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 contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. While driving at approximately 30 mph, the wheels began to lock. The contact further inspected the vehicle and found that the lining on the brake pads were separating and causing the brake failure. The vehicle was not taken to an authorized dealer to be examined. The failure and current mileages were 52,000. Updated 10/26/10. The consumer stated the emergency brake pads separated from the calipers which caused the pads to bind up in the calipers causing the rear wheels to lock up. Updated 10/26/10
May 07 rear brake pads replaced. January 08 a violent shaking occurs at 50mph nearly causing a loss of control of vehicle on highway. Took vehicle to shop and found that a broken clip on the parking brake allowed the parking brake shoes (on the inside of the rotors) to bind nearly locking the wheels. Needed to replace parking brake, both rotors and brake pads due to damage. Shop did not keep the parts. Concern is the a broken parking brake clip can result in a loss of vehicle. Cost was over $800. Ford claimed that brake abuse was at fault.
At 9000 miles the brake rotors warped and were replaced under warranty, but the pads were not. The rotors began warping again and were machined to remove the warping at 34000 miles but again the pads were not replaced. At 37000 the rotors warped again and now at 39000 the vehicle is unsafe to drive. Ford claims this is normal wear and tear and will not authorize repairs because the vehicle is out of warranty. Ford says the consumer must pay the cost to replace the rotors and pads.
The contact stated she had an ongoing failure of the brakes. The vehicle was serviced by the dealership nine times. The pads and rotors were replaced six times. A manufacturer's engineer inspected the vehicle. He made several suggestions to the dealership. The dealership implemented these suggestions although the aforementioned problems recurred. Also, the transmission started slipping while driving. It was inspected by the dealer, and they were unable to determine the cause of the problem.
- Sylva, NC, USA
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Contact states: Rear end shook while going about 25-30 mph. When driving across small pot holes the vehicle made noise. Brakes squealed at about 18,000 miles. When applying pressure to the brakes there was a lot of powder from the brakes on the front of the vehicle. Dealer checked brake pads and they were more than half worn out at about 18, 000 miles. Also, there was vibration in the steering while applying pressure to the brakes. While driving vehicle pulled to the right.
The brakes have been a problem since I purchased the vehicle. The wheel shimmy's when I apply the brakes and it gets progressively worse. I have to take it into the shop again to have it looked at - the first time they ground the rotors - now I will want them to replace the pads and brake rotors. It is very scary to drive around a corner when you must apply the brakes.
I have a 2004 F150 super crew four wheel drive with 39,367 miles on it. I had to replace the front pads at 30,000 and now the deler tells me the rear are gone also, at under 40,000 miles. I drive almost exclusively on the highway, no in town driving, the truck is empty, and I do not own a trailer. Dealer says "tough luck". Ford rep was even less courteous when he denied my request to meet him to discuss the horribly unacceptable brake life. I have several other Ford, a 2001 Expedition that got almost twice the brake life, and my wife drives it in town every day. Dealer has blamed Ford. Ford says "brake wear is normal". maybe it is time my lifelong commitment to Ford comes under serious review!
Several weeks after purchasing my 2004 Ford F-150, I noticed that the front wheels were beginning to discolor from a build-up of brake dust. Less than a month into owning the car, I complained to the dealership and was told that this problem was the result of a Ford decision to replace the originally designed brake pads with quiter ones because of previous customer complaints about noisy brakes. They told me there was no alternative but to live with the problem, even though I was having to clean my wheels every three weeks due to the constant build-up of the brake dust. They told me that they have no low-dust version for the F-150's even if I were to pay for it myself. They provided no help or support, even suggesting that we consumers were at fault for this new brake dust problem because of complaints about the previous pads' noise, as if to suggest that we deserve or should have expected at least one of these problems. My position is that when I buy a $40,000 new car, I expect that enough R&D was done to deliver a quiet and low dust brake pad. If this problem isn't remedied by the manufacturer, I guess my only recourse is never to buy Ford cars again. It's been around 6 months since my purchase and my truck has about 7000 miles on it; yet I still have to wash the front wheels off at least every three weeks due to the discoloration from the build-up.
I have a Ford F-150 extended cab with approximately 3000 miles. The brakes have been squeaking for several weeks now. I took it to my dealer and was told that Ford installs brakes that don't meet up right with the roters which causes the squeaking. I was informed that there was nothing my dealer could do and that I should buy a different brand of brake pads to put on the vehicle. I was told these new pads would run approx $50. I called Ford and was informed they wouldn't do anything to rectify the problem either. I don't think it's right that my vehicle that has 3000 miles and that I've owned for less than a year has squeaking brakes and no one wants to fix the problem.
Rear rotors have deep grooves being cut into them, the front are not as bad but more ripples in them. I took it to my Ford dealer and they told me it was due to having used tire shine on the tires. I explain to them that this was the first time I used it and it was the nite before I brought the truck in for service. The truck is a 2004 F150 supercrew 4X4 FX4. It has 4256. Miles on it. I have noticed 11 other F150 supercrews with the same 2 line grooves cut into the rear rotors. One of those trucks only had 600 miles on it. All where the 2004 F150 supercrew 4X4 ( lariat and FX4)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Burlington, IA, USA