2003 Ford F-150: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Oct 24, 2019 · Brakes · 170,000 miles · AZ

Brake pedal became spongy at first but then went clear to the floor when attempting to stop. The vehicle stops but with very long reaction time. The master cylinder was replaced with a new unit...but the problem persisted. Abs unit was then replaced with salvage unit...problem still persists.

Filed Jun 13, 2012 · Brakes · 50,000 miles · OR

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the contact depressed the brake pedal abnormally into the floorboard. The contact continued to apply pressure to the brake pedal and was able to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics. The mechanic stated that the ABS hydraulic control unit would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000. Updated 7/12/12 *cn the informed the consumer, the brake master cylinder needed to be replaced. The consumer then went to get a second opinion, and the mechanic informed him, hydraulic control unit needed to be replaced.

Filed Jun 13, 2012 · Brakes · 50,000 miles · OR

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the brake pedal slightly moved towards the floor upon engaging. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the ABS hydraulic control unit would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Filed Mar 11, 2011 · Brakes · 68,500 miles · WV

On my 2003 ford f-150 xlt regular cab, short wide bed pick-up I noticed a few months ago that the ABS brake light came on and stayed for a short period then went off again. This happened a few times. Sometimes when I would shut off the engine the ABS brake light would go out and not reappear again for a few days to weeks. Approximately 2 weeks ago the ABS brake light on the dash came on again and this time it stayed on. This time I also noted that after I turned the ignition switch off I could still hear what appeared to be the sound of small electric motor continuously running under the hood. I opened the hood and determined the noise was originating from the ABS brake control module. I felt the module and it was warm. I phoned the local ford dealer and was told that sometimes if the battery is disconnected the module will reset itself. I disconnected the battery for a moment then reconnected it and the ABS brake module light on the dash went off so I assumed it had reset itself and was now ok. I continued to drive the truck for approx 1 1/2 weeks with no trouble then suddenly the ABS light on the dash again came on. As before when I shut off the engine the noise under the hood of a small electric motor running was again heard. The ABS control module was hot to the touch and a hot smell was noted also. I visited the local ford dealer and the service manager stated the ABS control module needed replaced at a price of somewhere around $700.00 up to possibly $1200.00 since when the ABS control module goes bad then the hydraulic portion of this system is likely also bad. The truck only has 68500 miles, looks like new, and has been treated extremely gently since I purchased it new in 2003.

Filed Oct 31, 2008 · Brakes · 15,500 miles · AZ

Anti-lock brake failure - failure of electronic hydraulic control unit while braking a few weeks ago I was driving on a highway at about 65-70 MPH when a car on the side of the road started to pull onto the highway. I was only about 200 feet away from the car so I slammed on my brakes - it seemed like the car was going to stop pulling out so I let go of the brakes for a second but then the other drive did pull right in front of me and I slammed on the brakes again. The second time the ABS light came on, the rear wheels locked up and the car began to fishtail. Only because there wasn't any oncoming traffic was a collision avoided. The light never turned off, and the brakes behave erratically. A friend is a mechanic who used a snap-on solus diagnostic tool which shows the ABS dhcu sees the car moving at 3-4 MPH while parked, the system off, but when you drive the car it applies the ABS system while slowing below about 5mph under normal driving (like approaching a stop light) increasing the stopping distance considerably. The module does not respond to reset attempts, and repair is by replacement only. The car is a special production ford f150 lightning, with a dhcu specific to the lightning edition. Replacement of the module is about $700 plus labor. The vehicle only has 16,000 miles on it, about 15,500 when the incident occurred.

Filed Dec 28, 2006 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · ME

While braking the vehicle jerks as if the ABS engages and releases continuously the dealership could not find anything wrong. The emergency brake cable broke complete off, cable and covering. After replacing the emergency brake cable I stepped on emergency brake when I parked, heard a pop and later while driving the vehicle the rear left wheel would grab making a grinding sound and slowing the vehicle. Was able to get to a garage where it was discovered that the emergency brake pads had broken off and were binding the braking system.