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.
Complete brake system failure! I was the third vehicle in line waiting for a red light to change. The light changed and we all started moving forward. We move straight through the intersection. About 200 feet past the intersection two stray dogs run across the roadway. The roadway is a divided four lane with passing lanes and is a 40 mph zone. The two vehicles in front were able to stop. As I applied pressure on the brakes, I had this sense that something in the braking system let go. The brake pedal went to the floorboard. I remember pushing for all I was worth attempting to stop the vehicle, but having the sense that the vehicle is just not stopping. The accident was written up as unavoidable due to the two dogs and no driver was cited. That evening as I had time to relive the accident, I recalled the sense of the brakes having failed. The next day I went into the body shop and told them what I remembered and asked them to inspect the brakes as part of the repair assessment. They found that the braking system was completely gone except for the emergency brakes. The diagnostic system showed numerous codes in the braking system. The body shop had someone from Ford Motor Company come and check on the brakes and they reported that the ABS system had gone out. Upon further inspection it was determined that brake failure caused the accident, and not the accident that caused the braking system to fail. It was determined that when the system went down that the ABS system blew out pressure lines and also caused and electrical failure that burned electrical lines and blew out the fuses. If I had been driving 70 mph, I might not be here to tell about it. Is there a history of this problem with this car? equipment failure like this kills people.
After ABS engaged, low brake pressure. (pedal to floor - little stopping ability) brake pressure returned after "pumping up" brakes. This issue has occurred more than twice, with different operators.
Driving along and went to stop at a stop sign and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor then started stopping very slowly. Took it the the mechanic shop and they couldn't find anything wrong. Drove it home and it did it one time again. Continued driving it for about 300 miles before it happened again last night. This time the brake failed at 4 stops in a row. Then it engaged again and was fine the rest of the 20 miles home. The dealer mechanic said it may have something to do with the ABS but it will be expensive to diagnose and repair because it only happens intermitantly. I have read numerous other complaints from other Fusion owners forums for the same problem. One person said it cost $2000 to fix. Ford issued a service bulletin and set up a customer satisfaction program for this same problem but only for hybrids. This is a very dangerous problem. I went right through the stop sign and could have been killed if the other person hadn't slammed on their brakes.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed to respond without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the bolt fractured as a result the pulley needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired on two occasions but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000. The consumer stated there was a noise coming front he engine. The dealer stated the replaced the idler tensions pulley. However, he continued to experience problems. The consumer went to another dealer, who informed him, the problem would happen again, because the bolts that held the pulley in place, were too small in diameter and would break at some point. As the consumer was backing out of the driveway, he heard a noise then lost power steering and brakes. Updated 11/10/13
When backing out of a parking spot I depressed the brake pedal and it went straight to the floor. The car did not stop. I put car immediately into park and then pumped brakes. Pressure seemed to return to the brakes so I proceeded to back out again, testing brakes consistently. Brakes seemed to respond but seemed "soft" still. I drove car to mechanic without incident, thinking the problem was the master cylinder. Mechanic informed me that the problem was not the master cylinder but rather the ABS hydraulic control module and that he had seen this same problem with four other Ford vehicles, two of them Fusion. Mechanic stated that when he looked up the symptoms I reported to him in his "identifix/oem" database that this problem came up associated with a technical service bulletin from Ford, including the instructions for how to repair the problem. He could not find a recall notice for this problem, however. This appears to be a manufacturer's defect and I am perplexed as to why there is no recall. I will be contacting the Ford Motor Company to investigate further. My mechanic repaired the problem which cost just over $2000 and did include him taking the car to a Ford dealer to reset the ABS and associate the repair with my VIN. Two days since repair and I have not had any brake problems.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Clackamas, OR, USA