2009 Ford Fusion: soft or spongy brake pedal

Filed Apr 20, 2026 · Brakes · 110,000 miles · KY

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for brake repairs, and after the repairs, the brake pedal felt spongy. The independent mechanic performed further inspections and diagnosed the vehicle with insufficient brake pressure due to a failure of the ABS hydraulic control unit. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Sep 28, 2024 · Brakes · DC · crash

After activation of ABS brake system, brakes became "soft" and "spongy" with permanent increased braking time. As described in safety recall 19S54, this due to to a valve in the Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) being stuck open. I received a letter from Ford Motor Company regarding this safety recall in 2011 informing of the defect and assuring "we will correct this condition." The vehicle was taken to Koons Ford (1051 E Broad St., Falls Church, VA, 22044; 703‑241‑7250) on 7/5/21 for repair. However, the HCU was not replaced, which appears to be the only remedy to this problem. Instead DOT 3 brake fluid was replaced with DOT 4 fluid, according to Koons Ford. However, after subsequent activation of the ABS brake system, the brakes became impaired again in the same way as before. I returned the car to Koons Ford on [XXX]. A "one-time" repair was performed pursuant to "customer satisfaction program" 21N11, as Ford acknowledged in a letter to dealers dated 12/7/21 that numerous customers were returning as the action prescribed in safety recall 19S54 did not repair the defective brakes. However, the HCU was not replaced. Service Advisor Kevin Lacki told me the HCU "passed" the inspection/diagnostic despite replication of the problem. I complained to Service Manager Rob Ryans who did nothing. I emailed the General Manager of the dealership twice, and he never responded. I called the manufacturer on [XXX] (case #[XXX]), but no action was taken. The problem of "soft" brakes and extended travel time quickly resurfaced and led to a vehicle accident in early 2023. The Ford Motor Company is employing a diagnostic that results in false "passes" for HCUs that should be replaced (and/or this dealership did not correctly perform the service actions). Even after "passing" Ford's diagnostic, the HCU valve(s) become stuck open after ABS activation. The safety recall should be investigated and the recall amended to replace faulty HCUs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 55

Filed May 27, 2022 · Brakes · CA

My car was recalled for the ABS HCU unit (recall#19S54) that was experiencing spongy brake performance with occasional times of going to the floor and losing all brakes and putting the entire community and myself at risk. I took it to Sunrise Ford on 5/10/22 at 7:30 am. after having a full brake job, replacing all pads, rotating drums and flushing the system at my trusted mechanic. Even after all work was performed, the problem was not solved. I drove to the dealership and the brakes were functional but occasionally would fail and I could pump them back up. There were NO CODES of malfunction of any kind when the car was brought to the dealership. They confirmed the HCU was faulty and said they would replace it free of charge. 3 hours later I was informed they couldn't fulfill the recall without an 1160. repair to the ABS unit. When I declined the expensive repair and asked they return the car with the recall performed they refused. They said it was not drivable and they wouldn't give it back or complete the job without making this other repair. I asked to pick up my car and they would only return my vehicle if I signed a safety waiver and had a tow truck to remove it. When I arrived with a tow truck it wasn't ready and I was left waiting for 45 minutes. Then when my mechanic got the car back the entire braking system was dismantled and brake fluid was sprayed everywhere including the inside of the headlight. The communication module was disconnected so no codes could be generated. When I complained in an internal online review form, I was put on a DO NOT SERVICE list by Deana Ramirez the service director at Sunrise Ford. I was also told that this list went to all Ford dealerships preventing me from receiving this recall service at any dealership.

Filed Sep 24, 2021 · Airbags, Brakes · 147,010 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after leaving the local dealer the brake pedal was spongy and inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service brakes, Hydraulic) and 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to another local dealer. The failure mileage was 147,010. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Nov 24, 2019 · Brakes · 115,000 miles · NY

Driving at about 35 MPH going straight, I stepped on the brakes so that I could turn, snow/ice covered roads, ABS engaged. I continued on driving after that at about 45 MPH, went to stop to turn into my driveway and the pedal went to the floor with no brake action at all. No fluid leaks,no warning lights on the dash, pads had maybe 25k miles on them, everything was working fine until the ABS engaged on my first turn. A few months back, after the ABS was activated the brakes got soft/spongy. After the car was shut off and sat for a while, the brakes reset. Today, my car felt like it had no brakes. This appears to be a common problem from some of the research I have done online.

Filed Oct 9, 2019 · Brakes · 287,000 miles · MI

Hard stop on freeway resulting in ABS activating. Afterwards, brakes were spongy and required exceptionally more distance to brake and pedal needed to be depressed to the interior floor in order to stop. This is the third time this has happened with the vehicle.

Filed Aug 19, 2019 · Brakes · 125,000 miles · VA

Tamara recall for the 3rd time in 2 years. I've had problems with spongy brakes. I braked over a pothole and my brakes locked up and hit the floor! I now have to pump the brakes to get them to work. I got my brakes flushed and they went back to normal. About a month later the same thing happened when I had to brake hard due to abrupt stop on the interstate. It took about a week to get them back to normal. This is not safe and should not happen with new brakes and rotors.

Filed Jul 26, 2019 · Brakes · 93,000 miles · MD

Spongy brake pedal, brakes seem to start to grab then pedal goes straight to the floor. Happens all the time and I'm scared that this will cause an accident. Car has 93k miles. Will never buy another ford

Filed Jul 12, 2019 · Brakes · 200,000 miles · IN

Issue has occurred multiple times since I have owned this vehicle to now. Whenever the ABS system engages (hard braking to due snow/ice or obstruction avoidance), immediately following that the brake pedal becomes incredibly spongy or non-existent and braking becomes very difficult without pumping the brake pedal or engaging the hand brake. I've had the pads, rotors, rear calipers, and slide pins replaced and the system flushed and inspected multiple times. I have found that if you pull over ans shut the car off for a few minutes and restart it tends to work until you have the same issue come up. .

Filed Jun 27, 2019 · Brakes · 218,000 miles · KS

Brakes go nearly to the floor when pressing brake pedal before engaging and stopping vehicle. Spongy. Replaced master cylinder with new, no help. Replaced ABS hydraulic unit with used unit, and no help, but suspect the replacement unit is faulty also. Vehicle does not stop well.

Filed Jun 19, 2019 · Brakes · 74,000 miles · CA

Break pedal becomes spongy after hitting a pothole. Currently at the dealership they are trying to replace the master break cylinder, but that didn't work. The next move is to replace the mcu. I have read multiple similar reports here to mine. I'm very concerned this is a factory defect that is revealing itself to be dangerous and costly to ford consumers.

Filed Apr 15, 2019 · Brakes · 116,000 miles · IL

This issue has occurred multiple times since I have owned this vehicle from 2011 to now. Whenever the ABS system engages (hard braking to due snow/ice or obstruction avoidance), immediately following that the brake pedal becomes incredibly spongy or non-existent and braking becomes very difficult without pumping the brake pedal or engaging the hand brake. I've had the pads, rotors, rear calipers, and slide pins replaced and the system flushed and inspected multiple times. No matter what parts I throw at my car, nothing seems to solve this issue.