Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The contact was driving 60 MPH when he tried to engage the brakes and the pedal was depressed abnormally into the floorboard. The contact mentioned that he had to shift into neutral to engage the emergency brakes in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the brake lines ruptured as a result of corrosion. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 86,500.
1997 Ford F-150 brakes complaints
Page 2 of 9: complaints 11 to 40 of 231, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The contact stated the brakes would squeak and the vehicle would experience an increased stopping distance when they were applied at low speeds. The failure occurred on an intermittent basis. The contact replaced all of the brake components, but the failure continued to occur. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 32,000.
I last drove my truck on 06/20/2011. When I woke up to feed my animals I heard a sound like a bird caught under my truck. I looked under the drivers side fender and saw flames. I popped the hood and saw the master cylinder was on fire. I grabbed my fire extinguisher from my barn and put the fire out.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford f150. The contact stated that the unoccupied vehicle, engulfed into flames while parked in a garage. The fire department extinguished the fire and informed that the brake master cylinder was the area where the fire originated. The vehicle was completely destroyed, and towed to an impound lot. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable.
Left front brake line failed catastrophically causing a complete loss of hydraulic braking. Vehicle was stopped using emergency brake. Brake line had corroded through about 2-3 inches from left front brake caliper. Line was replaced but old line was not retained.
1997 f150 brakes locking up and engine coolant leak into motor.
1. Regular braking was disabled by malfunctioning ABS firing. For no apparent reason, in dry and slow conditions on city streets, brakes were not allowed to engage properly, resulting in the truck rolling forward as the ABS system fired. 2. In trying to stop the truck, with the brakes fully engaged to the floor, the pedal vibrated from ABS activity and the truck continued to roll forward into intersection. At first this only happened on the first stop of the day, every few months or so. Later it happened frequently. I found that if I quickly shut off the ignition the (electronic) ABS would be deactivated and the truck would stop normally. 3. Changing front bearings and associated speed sensors solved the problem. Dealer part and installation was around $1200, but generic parts were available that shaved several hundred off this total repair cost.
There was an electrical fire in the wiring harness connected to the master cylinder (brakes). No damage was done due to quick reaction but it left the brakes without power and the truck without brake lights. The problem is believed to be related to the "switch fire" problem that resulted in a wide-spread ford recall. The vehicle in question is a 1997 ford f-150 4x4. Truck was purchased from lease-holder and full warranty was transferred to me. I have received several recall notices but not the one associated with this problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford f150. While driving 25 MPH, the contact applied the emergency right hand brake and the rotor sheared off the hub. The failure occurred a second time while driving 25 MPH. During this failure, the left hand brake was applied and the rotor failed. A mechanic has repaired the failure and ford stated that they never heard of this before. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 92,000.
Dt*: the contact stated while pulling out of the driveway at 3 MPH, when the brakes were applied, the pedal went to the floor. An independent repair shop determined the brake line had rusted and exploded. Updated 10/4/2006 -
(1) no specific events preceeded failure. (2) during routine inspection by owner, a leak was discovered in a steel brake line near the front drivers side wheel. Cause of leak appears to be rust through. There is extensive rusting of brake lines on this vehicle. (3) repairs have not been performed yet. Rusted brake lines will be saved after repairs are performed.
Dt: contact stated the rear brakes locked on cold starts. The dealer attempted to repair the brakes, but the problem reccured. The manufacturer offered no free remedy.
Dt: the contact 's vehicle had a brake line failure on the rear brake line. This happened on 10-04-05. He was driving on the interstate when he had to stop suddenly. He reported having no warning prior to this , such as a light coming on in the car. The brakes were not making any kind of noises. The brake pedal went to the floor. He pulled off of the road. He smelled brake fluid, and it was leaking from the steel brake line that is mounted on the rear axle housing. The brake line seemed unusually corroded. He takes very good care of the car and the car is stored properly. He has a lot of experience with vehicles, and has never seen anything like this. Also, t the gas tank was suspended by two metal straps. The rear strap was severely corroded. The gas tank was laying on the skid plate. Usually, there was about one inch clearance between the tank and skid plate. He was afraid that this may cause a gas leak from the gas tank .
1. Driving 5 MPH along smooth dirt lane 2. Rusted brake line ruptured, causing total brake failure 3. Towed truck to mechanic for brake line replacement, old part is available.
Breaks .
In feb./ 05 cruise control quite, mechanic couldn't find problem, aug 15/05 ABS light comes on. Thinking brake fluid is low, I pop the hood and notice plug on master cylinder is burned/melted. Car wont shift out of park, and no brake lights. I get a new plug and harness from dealer and replace blown fuse. I still have no cruise light on on dash but brakes and cruise work. Dealer said no recall but plenty of service bulletins. $15.00 part
Dt: consumer states that the brakes went out with no warning. Dealer said that one section of the brake line had rotted out because it was wet. Consumer states that it's always wet and he lives in a salt air environment. *jb the consumer's main concern is that the fuel line was not replaced with an improved fuel line. Instead it was replaced with the same line that failed.
Dt: the rear end is making a whining noise. The tires on the vehicle are starting to separate. The tires are brand new put on march 21, 2003. The tires are ameritrac general, p255/70r16. The consumer can not locate the number for the tire company. Therefore, he cannot contact them. The dealership states that he will have to pay for the diagnostic to find out what is wrong with the rear end. The consumer's mechanic states that the bearings on the rear end are bad due to bad casing; it will not align itself up with the transmission. Also, cruise control stopped working at the same time that the whining started. The mechanic states it will not ground in order to make it activate the switch. Consumer has contacted ford, and was advised to take the vehicle in. When he called to take the vehicle in he was told he will have to pay for a service that should have been done before he purchased the vehicle. Consumer states that the vehicle has been sitting in driveway for six months, because it is unsafe to drive. When stepping on the brakes there is a mushy feeling, and the front end shakes and shimmies.
Dt: the consumer owns a 1997 ford f150 xlt. The consumer was involved was in a car accident over a year ago, and the driver's seat broke. The dealership replaced the drivers seat with another bracket. The seat broke again. When sitting in the seat the back of the seat went down to the floor while the front of the seat raised up. The bracket has been replaced three times. The ABS light illuminated.
Dt: after sitting for 2 days, the truck starting smoking. The consumer opened the hood and the smoke was coming from the master cylinder. A plug in front of the master cylinder had a short. The consumer had to use a fire extinguisher in order to put out the fire. The wiring is burned. The vehicle was taken to dealer and it was still there. *ak *sc
Dt: consumer parked truck wednesday night, when he got back into truck the next morning it would start once but not move out of gear. It would not come out of park. The engine was barely running and missing. There was a smell of smoke. Turned engine off due to the odd smell. Inspected under hood. There had been a fire that evidently burned out itself. Cruise control quit earlier. The truck could not be driven due to this problem. Afraid to move or attempt to repair anything for fear it may catch on fire again. Consumer called ford, no recall on that particular model, but they were having a problem with those vehicles, but will not do anything until there was a recall. The most fire damage was seen on the master cylinder, suspected that the brake fluid may have had a hand in the fire along with the sensor. Was missing brake fluid upon inspection.
The vehicle was parked for about a hour when it caught on fire. The consumer extinguished the fire with water hose. *ak the fire started at the master cylinder which was replaced. A couple of weeks later the cruise control stop working. *sc
While parking brake warning light illuminated. A fire started from the front left tire. Consumer managed to pull over, and put out fire. Vehicle was towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
Loss of brakes due to brake line rupturing caused by rust.
After the vehicle was parked for 6 hours consumer notices smoke coming from under the hood. Consumer lifted the hood and saw that the smoke was coming from the switch attached to the master brake cylinder which was overheating. The consumer disconnected the battery cables. Dealer and the manufacturer were not notified at this time.
Once the engine is started, the vehicle will not move from park to any other gear. There is an override procedure but it is inconvenient. When I took the vehicle to a dealer for repair, they told me ford had put a stop on supplying the cruise control brake switch. So it is not possible to get this repaired until ford replaces the part with one not defective. As a safety precaution, they removed the electrical connection to avoid fires at or around the brake fluid reservoir. However, brake fluid is leaking from the part and dripping. In the past month I have had to refill the brake fluid reservoir twice. I am concerned that the brakes will not function unless the part is replaced. The delimma seems to be ford will not allow the part to be replaced and yet they do not offer an alternative.
Vehicle experienced problems with the cruise control deactivation switch. Consumer replaced this switch back in may,2004. Currently, the replaced cruise control switch was beginning to leak again.*ak consumer saw smoke coming from under the hood and found the master cylinder switch was leaking brake fluid again.
While braking the pedal went to the floor on more than one occasion. The problem repeated itself on its own. Driver lifted up the hood, and noticed that fluid was leaking from ABS braking modular. This caused sparks from the master cylinder. Driver will contact a mechanic for an appointment. *ak on second call. The original problem was intermittent cruise control operation about 1 year prior to this complaint. About 3 or 4 months ago the fuse on the circuit containing the scds blew. Replaced fuses about 2 times. The first time the fuse lasted several weeks. The second one did not last long. Then left fuse out. Next time was under hood and replaced fuse saw spark at scds and fuse blew again. Along with this problem the ABS warning light was coming on on the dash and staying on. After disconnecting the scds the ABS warning light went out. The crusie control still worked for a short period of time after disconnecting the scds electrical connector.
While driving 50 MPH, the consumer noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood. The consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and pulled over. Then, vehicle caught on fire. Consumer extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher. *ak the part that was on fire was the deactach switch on the master cylinder for the cruse control. *sc
Ford f 150 safety issue. *bf the motor was replaced on 08/14/03 and died by 03/01/04. Two months after the vehicle was purchased, the odometer stopped at 69k miles, the engine locked up, the brakes went out due to caliper pin falling out and the engine was replaced. Six months later the fly wheel consumed three starters and the engine locked up again. *sc
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