My 2003 lincoln town car was slowing (foot off gas, coasting) down off-ramp from freeway because the stop light at the bottom of the off-ramp was red. When I began to apply the brakes to come to a complete stop, the car lurched forward violently as the front brakes locked completely, causing the car to slide to a stop. I could not move the car forward or backward in gear, and could not get it to coast in neutral. The car could not be manually pushed from its resting spot and I had to have it winched onto a flatbed tow truck and taken to the lincoln dealership. The repair manager told me after investigation that the lining inside the brake lines leading to the calipers had been slowly flaking off into the brake fluid. When sufficient amounts had collected in the fluid they acted like a check-valve, allowing fluid into the calipers to actuate the brakes but would not allow the fluid to return and the brakes could not release. The repair consisted of replacing both front brake lines and both caliper units, costing over $600. Only moments before the brakes locked my car had been at speeds of 55 - 65 MPH on the freeway. Had I needed to apply the breaks while at those speeds, the results would have been devastating; my car would have been sliding out of control in heavy freeway traffic and likely would have LED to severe injury or death of my family members or other drivers/passengers. The lincoln dealership searched for recall and/or safety bulletins from the manufacturer and could find none. I'm infuriated by this ~ it is an apparent design and/or manufacturing defect, admittedly seen several times before over recent years by the mechanics at my local dealership, yet nothing has been done to address it. I suspect that it's not a "severe" enough situation yet because there have been no deaths reportedly linked to the catastrophic failure I survived.
2003 Lincoln Town Car brakes complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 15 of 15, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt: the contact complained about sudden acceleration problems. When applying the brakes vehicle did not stop but accelerated 6-10 seconds. This was the fourth incident. *ak the thinks it is a possibility the pedals are too close together.
When vehicle engine is running and turn signals are actuated, the digital dash, turn signals, and air conditioner cuts off. Additionally, steering effort increases substantially, ABS cycles off and back on when the power is restored. The duration may be momentary (less than 5 seconds) or last for a minute or longer. Frequency is 80+ percent of the time when the turn signals are engaged (left or right). I have had another ford vehicle which gave problems with this multi-function switch also. Ford has a poorly designed turn signal-windshield wiper-washer switch compounded by the fact power is shunted through this switch all the time, causing overheating and premature failures. This lincoln is not an incomplete vehicle. The last line of the vehicle detaill form needs a 2nd alternative or webmaster needs to provide for the default choice (--).
The brakes failed without warning.
When the driver's left foot was quickly moved to the brake pedal from its resting position, it encountered an object above it that gave the impression the foot did not reach the brake pedal, which resulted in using the right foot which caused an accident. The condition worsened with the brake and gas pedal in the full down position then the left knee encountered the steering wheel, which gave the impression the pedal was not reached. Dealership was not willing to do anything but advised to have vehicle modified. Consumer is 5-9 in height and weights 180 lbs. Instead, consumer repositioned the plastic panel 14"x14" above the driver's left foot and tied up the small light normally installed in the panel. And moved the movable brake/gas pedal forward and kept the steering wheel fully upward. This made the vehicle safe to drive. *tt
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