 50 amp fuse for the abs under the hood. To be honest it is the best braking now that I ever had. I did start driving when there was no abs and I really don't care for abs braking. The only downfall is that you will not have abs, or traction control by doing this, and the abs and traction control lights will light up on the dashboard. I know this is not a true fix, but no more pedal to the floor, or spongy pedal. I'm sure some people would not agree with me on this fix, but it works for me.

coinciding master cylinder and hcu failure

The car had spongy brakes off and on for a few months. When we took it into Ford, they said it needed pads and a new master cylinder. Those were replaced at a cost of almost $1000.00. The mechanic then recommended that we needed a new Hydraulic Control Unit. That was replaced at a cost of $2000.00. When we drove the car when leaving the dealership, we realized the brakes did not feel better. We took the car back, they looked at it again, and said that they were fixed as far as they were concerned, though still spongy.