Car was taken to Ford dealership for airbag recall and all 4 wheel brake job. 6 months after a grinding and pulsation presented itself in the pedal under medium to hard braking conditions and the car was returned. It felt like the ABS was kicking in and caused driver to drastically adjust braking because you thought your brakes were failing or your car was out of control. Dealer repaired it and the car was fine for a short time, but the grinding and pulsation returned. Back to the dealership.
It was OK for short time but problem returned again, so back to dealership. Replaced all pads and rotors. Again, okay for short time but the grinding returned. Took to another dealership for a second opinion, they verified the complaint. But I was told they couldn't find anything. Tires balanced, brake fluid changed but the grinding persisted. Basically, I was told by second dealership that since so much work had been done by first dealership, they recommended everything should be scrapped and start with all new parts. I couldn't afford dealership price, so did it myself with name brand aftermarket. All pulsation, grinding, vibrations and excessive sensitivity to road conditions disappeared.
Upon closer inspection I found the Motorcraft anti-rattle shim had detached from the front pads and began migrating around the back of the pad. Less than 10K miles and 7 total trips to the Ford dealership and I had to throw all the Ford parts out and fix the problem myself. Original dealership refuses to refund my $1K for the original work. They knew the pads are bad and still sent customers out the door with faulty brakes. Large safety concern, or an overall scam to rip consumers off for repeated brake repairs - I'm not sure, but it's unacceptable.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
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Car was taken to Ford dealership for airbag recall and all 4 wheel brake job. 6 months after a grinding and pulsation presented itself in the pedal under medium to hard braking conditions and the car was returned. It felt like the ABS was kicking in and caused driver to drastically adjust braking because you thought your brakes were failing or your car was out of control. Dealer repaired it and the car was fine for a short time, but the grinding and pulsation returned. Back to the dealership.
It was OK for short time but problem returned again, so back to dealership. Replaced all pads and rotors. Again, okay for short time but the grinding returned. Took to another dealership for a second opinion, they verified the complaint. But I was told they couldn't find anything. Tires balanced, brake fluid changed but the grinding persisted. Basically, I was told by second dealership that since so much work had been done by first dealership, they recommended everything should be scrapped and start with all new parts. I couldn't afford dealership price, so did it myself with name brand aftermarket. All pulsation, grinding, vibrations and excessive sensitivity to road conditions disappeared.
Upon closer inspection I found the Motorcraft anti-rattle shim had detached from the front pads and began migrating around the back of the pad. Less than 10K miles and 7 total trips to the Ford dealership and I had to throw all the Ford parts out and fix the problem myself. Original dealership refuses to refund my $1K for the original work. They knew the pads are bad and still sent customers out the door with faulty brakes. Large safety concern, or an overall scam to rip consumers off for repeated brake repairs - I'm not sure, but it's unacceptable.
- Tom F., Indianapolis, US