2008 Ford Escape: soft or spongy brake pedal

Filed Apr 11, 2024 · Brakes · TX

ABS brake light goes on and off and regen system disabled appeared. Brake pedal goes between being spongy and going to floor. I took it to an independent service center and the mechanic almost lost control of the car when test driving. There was no braking except to one wheel, which is why he almost lost control. They thought they fixed the problem by bleeding the brakes, but soon after I got it back on April 8, 2024 the ABS and brake lights came back on April 10, 2024. I am afraid that it will cause an accident if the brakes go out. The car is back at the mechanics and they are going to inspect the brake system. Not sure when the car will be fixed and returned back to me.

Filed Mar 26, 2022 · Brakes · OR

When the car was started in a shopping center parking lot, the emergency brake light and the abs warning light were displayed and remained displayed. When driven, the brakes were "spongy" and then "regenerative braking disabled" appeared in the odometer display. I pulled over briefly, turned the car off for a short period and then restarted it. The same messages and odometer display remained, and brakes were still spongy. As I continued to drive (carefully), the situation resolved itself, though the "regenerative braking disabled" continued for another minute or two. Normal braking then resumed. This issue just occurred so it has not yet been taken to a dealer, nor has it been inspected by mfr, police, etc. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED MANY TIMES BY OTHERS WITH ALMOST IDENTICAL SYMPTOMS AT THIS WEBSITE https://www.carproblemzoo.com/ford/escapehybrid/2008/service-brakes-problems.php THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE THAT HAS GONE IGNORED BY FORD FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND DESERVES the federal safety agency's IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.

Filed Dec 7, 2020 · Brakes · 63,250 miles · CA

It started early thanksgivings(11/26/2020) drive as I was coming to my 4th/5th stop of the morning, I went to apply the brakes and felt my brake pedal sink with slight to no pressure, no response. I panicked and I remember pumping the brake rapidly to build pressure, but the brake did not respond as expected, I did feel I slight jerk and heard a growling sound coming from the bottom engine area. I must of gone over a pothole that made my truck feel like I jumped the curve, I was going about 35-45mph. After a few rapid brake pedal pumps my vehicle did come to a stop on time before running the light, luckily I was alone in the street that early morning. As of today the brake pedal still feel mushy/spongy lack of pressure and scary unsafe.

Filed Sep 29, 2018 · Brakes · 72,500 miles · TX

A reoccurring soft brake pedal issue. Seems to occur after and hard braking incident where the ABS is engaged. After a few days to a week the pedal travel and feel returns to normal. This has been a continual problem with the vehicle for the last two years that we have owned it.

Filed May 3, 2018 · Brakes · 150,000 miles · IN

When the vehicle was started, there was an unusual motor-like sound for a second-or-so coming from the front of the vehicle. The ABS light and the parking brake light came on even though the parking brake was not engaged. The brake pedal had a spongy feel and the brakes were very ineffective. Applying the brakes caused the right-front corner of the vehicle to dive. Heavy application of the brakes caused the right-front tire to skid. It appeared that only the right-front brakes were working. When the vehicle was turned off, a high-pitched noise continued to come from the engine compartment. After turning the ignition on and off a few times, the high-pitched sound had ceased. After that, a driving test showed that the brakes had returned to working normally. This entire scenario has occurred multiple times.

Filed May 7, 2017 · Brakes · 64,000 miles · KS

My awd 2008 ford escape hybridv, with around 64,000 miles, started having braking problems, when the brake and ABS cluster lights turned on when the car started. When I shift into any gear, the "regen brake disabled" warning comes on. I tried to revers at 5 MPH and the car would barely brake. I was able to brake, but the brakes were spongy, veering to the left slightly. I went to a local auto shop and they scanned for any error codes. I received the following: c1524 brake pedal sensor cal. Incomplete, c1480 r/f brake pressure control malf., c1313 brake hydraulic press. Transducer malf., p0685 eng. Control module power relay control, and u0418 invalid data rcvd from control module. My cousin was able to clear the codes to see if we restarted the car and deove around if the same errors would pop back up and they did. I have read online where thousands, if not more, were having the same hydraulic/braking problems that could cost upwards of $5000 to fix. Some even reported that replacing the master cylinder didnt fix the problem. I have personally had two occassions where my car would barely stop no matter how hard I pressed down on the brake pedal. Also, when my vehicle is turned off, with the key taken out, the right front brake module or censor is emitting a high-pitched hum for several minutes when nothing is turned on. Please investigate this issue further as it seems like a very common issue with similar year model hybrids.

Filed Mar 1, 2015 · Brakes · 84,000 miles · CA

The check brake system light is on and ABS light on also. I drove it around the corner and brakes are very spongy and not fully responsive. I do not trust driving with this situation.