1999 Ford F-150: brake failure

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 Jul 7, 2015 · Brakes, Engine · 48,000 miles · MI

When backing up after my f150 has been sitting about 2 days I have no brakes unless I rev up the engine for about 20 sec to build up pressure in the electric vacuum brake booster. Have almost hit my wife's car if I forget to let it sit to build up pressure. I have contacted my ford dealer and they won't do anything about it because I am past the warranty. I am going to have to replace it myself because this is unsafe condition and ford won't repair it. Also my truck loses power sometimes when accelerating and ford stated that the turbo chargers are sometimes sucking in water that shuts down one side of the engine to prevent damage to the turbo chargers. There fix is to put a shield or longer tube on it to prevent this. Again because it is over the warranty period they won't do anything. Very disappointed in my f-150 3.5 ecoboost and won't be buying another one.

Filed Jun 26, 2015 · Airbags, Brakes · 137,000 miles · VA · crash

Went to stop at light had no brakes with no warning. I hit the car in front of me in the rear this also caused a delayed release of the air bags. This appears to be problem going back years that ford or the government wont do anything about.

Filed Dec 31, 2011 · Brakes · 76,825 miles · OH · crash

Fortunately, I was under 1/2 mile from my house. My road dead ends onto another. I applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor as I approached the stop sign. I went through the stop sign and into the drainage ditch on the other side of the road. Because my vehicle is 4 wheel drive, I was able to get out of the ditch and return home. Upon inspection, I found that the brake line that goes from the front to the rear was rusted and failed. There was little damage from the crash, just a fender that needs replaced. I am anal with regard to my vehicles condition and maintenance. To have a failure like this on a what is supposed to be the best built truck is absurd and totally unacceptable! My brothers 1999 honda, my step son's 1991 nissan stanza (recently sold) a 1993 geo prizm (I.e. Toyota corolla!!!) recently sold had zero rust on any brake fitting, brake line or fuel line.

Filed May 10, 2011 · Fuel system · 174,000 miles · MI

I have a ford f-150 pickup truck 1999 and last week the gas tand fell off. My mechanic said that the straps holding the tand were rusted through. When the tank fell it also took out the brake lines and I had no brakes.

Filed Mar 10, 2011 · Brakes · 162,000 miles · OR

1999 ford f150 brake failure do to brake lines rusted through.

Filed Oct 18, 2010 · Brakes · 65,000 miles · NJ

3 separate incidents of brake failure due to rotted/rusted brake lines. Luckily the incidents happened at low speeds and I was able to stop with the emergency brake. If I was going faster this could have had deadly consequences! Since then, all brake lines have been replaced with stainless steel line at my own expense. Every problem that I have had with this truck (and there were many) can be traced back to catastrophic metal fatigue! There is no excuse for this manufacturers continued usage of substandard and/or poorly designed materials!!!!

Filed Oct 14, 2009 · Acceleration, Brakes · 62,000 miles · PA

Fords recall of f150's for defective leaking cruise control cut-out switches does not totally fix the problem by them just adding an inline fuse for the fire problem. The pressure sensitive switch is screwed into the bottom of the brake master cylinder and even if the fuse blows disabling the cruise control by removing the 12 volts going to it the brake fluid can still leak out or be forced out by brake foot pedal pressure (which is very high) thru the defective switch seal onto the super heated exhaust system causing it to catch fire, and/or enough brake fluid to leak out causing air to be sucked into the master cylinder causing brake failure, and/or enough brake fluid to leak out causing brake failure. This is a "typical" ford kludge repair to save money at people's lives expense. Paying lawsuits appears to be more cost effective in fords eyes. They have pulled this crap for at least the 30+ years I can remember going back to the exploding ford pinto's. My current 1999 ford f150 is the last ford I'll ever buy, period !!!

Filed Jul 1, 2009 · Brakes · 102,000 miles · OH

My brakes failed on my 1999 ford f150 that only has 102,000 miles on it. I was amazed to discover that the problem was due to a heavily corroded steel brake line. I am having a hard time understanding why the federal safety agency doesn't require automobile manufacturers to use stainless steel for brake lines. After talking with a few mechanics, it seems that this type of failure is not uncommon in vehicles with 100,000+ miles on the odometer. I'm afraid to think what kind of accidents can occur with this type of premature brake failure.

Filed Mar 5, 2007 · Brakes · 147,766 miles · IL

1999 ford f-150 while on a short trip out of town I experience almost complete, sudden brake failure. Upon side of the road inspection, I found left rear brake line failed with brake fluid dripping on the pavement. Truck was taken to a local mechanic who said brake lines were rusted through. He replaced the broken left rear and the badly rusted right rear.

Filed Aug 14, 2006 · Brakes · 86,000 miles · MA

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle's brakes failed while attempting to stop at a residence. The brake pedal went to the floor. A local mechanic came to the contact's house and repaired the brake lines going to the left rear brakes. The mechanic informed the contact the fuel lines were rusted.

Filed Jul 28, 2005 · Brakes · 99,000 miles · FL

Dt: the brakes lines under the hood rusted, and they blew out. Took very good care of the vehicle. It just let go, and there were no brakes, used the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. This happened on july 25,2005. There was no warning, they were steel lines . They blew out right beside the box that controlled the anti-lock brakes. The vehicle was at the dealers , and they said it was due to corrosion. Also, they also say they needed to replace all the brake lines.