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.
The car lost braking power. When the ABS brakes engaged, I had to push the brake pedal all the way down to get them to engage. My mechanic replaced the master cylinder initially. This fixed the problem temporarily, but later, again when the ABS engaged, the pedal got spongy and the pedal had to go all the way to the floor to brake. Then, my mechanic found that this was a known defect and replaced the ABS control module, costing me > $1,000. The part cost $805. This problem should be recalled.
Noticed spongy brake pedal/pedal not firm/going almost to the floor. This issue occurred shortly after hitting a large pot hole/bump while in motion, braking for a right hand turn onto a city street. ABS was activated during the turn upon hitting the bump, although the road conditions were dry and not slippery. Vehicle would still stop with the spongy pedal, but the pedal had more travel than it should have before engaging the brake. Upon reading about similar problems with this model vehicle, (possible hcu malfunction) the vehicle was taken to a Ford dealership for inspection. Dealership techs had not heard of any vehicles with similar hcu issues. Upon driving this vehicle, the tech originally stated he experienced the exact opposite problem - instead of a soft, spongy pedal, he experienced a pedal so firm that it could not be depressed. This extreme firm pedal was a one-time event. Vehicle remained at the dealership for 3 days, where techs indicated that the vehicle passed all of it's tests and the brake pedal had returned to normal firmness in all test drives. Techs could not duplicate any brake pedal abnormalities. Brake pedal has since returned to normal firmness for the time being. The original spongy pedal issue remains unresolved at this time.
The vehicle experiences reduced brake pedal pressure when the anti-lock brake (ABS) pump engages. It usually happens coming to a stop and one wheel hits a small bump and slips, more often when the road is wet. While the car can still be sufficiently stopped under this circumstance, pedal pressure is reduced and does not regenerate fully, and it takes 20-30 minutes to recover the lost pressure, and only after several instances of hard braking are performed without the ABS pump engaging. Shutting off and restarting the engine does not regenerate the lost pressure. This is not the first instance of this as it has happened at least a few times before.
ABS system goes haywire if you hit a bump while braking. Pedal goes to the floor. After researching social media, I discovered that this is a rampant problem on older Fusion. Seems like there should be some kind of recall for a problem that is this wide spread and common.
After a hard braking that engaged the ABS, the brake pedal felt soft afterwards. Braking is still possible, bit the pedal travels farther until the brakes start to engage and feels mushy between the previous braking position of the pedal and the new position where the brakes now engage. It feels as if a valve in the hcu/ABS brake control module is stuck in an open or half open position (I.e. more fluid is required to fill all paths before sufficient pressure builds up to the brakes). Dealership checked everything out and couldn't find the core issue, pedal is still mushy after having the brake system beld by them.
- Saint Paul, MN, USA
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Yesterday I was turning left from a 2 lane road onto the one lane street where I work and had to brake suddenly because a car was stopped at the entrance to the road. I believe this engaged my ABS. Immediately after that, my brakes suddenly required me to push my brake pedal almost to the floor to engage it. I brought it to a mechanic this morning and they recommended I replace the master cylinder but that there is no test to know if that would even fix it. I googled this issue and come to find out it is a very common issue with a faulty hcu in all 2008 Ford Fusion. I do not understand why this known issue is not a formal recall as it is putting people's lives as risk including mine. Also, because it is not a formal recall, people are wasting hundreds of dollars on master cylinder replacement when that does not fix the issue at all. Please get this extremely dangerous issue addressed so everyone with a 2008 Ford Fusion gets the hcu replaced and can brake safely. Here are some links that describe this exact same issue on other Ford Fusion. Https://youtu.be/0R46_unyyk8 https://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1108032_2007-2009-Ford-Fusion-Mercury-Milan-investigated-for-brake-failure https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Fusion/2008/brakes/service_brakes.shtml
In multiple occasions, after hitting a slight bump while braking the brake pedal has gone completely to the floor. Making it hard to stop at a safe distance. The ABS hydraulic control unit seems to be the main problem. This problem is occurring with many 2008 Ford Fusion owners and it is a huge safety risk. In two separate occasions I had to quickly move to the next lane in order to avoid hitting the car in front of me.
On December 7, 2016, I was driving home from work in extremely cold temperatures (roughly -20 degrees) and on snow and ice. During a stop, my ABS engaged and after that time, my brakes became very soft, required the pedal to be pushed almost all the way to the floor and offered very little stopping power. I had my car towed to the dealership which was already closed for the evening. The next day, they were unable to recreate the problem and theorized that the extreme cold temperatures didn't allow the hydraulic control unit (hcu) to reroute fluid properly after the ABS engaged. They advised me that if it happened again, I may need to replace the hydraulic control unit. I'm guessing my car had roughly 100,000 miles on it at that time. On November 4, 2017, I was driving in a blizzard that had started after a period of rain so the roads were extremely slick and icy. Once again, my ABS engaged which led to a brake failure. I also happened to be at the summit of a mountain with a 5% grade - not a great time to lose your brakes! I took my car in to a shop on 11-6-17 to have them diagnose the problem. They witnessed the brake failure and after testing, determined that the hydraulic control unit had failed. They replaced the hcu (with a used unit at a materials/labor cost of roughly $450) and I will see what happens next time my ABS engages. My car currently has about 115,000 miles on it. I consider myself extremely lucky that I did not get into an accident during either of these malfunctions. The hcu failure is definitely a safety issue that needs to be addressed and can be extremely dangerous.
Takata recall. The airbag light continues to stay on, every once in a wail the light go off for a day or so but comes back on. When I make a turn, as I apply the brakes the car seems to slide.
Experiencing problem with low/soft brake after the ABS engages. Vehicle in motion, stopped slightly suddenly, ABS activated. Afterwards my brake pedal is very soft, begins to brake, then goes nearly to the floor before fully stopping car. Dangerous situation.
I had to make a sudden deceleration on roughed up asphalt ( city street in preparation to resurface). ABS kicked in for a moment, then my brakes went out. Pedal would go to the floor without stopping my vehicle. Luckily I was only going 10-15 mph and no cars in front of me so I was able to pull into a parking lot using my emergency brake. Parked for roughly an hour, pumping brakes that slowly regained pressure, before I was comfortable attempting to drive again.. seems fine now, but after reading about the issue, I know it very well will probably happen again. Who knows when or how fast I could be going, but the fix is $2000 which I am unable to afford.
Had several incidents with my brakes not working properly after ABS going on by hittin my brakes on a bumpy road or uneven gravel and in rainy weather, my brakes went soft and low and I would have to press the brakes all the way down to the ground for my vehicle to stop. After pumping the brakes and stopping a lot of times the brakes would go somewhat back to normal, recently I pressed my brakes in uneven gravel and I almost ran into a construction post because my brakes gave out on me and went soft and low, so I had to turn my vehicle to prevent me from crashing, my brakes have been low and soft ever since and I drove my vehicle several times after that incident and my brakes have not returned back to normal, im trying to figure out this issue and believe it's extremely dangerous, I take care of my vehicle it looks brand new still and I always take care of it, I just don't understand why this is happening and almost caused me to crash into a construction post, I believe from researching that others with the 2008 Ford Fusion are experiencing the same problems.
When braking on a steep hill at 20+mph, brakes become soft and require pushing the pedal to the floor to bring car to complete stop. Problem seems to fix itself after some time before reoccurring later after new braking.
Pedal goes to the floor when an ABS brake incident occurs like a wet road or snow or sudden stop. Turns out the ABS pump unit was defective. This is well documented on the internet of other people having same issue. The problem is often misdiagnosed and the ABS pump unit is the faulty item which can lead to a dangerous accident. Had several occasions where the pedal went to the floor
The brakes go spongy after hitting a simple pothole. You have to push your foot to the floor and be sure you have room to stop and not hit anything. If you had a sudden stop, it would take way longer to stop. There is over 160 complaints on this on same year of Fusion. That says enough to me. Some people said it was a defective brake control unit. Defective means there should be a recall. The air bags are still an issue as well. Please help with a recall!!!
ABS brakes failed after hitting a pot hole causing the peddle to go to the floor. ABS failed on a rough road at a four way intersection causing loss of brakes and ended up in the intersection.
While braking down a hill and about to make a left-hand turn, the ABS system kicked on suddenly and the brake pedal hit the floor. The brakes felt very sluggish after that, like only the rear breaks were working and the brake pedal had to be depressed all the way to the floor in order to achieve any deceleration. After speaking with a mechanic he informed me that this is a common problem and that the ABS hydrolic unit of the vehicle need to be replaced. I have not received the vehicle back yet from the mechanic but it will cost at least $1100 dollars for the repair. $800 for the ABS hydrolic unit and $300 for labor and services.
2008 Ford Fusion brakes are soft and go to floor. Takes longer and more room to brake. First happened when raining or hitting a puddle brake pedal would go to floor; now happens every time you brake. Push pedal down it goes 75% down before brake engages. This is a huge safety issue. Issue found to be ABS hydraulic control unit.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lancaster, PA, USA