2011 Lincoln MKZ: brake failure

Filed Mar 9, 2024 · Brakes · AR

I was driving home in rush hour traffic at approximately 50 mph. I tried to brake but the pedal went to the floor and I had no brakes at all. Turns out this was a recall issue for the same issue for the previous four years MKZs. Replacing the fluid did not fix the problem and the 2,000 dollars charged for just the module that controls this is disgraceful. That doesn't include the other thousand for a mechanic to install the part. I managed to avoid hitting anyone, but not by much. This is extremely dangerous and should be addressed

Filed Jul 20, 2022 · Brakes · FL

Driving down the road all of a sudden Accutrac warning came up and then check brake system. The brakes were like a sponge and stopping was very difficult and required using emergency brake. Shut car off for a few minutes and then problem went away. Then it did it again. This is the same exact issue a recall was issued for the 2006-2010 model of Lincoln MKZ hybrid. Mine is a 2011 but built in the same plant. This car now has an unrepaired air bag from another recall that they still cannot fix and now no brakes and can't be driven. I feel this model should be included in the other model years recall.

Filed Apr 10, 2021 · Brakes · 116,427 miles · FL

My car couldn't break, suddenly got warning while driving through a parking lot by walmart store. Red "check brake system" yellow "service advance trac" "break" and "ABS" dash lights started popping up and I could not even break a little bit even after stepping on the break pedal real hard, I was fortunate enough to not having anyone in front of me on the parking lot as I absolutely couldn't break!!!!!! I put my blinkers on and placed the car in parking gear, yet it wouldn't stop!! I finally had to turn off the ignition then there was a big shake and the engine stalled finally and vehicle came to a halt. Vehicle had to be towed to the local dealership via aaa towing. The local lincoln dealership did not show any concern and were completely ignorant of my narrating this to them. They simply slapped a charge of $3061 and said that it needs replacing ABS module and a change of hcu (hydraulic control unit) and stated that there is no recall on these components. I called lincoln global to place a complaint and to check if this was a 'known' issue with lincoln mkz 2011 model. They said currently they do not have a recall on this component. I strongly believe this is a serious safety concern as it affects brakes directly and there is zero possibility to stop the vehicle. I was fortunate this occurred in a parking lot where there was not anyone in front of my vehicle while it occurred. While I'm working with the dealership on getting the price of the service a little down, thats not of my main concern. The brake failure of this nature could be fatal for both driver/passenger and people on the way of the vehicle. Please lodge this as a recall investigation/complaint. There is no issue found with the break pads or break lining, drum etc. All are normal. Vehicle is regularly maintained with same lincoln dealership at all times at all given intervals.

Filed Sep 23, 2019 · Brakes · 127,000 miles · OH

At any given time the brakes will go out in the car and give a fault code to check ABS system. This has happened 4 times over a 2 year period, one of those times I was going 55 MPH and went to stop at a yellow light. My brakes failed and I ended up running the red light almost hitting a car starting to cross from the other direction. Once you shut off the car and turn it back on the brakes work again like nothing was ever wrong. I took the car to the dealership and they were not able to find anything wrong with the car. Each time it has done this the dealership can't find anything wrong. I've seen other people having the same issue that has caused accidents, I'm not sure why there hasn't been anything done about it yet.

Filed Mar 12, 2015 · Brakes · 40,668 miles · AZ

After my wife driving approximately 1/2 mile out of the driveway she lost all of her brakes. The brake pedal went to the floor with no resistance,she shut off the ignition and the car coasted to a stop. She managed to get it back home by turning the ignition on and off. She called autonation ford and had them toe it in. Autonation ford confirmed that all braking was lost and they said there was a short in the ABS control module. My service advisor stated that he had never seen an entire brake system failure like this. I asked them why an ABS control module failure would result in loss of hydraulic braking. They had no answer and were quite indifferent to the loss in braking since they stated that the car is equipped with an emergency brake. Can you believe it???? Since the car was 4 months out of warranty they wanted to charge me $2,000.00 for the repair. I negotiated with a ford warranty associate and she agreed to pay half of the repair costs. Any vehicle that can lose all braking without a redundant backup is unacceptable. After getting the car fixed I traded it in. The total cost to me was about $20,000.00. I am particularly concerned for all of the unsuspecting families driving the mkz. Just imagine! No brakes at 50 MPH coming to a stop light, hitting the car stopped in front of you, and having your family and the other vehicles' family carted off to the morgue. I tried to explain the potentially serious outcome of a total brake failure to both the autonation ford service advisor and to the ford warranty associate. They were more interested in not covering the car under the warranty than the seriousness of the failure. In conclusion, I sincerely hope that the federal safety agency investigate this failure mode and have ford make the necessary design changes and recall the vehicles with an appropriate fix.