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.
I was in an accident due to brake failure. I was traveling at approximately 25 mph and approaching a stop light in moderate traffic. I had 80 ft to the vehicle in front of me and when I depressed my brake pedal it went 3/4 of the way to the floor and was vibrating as anti lock was engaged. I rapidly depressed the pedal again and the same occurred. On the third attempt the brakes finally engaged but was to late to stop the vehicle as I was only 2 feet from the car in front of me resulting in a crash. My speed was reduced to 8-10mph upon impact. The smaller car in front of me was knocked into a third car stopped at the light. Damage occurred to the truck and the smaller car and very minor damage to the 3rd vehicle. The weather was sunny and the streets were completely dry. I could not get my vehicle stopped even with no load other than my passenger who is a witness to the incident. No injuries occurred in any of the three vehicles and no airbags were deployed. I am scared to death as I have owned the truck for 2 years and never had this happen in my life. The brakes worked perfectly immediately following the incident and the truck was taken to the Ford dealer where purchased new and all service records are at this dealer. They thoroughly inspected the entire system and found no issues. System check on all sensors, lines, rotors and pads were ok. Perfect working order ?
Returning home from errands Friday evening, my husband noticed a burning smell coming from the back of my truck. Upon further investigation, the right rear passenger tire rim was very hot and there was a strong, burning odor. Not wanting to due further damage, we made an immediate appointment with a local repair shop Saturday morning. The mechanic was surprised he had to replace the right rear passenger caliper, brake pads and the right rear rotor now just makes spec after having to be resurfaced. I am the primary driver of this truck and almost always have my two small children with me. Obviously, there is a problem here that someone needs to address immediately before there are any injuries or deaths. What has to happen to get someone's attention and have such a serious safety defect corrected? and let me just add that I only have 23, 500 miles on my truck.
When starting my vehicle in the parking lot it sputtered and did not start the first time. No problem the second time. After starting the second time I noticed the power brakes did not work. I turned the truck off to try to reset the system, still no brakes. I drove home very carefully using my entire body weight to stop the vehicle at stop lights. There would be no way to stop if I did not have plenty of room in front of me. I took the truck into the Ford dealer and was told a hose is leaking or has come loose behind the intake manifold. Cost approx $700. I have contacted Ford for potential payment.
: the contact stated while driving 10 mph the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle accelerated forward crashing into another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the problem could not be duplicated. No police report was filed however; a representative from the dmv filed a report. Update 5/2/2006 -
I have not had a failure at this time. The problem is the brakes on my 2005 F-150. The pedal has always been mushy and engages the brakes at different levels when applied, I never where the braking will begin. Some times if I am parking a trailer where the brakes are used a lot the pedal will be almost to the floor. I did almost back into a car when parking because the brakes didn't engage until pedal was quite low.
I have experienced brake failures on at least 5 occasions. It has occurred at slow speed when approaching a stop at an intersection and when behind other vehicles in traffic. The brakes appear to be engaging the anti-lock braking system and start to pulse but fail to stop. All of the incidents have occurred when the pavement was completely dry and the road surfaces were clean. All incidents have been narrow misses in traffic collisions. After each incident the brakes appear to return to normal function and only once have I been able to duplicate the failure which was in a parking lot shortly after the very first incident. During each incident I initially apply and hold the brake until I realize complete failure and then release and re-apply. Except for yesterday (01/01/2006) the brakes engaged on the second attempt. Yesterday the vehicle came to a stop on the third attempt but only because the initial speed was so slow the vehicle just ran out of forward momentum and the minimal braking held the vehicle. I backed out of the intersection, braked, tested stopping and the brakes appeared fine at that time. I plan to take the vehicle back to the dealership tomorrow. The dealership has seen the vehicle for this problem in addition to a charging light problem and have failed to fix either problem. The dealership stated that they were unable to find a braking problem and were unable to re-create the braking malfunction. Their resolution was to bleed the braking system and return the vehicle to service.
The contact stated while traveling on the highway going at 55 mph the vehicle hit something in the middle of the highway with the left front tire. The brakes were applied but they did not work. The consumer then lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle traveled into the median and collided with the retaining wall. This was a frontal impact. The seat belts failed to properly restrain the consumer and the air bags failed to deploy which resulted in injuries to the occupant. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop a couple of weeks prior to the accident for an ABS problem. They were unable to duplicate the problem with the brakes. Updated 1/25/2006.
Contact stated while trying to stop the vehicle the brake pedal went all the way to floor. The vehicle was taken to the dealership three times for this same problem. The first time the dealership bled the brakes. This did not fix the problem. The second time the dealership changed the master cylinder. The problem was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for the third time, they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle.
On September 2, 2005 vehicle skidded while coming to a stop. It skidded three times since then, twice while stopping at a traffic light, and while trying to make a turn into the driveway. Also, the vehicle vibrated. This happened intermittently, and T happened on dry pavement. Took vehicle to the dealer, they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. There was no forewarning and there was no noise.
At 400 miles the vehicle shook violently when putting pressure on the brakes. This happened on May 18, 2005. Contacted the dealer, and then took the vehicle to the dealer, who claimed the rotors were warped from heat. They got permission from Ford to put on different rotors. After leaving the dealer the brake light came on. The consumer went back to the dealer. They checked and discovered there was no brake fluid in the master cylinder. Left the dealer again, went to apply the brakes and there was no brake fluid in master cylinder, the fluid was in the rims of the vehicle, and on the ground. This wore out the tires and the brakes still were not working properly. Ford was suppose to send a representative to meet with the consumer, and had not done so. Currently, the consumer went to a different dealer, and they just swapped the tires from the front to the back. Then, they changed/ turn ed the rotors. The consumer spoke with manufacturer, who blamed the dealer, but the dealer blamed the manufacturer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Guntersville, AL, USA