This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
2003 Ford F150. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle brake issues. The consumer stated when he came to a stop, with his foot on the brake, the vehicle rolled forward. The dealer replaced the hydraulic control unit. Also, the exhaust manifold was cracked.
Rear brake line corroded through leaking brake fluid on the ground under the vehicle rendering the brakes inop. Fortunately it didn't occur while driving. This shouldn't happen on a vehicle that was only 7 years old and less than 90,000 miles, to me this is a significant safety issue.
On my 2003 Ford F-150 XLT regular cab, short wide bed pick-up I noticed a few months ago that the ABS brake light came on and stayed for a short period then went off again. This happened a few times. Sometimes when I would shut off the engine the ABS brake light would go out and not reappear again for a few days to weeks. Approximately 2 weeks ago the ABS brake light on the dash came on again and this time it stayed on. This time I also noted that after I turned the ignition switch off I could still hear what appeared to be the sound of small electric motor continuously running under the hood. I opened the hood and determined the noise was originating from the ABS brake control module. I felt the module and it was warm. I phoned the local Ford dealer and was told that sometimes if the battery is disconnected the module will reset itself. I disconnected the battery for a moment then reconnected it and the ABS brake module light on the dash went off so I assumed it had reset itself and was now ok. I continued to drive the truck for approx 1 1/2 weeks with no trouble then suddenly the ABS light on the dash again came on. As before when I shut off the engine the noise under the hood of a small electric motor running was again heard. The ABS control module was hot to the touch and a hot smell was noted also. I visited the local Ford dealer and the service manager stated the ABS control module needed replaced at a price of somewhere around $700 up to possibly $1200 since when the ABS control module goes bad then the hydraulic portion of this system is likely also bad. The truck only has 68500 miles, looks like new, and has been treated extremely gently since I purchased it new in 2003.
The brake line from cab area to rear wheel on my 2003 Ford F150 corroded and emptied the master cyclinder of brake fluid. It is significant to note that no other brakelines or connections showed simiilar corrosion- more like you would expect on a 7 year old vehicle. It is my opinion that the corrosion is a materials problem and may be a reoccurring problem in other vehicle of this type. I also noted excessive scaling of the front wheel hubs and stearing arms of the same vehicle. This I believe is the result of inferior parts- I have never seen this level of deterioation of vehicle components like this. Whether this is a safety problem or not I don't know. Please accept this information as a couple of data points on this vehicle. I just felt it was necessary to advise NHTSA of the situation.
Anti-lock brake failure - failure of electronic hydraulic control unit while braking a few weeks ago I was driving on a highway at about 65-70 mph when a car on the side of the road started to pull onto the highway. I was only about 200 feet away from the car so I slammed on my brakes - it seemed like the car was going to stop pulling out so I let go of the brakes for a second but then the other drive did pull right in front of me and I slammed on the brakes again. The second time the ABS light came on, the rear wheels locked up and the car began to fishtail. Only because there wasn't any oncoming traffic was a collision avoided. The light never turned off, and the brakes behave erratically. A friend is a mechanic who used a snap-on solus diagnostic tool which shows the ABS dhcu sees the car moving at 3-4 mph while parked, the system off, but when you drive the car it applies the ABS system while slowing below about 5mph under normal driving (like approaching a stop light) increasing the stopping distance considerably. The module does not respond to reset attempts, and repair is by replacement only. The car is a special production Ford F150 lightning, with a dhcu specific to the lightning edition. Replacement of the module is about $700 plus labor. The vehicle only has 16,000 miles on it, about 15,500 when the incident occurred.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
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2003, Ford F150 with less 20,000 miles on it. When the trailer is hooked to the truck it will not stop. The anti lock brakes made a noise. Took vehicle to purchase dealer twice, and dealer said nothing was wrong. Took vehicle to another dealer, and they said the same thing.
While the vehicle was parked with the brake depressed, the front wheels began to turned which caused the vehicle to roll down a driveway. During this incident a baby was injured. The cause of the problem has yet to be determined. Please provide any additional information.
While driving at any speed the brakes system warning light came on and off on it's own.. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. The mechanic could not duplicate the problem. The dealer replaced the vss and found open circuit in wiring connector. The dealer also added brake fluid because it was low.
On 2 separate occasions when the consumer pressed the brake pedal it failed to stop the vehicle immediately. The consumer had to press the brake pedal 3 more times to stop vehicle. The dealership indicated that this always happened when the brake parts get wet.
The 4 wheel drive failed to disengage. The truck has been serviced by several dealerships for this issue. They all gave different solutions to solve the problem, but none of the solutions related to what was in the owner's manual. The vehicle did not disengage or shift out of 4X4 into 4X2 under a load or in a bind. The brakes pushed to the drivers side and a made noise, and the A/C didn't switch from defrost to vent due to the radio and bezel vacuum to the A/C system. The A/C selector switch was replaced.
When the brakes were depressed, the pedal went all the way to the floor and the consumer's foot accidentally hit the gas pedal which caused the vehicle to accelerate.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Louisville, KY, USA