— Ford is recalling more than 124,000 Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles because the rear brake linings may not have been manufactured correctly.
Affected by the recall are model year 2021-2022 Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Escape vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted Ford regarding a 2021 Bronco Sport compliance audit on the vehicle equipped with a brake vacuum pump. The test was conducted for stopping distance and exceeded federal regulations.
The 2021-2022 Ford Escape shares the same brake system with the Bronco Sport, with some Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles equipped with brake vacuum boosters, and some equipped with electronic brake boosters.
However, vehicles with electronic brake boosters are not affected by the recall because they have higher system pressures if the boosters malfunction.
The Ford vehicles may have rear brake linings that have "a friction coefficient that is outside of the specified tolerances. These vehicles are equipped with a brake vacuum booster without a vacuum sensor. The vacuum sensor compensated for variation in brake pad friction performance."
Ford says if one of the recalled vehicles experiences a brake booster malfunction, the driver may find it harder to use the brake pedal, and the vehicle will suffer from increased stopping distances.
Ford says it doesn't know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.
The Ford Bronco Sport and Escape recall involves 115,000 vehicles in the U.S. and 9,000 in Canada.
Ford is still investigating the problem and doesn't exactly know how dealers will repair the vehicles. However, Ford plans on replacing the front and/or rear brake linings with better parts.
Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Escape recall notices will be mailed in January 2022. Owners may contact Ford at 866-436-7332 and use recall number 21C31.
