1999 Ford F-150: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Mar 5, 2016 · Brakes · 14,452 miles · CA

This whole episode happened when I was driving on the freeway in my 1999 ford f-150. I did start to notice that when I applied the brakes to slow down to match traffic speeds, the truck would veer to the left.the brakes did take in a funny way and thank god there was no complete brake failure. After 30 miles, I got off the freeway to turn around and when I came to a stop sign, I could not stop at all. The brakes did not work even after I pressed the brake pedal all the way to the floor. I also smelled burning rubber coming from near the engine.the parking brake did work and I limped into the nearest gas station. I called aaa to get it towed to the firestone tire shop near my house that has done all my tire and auto repair needs for over 15 years. When they test drove it after the 2 hour tow, the brakes started working again. Robert/firestone took the wheels off and after examining the rotors/pads advised that the front right pads had locked and were pressing unevenly on the rotor. He also planned to replace the brake fluid hose that he thought was worn out and possibly leaking. I also went over to the ford dealer and checked with them to see if they had any recalls or advice. No recalls or service notice was uncovered. All I was told was to check the master cylinder as it could be leaking internally. That is all I got from ford. I am very lucky that I did not have a complete brake failure on the freeway possibly causing an accident/injury. We determined that we needed to replace the ABS module.ford does not make it any more and we had to search the salvage yards to get this part as it is nit made naymore by the original manufacture.very frustrating experience.will never buy a ford truck again. .

Filed Feb 23, 2010 · Brakes · 62,000 miles · FL

1999 ford f-159 ABS light on and red brake light on intermittently with change in brake "feel".

Filed Oct 15, 2008 · Brakes · 86,000 miles · GA

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford f150. When the contact started the ignition, the anti-lock brake system warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning light remained lit until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the failure was related to the ABS module. The mechanic was unable to locate the part due to the manufacturer discontinuing the component. The technician attempted to search the salvage yard for a used part, but was unsuccessful. The vehicle is currently inoperative and has not been repaired. The contact was concerned of the safety risk involved. The failure and current mileages were 86,000. Updated 11/12/08 *cn updated 11/18/08.

Filed Jun 26, 2006 · Airbags, Brakes · 137,000 miles · VA

Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle's ABS and airbag warning light remained illuminated while driving. The dealer has not been alerted. The vehicle has not been repaired. There were no pictures of the incident.

Filed Nov 21, 2005 · Brakes · 102,000 miles · VA · crash

On friday, november 18,2005, while traveling through the roanoke, va area, I descended down a mountain highway. As I neared the bottom of the steep incline, I noticed a backup of traffic in both lanes. Slowing up as I neared the traffic in front of me, I noticed the vehicle in front of me slowed almost to a stop to allow two vehicles from the left lane to merge in front of it. Suddenly, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop unexpectedly thereby alerting me to instantly stop my vehicle to avoid an impact to the vehicle in front of me. As I depressed the brake pedal fully (instantly), the truck began to slow up and "shutter" or a "pulsating" motion of slowing down. The truck came closer to the vehicle in front of me, but did not stop!!!! This shuttering of the brake system was the ABS system becoming activated. Because of this activation, my vehicle failed to stop in time and thus impacting the vehicle in front of me with minor damage. After I eventually stopped, I noticed I did leave skid marks on the asphalt pavement. The weather was clear and no precipitation, pavement was dry. I feel that under normal hydraulic braking system, I would have stopped in time to avoid this mishap. I did have enough time and distance to stop to avoid the mishap. This is not the first time this ABS system has engaged itself prior to my stopping due to stopped vehicles in front of me. I have yet to have an evaluation done on the truck to determine if there is a defect since the ABS system, without question, does engage as it should. My concern is that ABS does not lock up the brakes as it is designed to do, however, this causes the vehicle from fully stopping when necessary. I don't think this was part of it's intended design. There were no injuries or deaths in either of my mishaps, however, these were slow speeds.

Filed Oct 18, 2005 · Acceleration, Brakes · 50,000 miles · FL

Dt: the contact owns a 1999 ford f-150. The contact complained about electrical problems since the cruise control stopped working in august 2004. Within a month of the cruise control malfunctioning the ABS sensor illuminated on the dashboard, and the heater stopped working. Approximately one month ago the power door locks stopped working. When it was hot outside, the contact turned off the lights in the vehicle he had to remove the fuse. The contact stated there was a ticking noise coming from inside the fuse box. The consumer contacted the dealership, and they told him to bring the vehicle in for a diagnostic test at his expense. The manufacturer explained to the dealership that the consumer felt that the electrical problems listed above were caused by the cruise control switch. *ak the consumer has since stated the power mirrors no longer work.

Filed Jun 13, 2005 · Steering · 100,925 miles · GA

Prior to this incident I had no indication of a problem with the steering or suspension system. On the evening of june 9, 2005 as I was braking and attempting to make a right turn into a parking lot I noticed that my truck seemed to skid. At first I thought it was the ABS system since the road was wet. There was a vehicle in front of me, but I was able to stop without running into any other vehicle. Because I did not realize what the problem was at that time I continued into the parking lot, and made another right turn into the parking space. At that time the truck did the same thing; it felt as though it was skidding. When I got out of the vehicle I noticed that the front driver and front passenger tires were pointed in different directions, so I knew that a tie rod had come detached. After towing the truck home I inspected it, and realized that the passenger inner tie rod had separated at the ball joint. Inspection of the joint revealed that both pieces were significantly rusted. I have replaced the inner and outer tie rod ends on both sides as a precaution, since I did not know if the others would do the same thing.

Filed Jul 8, 2004 · Brakes · PA · crash

I drive a 1999 ford f-150 pickup truck and have found that failure of either of the front wheel ABS sensors makes it nearly impossible to bring the vehicle to a stop. The right sensor failed in april .... And I crashed into a wall at our local hospitals parking garage ..fortunately I was only going 15 MPH. ($300 damage to the front bumber - air bags did not deploy) now the left sensor has failed. Same safety issue ... The vehicle's brake pedal gets very hard and you can not get stopped. My truck is not used for dirty commercial work, it is a family use pickup. I personally do not understand why ford would put a vehicle on the road that could easily cause brake-loss related crashes. The service rep at our local dealership said this morning, " I always thought when the ABS sensor failed, you just had regular brakes." he knows now this is not true. This same chassis and brake design is probably used on certain ford SUV's, further extending the problem.

Filed Oct 1, 2003 · Steering · 59,000 miles · NY

Premature wearing on front end components - ball joints,excessive squeaking, break calipers, ABS sensor replaced, repair broken starter wire, ball joint replaced - broken tie rod on august 18, 2003 at 59,000 miles - concerns over saftey of vehicle -

Filed Jun 11, 2002 · Brakes · GA

Vehicle experienced rear wheel lock up during a panic stop situation, vehicle slid and consumer nearly lost control, dealer stated there was a service bulletin regarding replacement of the rear brake shoes, this was to make the ABS function, consumer feels he should not have been charged for these repairs.

Filed Aug 16, 2000 · Brakes · VA

Dealer has been unable to rectify the problems witht he ABS system which causes the ABS light to illuminate intermittently while driving. Nlm

Filed Jun 9, 2000 · Brakes, Transmission · AZ

Master cylinder had to be replaced after going out twice/ABS light stayed on constantly. Dealer fixed brakes twice. Also, rear brake line failed, and consumer had no brakes. Had to use emergency brakes. Also, when truck was six months old rear axle broke.