2011 Ford F-150: soft or spongy brake pedal

Filed Jun 30, 2018 · Brakes · 62,000 miles · NY

While backing out of garage, after truck sat overnight, I had extremely hard brake pedal and almost no brakes, narrowly missing a parked car. After engine operates for a while, brakes return to normal operation. The problem occurs now when the truck sits overnight.

Filed Jun 18, 2017 · Brakes · 71,000 miles · NJ

Temporary hard brake pedal condition at start-up followed by more normal pedal feel after a few seconds. When you first start moving you have to almost stand on the brakes pedal to get it the car to stop.

Filed Oct 19, 2015 · Brakes · MI

When I first start my f150 2011 and move it the brake pedal is hard as a rock it will take at least a few minutes to get back to normal, but it happens all the time when first start up. I did some research and found that a vacuum pump that provides power braking gets corroded. In my opinion this part should be recall because is a safety issue you could loose braking, I checked on the part and it cost around 600.00. This issue should be looked into before someone gets hurt.

Filed Sep 22, 2015 · Airbags, Brakes · 75,000 miles · OR · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While driving at approximately 20 MPH, the steering wheel seized. In addition, the vehicle drifted slightly to the left and the brake pedal was hard when depressed. The vehicle continued to drift and crashed into the front of another vehicle. The contact stated that the "service advancetrac" warning message displayed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

Filed Jul 29, 2015 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · NJ

At times, I experience a soft brake pedal that will travel almost to the floor. And then at times I will have a harder pedal without the possibility of the pedal traveling to the floor. I have had the brake fluid flushed and this still happens on occasion. I have gone through 3 sets of brake pads on the front of my truck in 60,000 miles. I can hear the secondary pump run for a longer duration at times during start up and if I pump the brakes while stopped with the engine running. When I experience a soft pedal it travels much further before I would come to a stop compared to the harder pedal feel. Also, at times it feels as if the harder pedal needs more force to experience any "normal" braking power. After experiencing this situation, then some time later I would experience a normal brake pedal. I have had my vehicle serviced at the dealer for this situation for abnormal brake wear and pedal feel, but still have had no fix for the issue. I just replaced a front brake caliper and I am currently waiting to see if this resolves the issue.

Filed Jul 16, 2015 · Brakes · 80,000 miles · VA

F-150 with ecoboost 3.5l gdti engine. Electric vacuum pump that supports the brake booster stopped functioning. Brake pedal feel was hard and vehicle was difficult to stop at times. There were no signs or indicators of the malfunction, other than the hard pedal feel which came on slowly and therefore difficult to notice until vehicle was difficult to stop.

Filed Apr 23, 2015 · Brakes · 55,200 miles · MI

After the truck sets for 8-10 hours, when you start it up you will have a very hard brake pedal but no brakes. The vacuum pump that supplies vacuum to the power brake booster is sticking and failing to supply vacuum at start up. If I put the truck in neutral and press hard on the brake pedal for about 10-15 seconds the pedal will go down to the normal height ( the pump brakes loose and starts to supply vacuum) then the brakes will be fine until the trucks sets for an extended time. I removed the vacuum pump and found that the pump housing was busted. It looked like it had gotten moisture in it and had froze. In my search on line I found many people having problems with this pump.

Filed Apr 17, 2015 · Brakes · 7,325 miles · GA

Brakes fail when vehicle is first started and either backing up or pulling forward. Has happened more than 4-5 times since I bought the vehicle new in 2012. Since this problem is serious in nature, ford should issue a recall before someone is seriously hurt or killed if not taken care of. It needs the attention of the federal safety agency now! Ford service did perform a technical service bulletin dealing with hard brake pedal during normal braking, but the diagnosis performed indicated an intermittent problem with the brake vacuum pump and the operation of the power assist brake. This part and repair in not covered now even tough it was indicated to ford service department on a number of occasions. Ford has not admitted to a recall, but did redesigned the pump on 2014 models and later. Problem inherited to the f-150 eco-boost engine. Recall now!

Filed Dec 17, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 20,000 miles · NY

Brakes were difficult to engage during emergency braking due to hard pedal. Braking seems more difficult than previous experience (like having no brake assist). After searching the internet for known problems, I verified a blown vacuum pump fuse. The dealer verified that the vacuum pump assembly was seized therefore blowing the fuse. I find it curious why a major brake component can fail while not setting a failure code or indicating a failure on the ford display panel (check brake light, etc.). How can the vacuum assist for the brakes totally fail on a 2011 vehicle and not tell the driver there is a problem? Why did the vacuum pump fail (internal pump bearings lacked lubricant and seized due to atmospheric moisture) with just over 20000 miles on the truck? Why won't ford fess up that they sold their customers a defective $750.00 pump? I guess ford only knows!

Filed Sep 30, 2014 · Brakes · 37,000 miles · MI

Pickup does not have brakes during initial cold start up. The brake pedal is hard as a rock and will not stop truck. Can not park in garage as may hit house or garage or kids when backing out. Dealer will did not warranty as it was over the warranty period by aprox 1000 miles and 1 month.

Filed Jul 31, 2014 · Brakes · 46,000 miles · WI

Service tech at dealership was test driving vehicle after a different repair. When he went to stop the brake pedal was hard as a rock and the truck would not stop. Found the vacuum brake booster went bad. This was three weeks ago and they still cannot get the part to fix it. As there are no repair parts in the system this must be a major problem with many vehicles. This is a safety issue which will get someone killed! My dealership said the truck is unsafe to drive.