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.
Pickup does not have brakes during initial cold start up. The brake pedal is hard as a rock and will not stop truck. Can not park in garage as may hit house or garage or kids when backing out. Dealer will did not warranty as it was over the warranty period by aprox 1000 miles and 1 month.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the brake assembly failed. The vehicle was repaired by an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 39,000.
My wife had to move my truck so the kids had more room to play in the driveway. No big deal, right? wrong. She starts to back down the driveway (which has a moderate grade) and I notice a look of panic on her face, coupled with the fact that the truck wasn't stopping, I could see something was wrong. She finally got it stopped right before going out onto the road. She jumped out and said, "your brakes wouldn't work. I was pressing as hard as I could and it wouldn't stop." I got in the truck and carefully tried to duplicate the situation, and sure enough, more often than not it had a hard time stopping. I did some research and found there are plenty of cases like this. Some people actually crashed their vehicle. This seems to be a really dangerous problem that needs to be addressed by Ford. And I will note this is not the first dangerous problem I've had with this truck. I'm sure Ford will tell me they can't help me, leaving me to foot the bill for a problem that seems to be rather common, and should be addressed by them. Just like they did to me before.
Service tech at dealership was test driving vehicle after a different repair. When he went to stop the brake pedal was hard as a rock and the truck would not stop. Found the vacuum brake booster went bad. This was three weeks ago and they still cannot get the part to fix it. As there are no repair parts in the system this must be a major problem with many vehicles. This is a safety issue which will get someone killed! my dealership said the truck is unsafe to drive.
Vacuum pump is defective and loses vacuum which causes brake booster to lose pressure and causes brakes to become defective upon start-up. Pump was replaced on 10/13, which corrected the issue for 4 months, pump was replaced again on 6/14 and is now failing and giving fault codes again (7/14).
- Galway, NY, USA
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Vacuum pump will fail on truck. Went to put the vehicle into gear. Released the brake and it started to move too quickly. Tried to reapply the brake and there was nothing. Pedal went to the floor and it took max effort to stop the vehicle that had just been put into gear. The problem couldn't be replicated. This happened twice more and once to the service tech. Very scary! turns out the vacuum pump had seized causing there to be no power boost. Once the engine has run for a while the engine will provide the boost, it's only when first starting the vehicle that there is no boost. There is no warning light to indicate the low vacuum condition and 90% of the time there isn't a noticeable problem. Until they can't stop, the owner doesn't know the pump had failed months earlier. This can be quite dangerous because of the chance of a slow speed crash. Currently there is a back order on the pumps so I have to drive the vehicle knowing that I might not be able to stop in time.
This truck and others of the same design up until 2013 have a bad electric vacuum assist pump. My pump malfunctioned and without any warning or dash lights the truck lost brake assist rendering it impossible to stop. The turbocharged V6 ecoboost requires vacuum assist and this pump is known for issues. Ford has no parts on hand and people are forced to drive death traps with no brakes. Ford is aware there is a problem and changed the 2014 model however provide zero safety relief for previous owners now stuck with no brakes and no parts. Only my quick reflexes taking the truck out of gear saved me from driving into my home through my garage wall.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the brakes failed to work. The brake pedal had to be pumped numerous times before they would function properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the brake vacuum booster had a short circuit and caused the wire to burn out. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000. Updated 8/19/14 the consumer stated the vacuum booster was replaced but, the brakes remained difficult to operate. The brakes only failed when the vehicle sat idle for no less than 2 to 3 days. Updated 08/27/2014
I was driving down my street and braked to pull into my driveway, after in my driveway I touched the accelerator (to get up the slight grade) and my truck went wide open throttle!! I mashed on the brake but the truck continued to accelerate uncontrollably and crashed into my brick home. Even after impact and me continuing to apply full brake it was still wide open throttle and burning out. I finally came to my senses and shut the ignition off and the stopped it. I had the truck towed to my local dealer as recommended by Ford customer care rep. The dealership ran a diagnostics check and found nothing as well as tried to get it to duplicate the problem with no luck. I had a state trooper certified in downloading event recorder data do such to my truck. The data shows exactly what happened..but does not differentiate between the accelerator being pushed vs.the accelerator position as indicated. However, it does show service brake applied and continual acceleration at the same time which I can prove was not done by me! I have pictures of abrasions to my right shin and knee from the steering column and dash..my right foot was fully applied on the brake pedal causing the abrasions at impact due to being directly in line with the steering column. My left leg had zero abrasions...since to the left of the steering column. If I was to be responsible for the data shown in the down load I would of had to have my left foot on the brake and thus sustaining abrasions to that leg. It is also impossible to use the right foot to brake and accelerate simultaneously to achieve the acceleration indicated...ones leg has to be cocked to the side and out of line of the steering column. Everything on my pickup is oem....including the floor mats...which contrary to some beliefs that could be the cause. My truck has sat at the dealership untouched since they looked at it.
Severe vibration and pulsing when brakes were applied. I put the truck on my lift and tried to rotate the front wheels, there was severe brake drag, which made rotating the front wheels close to impossible. I removed the wheels and did a visual inspection and found that the inner brake pads were considerably more worn than the outer pads. I then removed the calipers and found that corrosion occurred binding the inner pads to the brake pad holders. I live in the North East and road salt is used in the winter months, this should be taken into consideration when the brakes are designed so that this corrosion can't occur. I corrected the problem by re-placing the rotors and brake pads, using brake lubricant to help prevent the corrosion. Doing this repair corrected the problem.
Loss of power brakes upon initial start-up and movement. The vacuum pump that provides assistance to power brakes and 4X4 wheel hubs fails without notice. Driver expects to stop vehicle under normal operating pressure applied to brake pedal. Vehicles does not respond to normal force and keeps moving. Extreme force to be provide to brake pedal to slow vehicle to a stop. This could result in injury or death if another person in the path of the vehicle. Ford will not recall or cover repairs of faulty pump. Pump is located behind front headlight on vehicle. Cost of part is $565 + labor to repair to be paid by owner. Serious safety concern for persons near vehicle without proper operation of braking system. An investigation needs to be opened immediately upon Ford. Understanding is that Ford redesigned vacuum system for 2014 model year to correct safety issue. Redesign should be mandated on previous model years to correct safety issue.
Truck is equipped with an eco-boost motor. Upon putting truck in reverse and backing down driveway, the brakes would not work to stop the vehicle. The pedal was hard to push and acted as if something was stuck under pedal. Driver went into neighbors yard and before striking the house, put the truck in park to stop. There was no objects behind pedal. After re-starting vehicle a few minutes later, brakes then worked as designed. The truck was brought to dealer were the ABS system was being looked at. After a week of miss-diagnosing, vehicle owner was told to pick up vehicle and experienced the same issue in the dealer parking lot and showed the mechanic and service writer and they concurred that there was a real safety problem. Upon leaving in rental car, vehicle owner witnessed a porter crash vehicle into a parked car. It was later determined that the brake booster assembly was faulty.
Crossing table rock dam on dry, flat, level pavement after letting off gas in anticipation of stopping at upcoming light rear tires locked and went into skid squealing brand new Michelin tires with less than 500 miles on them. Nobody was directly behind me or would have caused wreck due to sudden deceleration with no brake lights since no brake applied. Tires squall like old vehicles with no ABS when brakes locked up. An employee was riding with me at the time and it scared both of us. Had we not been out of town and dependent on truck getting us home we would have not driven it again. After returning home truck did it a second time a couple of weeks later driving in town down stadium blvd at about 35 mph. Rear tires lock, skid and squall. In addition earlier intermittent hard downshifts that feel like someone hits you from behind but not a full lock condition as these two recent incidents. Also intermittent stalling when pulling away from stop light, stop sign, out of parking lot, or out of driveway - especially after idling. Stalls, hesitates, bucks, vibrates, giving it gas does not result in vehicle responding. Usually on "easy" acceleration meaning when just easing off from stop. Intermittent transmission sticking in 1st gear and won't shift out. Finally vehicle sometimes "surges" after putting in gear on cold start or when letting off gas and coasting - it actually picks up speed and lunges forward for just a second. There is something wrong with all the sensors and the computer is causing the engine / transmission / ABS brakes to behave in strange and unpredictable ways. My father, wife, and employee have all witnessed one or more of these issues while riding with me but intermittent so unable to replicate. Ford case opened but no resolution. Tell me drive it until it breaks so they can find problem but unsafe to do so.
Brakes fail on initial drive; happens about every other day. Have narrowly avoided hitting neighbors garage and car, and have back into tree on our property as we are unable to stop the vehicle when the issue occurs. The problem has occurred at least 30-40 times. On first start up on dry pavement, the first time the brakes are applied, the anti-lock brakes activate and the vehicle will not stop. If the brakes are re-applied several times, the anti-lock will disengage and the vehicle indicates brake failure on dash. No computer codes are recorded however according to dealership. Two cases have been opened with Ford; first case was case #2802388; second case is cas3111923xzc1H9; contact is mary at 1-866-631-3788, X 77741. Dealership has duplicated problem but unable to identify cause. It is a matter of time before an accident results from driving this vehicle. I've offered to leave the vehicle for extended time so it can be driven and problem identified. Ford representative (mary) says they are unwilling to take vehicle for extended time. I keep taking back to dealer, but they continue to be unable to resolve. Ford engineer is involved. We don?T know what to do and have serious concerns about continuing to drive vehicle.
When my steering started to shake when I applied the brakes I removed the wheel and brake calipers to inspect them. The inside rotor surface is not as wide as the outside so the brake pads do not contact the entire surface of the rotor like the outside. It looks to me like the rotor was defective when installed. The brakes have 41000 miles on them and are less than half worn out. They are the original brakes.
While driving home from work at normal highway speed another driver pulled out in front of me. I was able to stop, but the truck pulled hard to the right. I thought something was wrong with the brakes so took it to local Ford dealer for a check. The dealer verified my concern, and found that the front and rear brake rotors are warped. When I asked them what would cause the rotors to warp on a truck with only 14,000 miles on it I was told heat, and this repair was not covered under warranty because brakes are considered wear parts. I contacted Ford customer care, but they couldn't help me. I checked safercar.gov and found out there is a service bulletin on the brakes of this truck. Ford didn't care and told me to have the repairs made to my truck and keep the receipt incase they issued a recall. I would be reimburse. I have not driven the truck for a month, hoping Ford would contact me. When I did here from them, they told me they were unable to be of further assistance in this matter, at this time. Ford Motor Company, Ford customer care, or the Ford dealer who sold me the truck don't seem to care. I have never abused this truck, never pulled a trailer, or done anything to cause this problem. I'm glad I never had to use this as a real truck,
Brakes are ineffective in a panic stop. On dry pavement the brakes cannot be applied hard enough to lock the wheels and activate the ABS function. Stopping distances are much longer than normal and safe. Compared to other F150's with he same body style and engine the brakes are drastically different and much worse in stopping distances (rough test stop from 30 mph in 28 ft compared to 15 ft, stop from 40 mph in 46ft compared to 28 ft) dealer has attempted repair 4 times with no improvement at all and now Ford has determined that the brakes are functioning normally and that "some trucks will stop better than others". if this is in fact true there may be many F150's on the road with substandard brakes which the owners may not suspect because they have not been tested in emergency situations. My vehicle is dramatically worse than other F150's that I have driven and I am being told that it is functioning normally. Normal in this instance is not safe.
Steering wheel shakes real bad on stopping the harder the stop the worse it shakes this truck has 16000 miles on it now and the problem seems to have started after the 1st service and tire rotation (about 8500 miles) although it did not start immediately after but rather seemed to get worse over time from that point I believe that it is warped brake rotors possibly from cheap or defective oem parts the truck has never been off road or abused just daily drive to from work 19 miles each way.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Flushing , MI, USA