When shifting into reverse to pull out of my garage, with my foot firmly on the middle of the brake pedal, the truck suddenly accelerated, squealing the tires until I pumped the brake to make it stop. It was a very frightening experience. I drove it around town, including stopping and reversing and could not replicate it. It happened on a cold engine and it hadn’t been driven in three days. I’ve seen several other reports on Facebook and online of the same thing happening to other people. This is obvious a dangerous problem that needs to be addressed by Ford!
Ford F-150 Hybrid grinding brakes problems
21 of the 647 owner complaints about the Ford F-150 Hybrid describe grinding or squealing brakes, most of them for the 2021 model year.
- owner complaints
- 21
- worst model year
- 2021
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
I was driving down the road and heard a loud clunking noise. Then I had lost power and the rear wheels were spinning out of control. There was a grinding/spinning/whirring noise coming from beneath the vehicle, sounded like from behind. I was fortunately able to regain control of the vehicle by shifting it into 4WD and avoided an accident. I brought the Vehicle to Gaudin Ford for repair and was informed it was a recalled part failure recall number 23S65. I had previously requested the recall repairs to be performed during routine maintenance, but was informed parts were not available. At this time, I've been 6 weeks without my truck and there is no end in site. It was insinuated that they might not even be making this part anymore, but the Ford recall center was unable to confirm or refute this. In the interim, I do not have a suitable replacement. I have been provided a small vehicle as a loaner, but I am unable to use this to drive >50 mile radius, I can't leave the state, can't loan it to my children, can't tow or haul. All the things I need my truck for, I'm unable to do. Either, I need access to a rental with similar capability to my truck without all the restrictions, or fix the truck in a timely manner, or provide me a suitable loaner without all the restrictions, or buy back my truck, or something. Instead I feel like I'm being held hostage by a company who is refusing to fulfill the recall responsibility in a timely and suitable manner. I have contacted the dealer, Ford customer service, and the Ford recall center on numerous occasions and have been told that other than getting an update when the part is available, there's nothing else they can do. The Ford case number is [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I have a 2023 Ford F-150 that has experienced a fatigue fracture failure to the drivers side axle bolt exactly as described in recall 23S65. [XXX] My truck has 18,000 miles, and I noticed unusual noise while driving at low speed. I removed the separated axle bolt segment from within my wheel, and I continue to experience a squealing noise while lightly accelerating and braking. This failure can lead to sudden loss of acceleration or vehicles rolling away while parked. Symptoms can be subtle and often go unnoticed for significant durations of time and miles driven. Recall 23S65 does not include my VIN as my truck was built in February 2023, and the recall coverage terminates for trucks built in December 2022. I inquired with Ford's recall service line and they are unwilling to consider expanding the recall, and they recommended that I instead file a complaint with the federal safety agency. I believe that more trucks built after December 2022 are impacted by this defective axle design and I want to ensure eligibility for redesigned parts is accordingly extended. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH at midnight, there was an abnormally loud grinding and clunking sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact inspected the vehicle, but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the nearest dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rear axle hub bolt had fractured, causing the rear axle to be damaged. The dealer determined that the rear axle assembly and the rear axle hub bolt needed to be replaced. Additionally, the dealer determined that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V896000(Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer sent a diagnostic report to the manufacturer and ordered the same parts for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact notified the manufacturer of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.
The driver's side rear shock mounting bracket weld broke. This creates a suspension and safety problem as the rear bracket and shock are moving and could interfere with the wheel/axle. The problem was confirmed by a dealer and independent service center. An engineer from Ford Motor Co. inspected the failure. There were no warning or other symptoms of the problem other than a squeaking noise while driving.
3.6.2021 - Ford F150 purchased at Battlefield Ford (Ourisman Ford), Manassus VA / registered in CT 7.27.21 – inspected by Torrington Ford, Torrington CT for rubbing sound front left side, nothing found / 6,325 miles 2.10.22 – inspected for same issue / nothing found / 16,000 miles 7.27.22 – inspected for same issue / nothing found / 24,000 miles 12.24.2022 – “Catastrophic failure” of front differential / 34,369 miles. On Christmas Eve 2022 myself, husband and son were driving to family in NY when the truck very quickly started to make a severe grinding sound, became unable to steer, loss of control, and started to produce smoke & fire under the hood. We immediately stopped and got out unharmed. Fire was dripping out of the bottom of the truck and smoke/fire under the hood. We were lucky. Firetrucks came but were unable to do anything. The truck's wheels completely seized up - the tow truck had to skid it onto the flatbed. Repaired at Simmons-Rockwell Ford, Hallstead, PA. Complete new front differential and damaged parts in proximity to the failure (pinion gear, axle shaft, etc). 12.16.2023 – Again hearing a sound in front left side while driving; bring to the shop for inspection. Shop confirms front differential is failing again, per Torrington Ford, (where all maintenance and repairs were completed, except for the first failed front differential in PA). Advise not to drive for safety reasons. 52,922 miles. With both front differential failures - no warning lights or messages. Symptoms - a slight rubbing/grinding noise in the front left side of vehicle; “rough” sound while driving. 1st front differential – inspected at 6,000 miles, 16,000 miles, and 24,000 miles. Failed at 34,369 miles. 2nd front differential – inspected at 52,922 miles, failing differential, advised not to drive. Dec 2023 – Buy-back claim filed with Ford Motor Co. Denied - "outside of the 18-month warranty period for VA Lemon Law". Clearly, safety is not a guiding tenet for Ford Motor Co.
I was driving south on Interstate 5 near Stockton CA and I noticed an awful sound coming from the back of my truck. When I gave it more throttle nothing was happening, my truck was slowing down, the more throttle I gave it the louder the grinding noise got. My truck was slowing down to a crawl, and I had to pull off the freeway, the shoulder was only big enough for my truck to fit, I could not open the driver's door because the on-coming traffic would hit my driver's door, I needed to use my passenger door to exit my truck. If was very dangerous because on-coming traffic was doing 65MPG, I had to call tow truck to come and tow my truck away to the Ford dealership. The Ford service dealership inspected my truck and found that the real axle bolt had sheared off and allowed the rear axle to disengage from the differential causing the truck not to move or have control. Ford Motor Company knows this is a safety issue, I have attached a document, Customer Satisfaction Program [XXX] that proves Ford has had this issue in the past couple of years and seems to think it's still not an issue, Ford will only warranty the repair for the one side that failed. In the document I have attached it clearly states that both axles and both bolts need to be replaced. Ford told me that my vin # is not included in the customer satisfaction program so they will not replace the other axel and bolt. This is a major safety issue for me and the public allowing my vehicle to be on the road the way it is at this point in time. The other bolt could shear off and cause my vehicle to run off the road or cause an accident because of not have control of my vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My truck has the Maximun payload axle upgrade. The axle bolts on the end of the shaft have broken. I first notice squealing sound of metal from rear of truck. I searched on line for the symptom and found the problem. I then removed passenger rear wheel to verify broken bolt. I took my truck for service to Morries Grand Ledge Ford in Michigan. They verified the problem, told me it was not safe to drive and have ordered parts. They also informed me that the defective axle is not covered by recall on my vehicle. The service representative did confirm that there are recalls for the same axle but not my vehicle.
Intermittent squeaking noise upon brake tip-in started at about 17,000 miles but performance seemingly unaffected. Then at 21,000 miles noises from became louder and prevalent at acceleration and braking. Noticed issue on Ford F150 14th Generation online forum about axle bolts shearing particularly for those vehicles with Max Tow package and that there was a Customer Satisfcation Program 22B34 to deal with the problem. Inspected hubs and found bolts sheared on both sides. Truck at dealer for warranty repair under the CSP.
Planned one week, 1,400 miles roadtrip along pacific coast during memorial day weekend. Before starting our trip I went to rotate the tires and upon removing the rear passenger side wheel a bolt and metal gasket fell out. Issue: Center bolt that locks the brake assembly to the rear axle shaft was sheared off with remaining half stuck in the axle shaft. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk?: The truck would have been loaded for our week long roadtrip up North. On the way back we were going to tow our 5000lbs trailer. This bolt would have impacted the braking ability, cause damage to the rear axle assembly possibly resulting in an accident. If I didn't rotate the tires before leaving who knows what could have happened especially if I was towing. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. Vehicle is currently at a Ford dealer for axle shaft replacement. The service manager had a broken bolt from another vehicle and asked me is this what happened? There are hundreds of F150 owners complaining about the same thing on various forums. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Not yet. I'm glad it didn't get to that point. But from all users that had this problem and got replacement axle for what seems like defective bolts I would hope Ford would voluntarily inspect and issue a recall. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No fault lights but I did hear faint grinding sound when the windows are rolled down. I guess the bolt was spinning around in the wheel.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Ford F-150 Hybrid grinding brakes
Which Ford F-150 Hybrid years have grinding or squealing brakes problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2021 (13 complaints), 2022 (6 complaints) and 2023 (1 complaints).
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