Problems with 1999 Ford F-150 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford f-150. while driving approximately 45 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and noticed the brake pedal dropped to the floor board abnormally. the contact used the emergency brake and was able to stop the vehicle. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics. the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed brake fluid leaking from the brake lines as a result of corrosion of the brake lines. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 157,000. updated 05/08/12*lj

Fortunately, i was under 1/2 mile from my house. my road dead ends onto another. i applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor as i approached the stop sign. i went through the stop sign and into the drainage ditch on the other side of the road. because my vehicle is 4 wheel drive, i was able to get out of the ditch and return home. upon inspection, i found that the brake line that goes from the front to the rear was rusted and failed. there was little damage from the crash, just a fender that needs replaced. i am anal with regard to my vehicles condition and maintenance. to have a failure like this on a what is supposed to be the best built truck is absurd and totally unacceptable! my brothers 1999 honda, my step son's 1991 nissan stanza (recently sold) a 1993 geo prizm (i.e. toyota corolla!!!) recently sold had zero rust on any brake fitting, brake line or fuel line. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford f-150. the contact stated that when depressing the brake pedal, the pedal would feel spongy as if the vehicle was not going to stop. the contact would have to continuously pump the brake pedal for the vehicle to come to a complete stop. the contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 05v388000 (vehicle speed control) and stated that the vehicle was repaired under the recall but to no avail. the dealer also repaired the leak in the brake line but not the air that was being released and causing the brakes to not perform properly. the manufacturer was notified of the failure but advised the contact that the defect was not directly related to the recall. the failure and the current mileage was 204,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford f150. the contact was attempting to park the vehicle. as the brakes were applied, the brake pedal was abnormally depressed into the floorboard. after inspecting the failure he noticed corrosion and rust on the brake line and the fuel straps. the dealer was notified of the rust and informed the contact there were no recalls and offered no further assistance. the manufacturer was also notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 100,000.

Brake line is rusted could cause failure of brakes. gas tank and supports are rusted replaced once but still all rusted. all frame underneath is rusted impossible to do repairs. *kb

1999 ford f150 brake failure do to brake lines rusted through. *tr

Three brake lines rusted out and leaking in last 2 years incident date is an estimate. *tr

Was stopping on highway, brake pedal went to floor. vehicle stopped, upon inspection found rear brake line was rusted and leaking. i replaced the failed brake line. *tr

I have a 1999 ford f-150 while on vacation i heard something break when i took it to the shop they said that all of my straps had snapped the only thing holding it up was skid plate and on the second incident was when i was driving my brake pedal had went soft causing me to almost cause an accident then the brake light had came on when i took it to ford they had said that all my brake lines from the back to the master cylinder had to be replaced so between the two incidents the truck has cost me close to one thousand dollars. *tr updated 08/01/11 *bf both straps failed due to rust. there was no fuel spill. updated 08/02/11

1999 ford f-159 abs light on and red brake light on intermittently with change in brake "feel". *tr

Front brakes:: gradual unknown braking degradation over time until it got to the point i had to pump the brakes like as if a brake line was sucking air or the master cylinder was going bad, in order to stop. upon investigating i found that both dust shields on the front brakes were extremely rusted and the rust pieces were falling between the front inboard brake pads and rear rotor surfaces causing extreme contamination of the backside of both rotors to the point that less than 50% contact surface was left. since the inboard brake pads do more stopping than the outside brake pads it's a very dangerous situation. to add to the danger the front braking system does about 75% of a vehicles total braking. and, if it happens on a long down hill grade with allot of braking, it can cause the front brake fluid to boil inside the calipers giving someone one hell-of-a wild ride. in fact, one day i had to hit the brakes without having time to pump them and just about hit a kid on a bike that darted out from between 2 cars. that's when i decided i had better do something about the problem. i suspect ford has been loving it because non-mechanical people will never know or find out and ford will just rip people off for a major brake overhaul in the tune of $600.00 and throw everything away so nobody will ever know. this is an extremely dangerous situation because it's such a gradual degradation of braking. the fix is to replace both dust shields (ford p/n= 2l3z - 2k004 - aa) "the primary cause" of the problem. i took many pictures with my digital camera of all the components and can e-mail them to nhtsa . i also have all the front brake components; 2 rotors, 4 brake pads, 2 dust shields. the rotors are very heavy but i would be happy to pack everything up and send it to nhtsa if you pay the shipping. *tr

My brakes failed on my 1999 ford f150 that only has 102,000 miles on it. i was amazed to discover that the problem was due to a heavily corroded steel brake line. i am having a hard time understanding why the nhtsa doesn't require automobile manufacturers to use stainless steel for brake lines. after talking with a few mechanics, it seems that this type of failure is not uncommon in vehicles with 100,000+ miles on the odometer. i'm afraid to think what kind of accidents can occur with this type of premature brake failure. *tr

3 separate incidents of brake failure due to rotted/rusted brake lines. luckily the incidents happened at low speeds and i was able to stop with the emergency brake. if i was going faster this could have had deadly consequences! since then, all brake lines have been replaced with stainless steel line at my own expense. every problem that i have had with this truck (and there were many) can be traced back to catastrophic metal fatigue! there is no excuse for this manufacturers continued usage of substandard and/or poorly designed materials!!!! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford f150. when the contact started the ignition, the anti-lock brake system warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. the warning light remained lit until the engine was turned off. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the failure was related to the abs module. the mechanic was unable to locate the part due to the manufacturer discontinuing the component. the technician attempted to search the salvage yard for a used part, but was unsuccessful. the vehicle is currently inoperative and has not been repaired. the contact was concerned of the safety risk involved. the failure and current mileages were 86,000. updated 11/12/08 *cn updated 11/18/08. *jb

I was on a trip in alabama traveling south on i-85 on september 2, 2008. i stopped for a break just north of montgomery. when i got on the on ramp to i-85, my left front tire suddenly went flat. i replaced the wheel with the spare and discovered that the wheel had been ripped open. i drove to the nearest ford dealer in montgomery where they discovered that a brake caliper bolt had come out and caused the brake caliper to rip the wheel apart. i was extremely lucky to have been on the on ramp rather than traveling on the interstate at 70 miles an hour. this is the third time that the same caliper bolt has come out. the last time was in oneonta ala and was replaced by the local ford dealer in oneonta. this is a dangerous safety problem that could have caused the death of two people. *tr

Fords recall of f150's for defective leaking cruise control cut-out switches does not totally fix the problem by them just adding an inline fuse for the fire problem. the pressure sensitive switch is screwed into the bottom of the brake master cylinder and even if the fuse blows disabling the cruise control by removing the 12 volts going to it the brake fluid can still leak out or be forced out by brake foot pedal pressure (which is very high) thru the defective switch seal onto the super heated exhaust system causing it to catch fire, and/or enough brake fluid to leak out causing air to be sucked into the master cylinder causing brake failure, and/or enough brake fluid to leak out causing brake failure. this is a "typical" ford kludge repair to save money at people's lives expense. paying lawsuits appears to be more cost effective in fords eyes. they have pulled this crap for at least the 30+ years i can remember going back to the exploding ford pinto's. my current 1999 ford f150 is the last ford i'll ever buy, period !!!*tr

I went to drive my 1999 ford f-150 last night, and the brake pedal went completely to the floor. no previous symptoms were evident. upon inspection, it is evident the brake line along the frame to the rear wheels burst due to excessive corrosion. further inspection showed that all of the other brake and fuel lines on the truck are electroplated, and maintain a silvery non corroded finish. however this line along the frame is obviously unplated, flaking chips of rusted steel, resulting in failure. whether it was a design flaw, or manufacturing oversight, the unplated brake line could have had severe consequences. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford f150. the vehicle was parked for several hours when the contact noticed smoke coming from the hood. a few seconds later, the vehicle caught fire. he was able to extinguish the flames and noticed that the fire originated from the master cylinder area. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. a report was filed with the manufacturer and they stated that he would receive a letter. the current and failure mileages were 170,000.

Front antilock sensor defective and causes an additional 15 foot roll before stopping. it nearly caused me my life. and if i was hit by that dumptruck it would have looked like i just made a mistake. i got the new sensor installed and was told there was an upgrade and needed both sensors installed to avoid this. i'm very happy i didn't go to a local garage. they would have replaced the bad one and i would have another shot of hitting that dumptruck. *tr

1999 ford f-150 while on a short trip out of town i experience almost complete, sudden brake failure. upon side of the road inspection, i found left rear brake line failed with brake fluid dripping on the pavement. truck was taken to a local mechanic who said brake lines were rusted through. he replaced the broken left rear and the badly rusted right rear. *jb

Pulling a 10 foot box trailer well within gvw limit...main brake line failure, line along the frame rail appears to be rusted way beyond what would be expected for the vehicle year, brake line burst when brakes applied...through inspection revealed all metal parts not aluminum are rusted, appears metal is inferior quality but factory...lines to be replaced. *jb

1999 ford f150 pickup. steel brake tubing rusted. while stopped brake petal went to floor. lost most of the brake fluid on the ground from a rust break near the junction of two tubes on the frame rail. both brake tubes and the connector are badly rusted. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle's brakes failed while attempting to stop at a residence. the brake pedal went to the floor. a local mechanic came to the contact's house and repaired the brake lines going to the left rear brakes. the mechanic informed the contact the fuel lines were rusted.

Dt*: the contact stated while applying pressure to the brakes there was a metal to metal noise. the vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection where they determined the rear brake adjuster, cable guide and adjuster lever were the problem. the brake drum cable was too short would not allow the brakes to adjust. the manufacturer has not been alerted.

Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle's abs and airbag warning light remained illuminated while driving. the dealer has not been alerted. the vehicle has not been repaired. there were no pictures of the incident.

On friday, november 18,2005, while traveling through the roanoke, va area, i descended down a mountain highway. as i neared the bottom of the steep incline, i noticed a backup of traffic in both lanes. slowing up as i neared the traffic in front of me, i noticed the vehicle in front of me slowed almost to a stop to allow two vehicles from the left lane to merge in front of it. suddenly, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop unexpectedly thereby alerting me to instantly stop my vehicle to avoid an impact to the vehicle in front of me. as i depressed the brake pedal fully (instantly), the truck began to slow up and "shutter" or a "pulsating" motion of slowing down. the truck came closer to the vehicle in front of me, but did not stop!!!! this shuttering of the brake system was the abs system becoming activated. because of this activation, my vehicle failed to stop in time and thus impacting the vehicle in front of me with minor damage. after i eventually stopped, i noticed i did leave skid marks on the asphalt pavement. the weather was clear and no precipitation, pavement was dry. i feel that under normal hydraulic braking system, i would have stopped in time to avoid this mishap. i did have enough time and distance to stop to avoid the mishap. this is not the first time this abs system has engaged itself prior to my stopping due to stopped vehicles in front of me. i have yet to have an evaluation done on the truck to determine if there is a defect since the abs system, without question, does engage as it should. my concern is that abs does not lock up the brakes as it is designed to do, however, this causes the vehicle from fully stopping when necessary. i don't think this was part of it's intended design. there were no injuries or deaths in either of my mishaps, however, these were slow speeds. *jb

Dt: the contact states there is nhtsa recall campaign 05v388000 concerning the vehicle speed control:cruise control. the parts needed for recall repairs were not available at the local dealership. he spoke to the manufacturer, who confirmed the parts were not available at this time. *ak updated 12/27/2005. the tires had excessive wear at 20000 miles. the seat belt roller has been replaced three times. the air bag control was replaced. both doors had stress fractures. the rear brake lines were not secured properly which resulted in wear . the wheel hubs came off while driving at highway speed. the driver side exterior rearview mirror was defective. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated upon yearly state inspection, it was determined the rotors had too much porosity during the casting process. as a result, the rotors must be replaced in order for the vehicle to pass this year's inspection; however no repairs were made.

Brakes don't work when i back up or when going slow forward. *nm

1999 f-150 front brakes locking up/failure to release properly, brakes dragging

Fire originated in lr quadrant of engine compartment. vehicle had been parked and engine not running for 10-12 hours prior to fire. fire originated at master brake cylinder.*ak

Fire originated in lr quadrant of engine compartment. occurred while parked and not running. origin is at master brake cylinder. *ak

dt: the contact owns a 1999 ford f-150. the contact complained about electrical problems since the cruise control stopped working in august 2004. within a month of the cruise control malfunctioning the abs sensor illuminated on the dashboard, and the heater stopped working. approximately one month ago the power door locks stopped working. when it was hot outside, the contact turned off the lights in the vehicle he had to remove the fuse. the contact stated there was a ticking noise coming from inside the fuse box. the consumer contacted the dealership, and they told him to bring the vehicle in for a diagnostic test at his expense. the manufacturer explained to the dealership that the consumer felt that the electrical problems listed above were caused by the cruise control switch. *ak the consumer has since stated the power mirrors no longer work. *jb

I drive a 1999 ford f-150 pickup truck and have found that failure of either of the front wheel abs sensors makes it nearly impossible to bring the vehicle to a stop. the right sensor failed in april .... and i crashed into a wall at our local hospitals parking garage ..fortunately i was only going 15 mph. ($300 damage to the front bumber - air bags did not deploy) now the left sensor has failed. same safety issue ... the vehicle's brake pedal gets very hard and you can not get stopped. my truck is not used for dirty commercial work, it is a family use pickup. i personally do not understand why ford would put a vehicle on the road that could easily cause brake-loss related crashes. the service rep at our local dealership said this morning, " i always thought when the abs sensor failed, you just had regular brakes." he knows now this is not true. this same chassis and brake design is probably used on certain ford suv's, further extending the problem. *ak

Despite driving on primarily rural paved roads, brake problems (grabbing) occurred from the time of purchase. brake problems were noted to the dealer at 34,000 miles and 39,000 miles, and the dealer responded by saying the brakes were either dirty or that the problem was the fact that it's a "light" truck. near-accidents have occurred on at least two occasions when only 1 brake engaged. at 50,000 miles, the whole brake system has had to be replaced. *jb

The vehicle s brakes locked up and as a result the consumer was unable to move the vehicle. the dealer indicated that the emergency brake lining broke. *nlm

While following other vehicles, they stopped for a turning car and when i applied my brakes nothing happened. i was practically standing on the brake pedal with no results. my truck plowed into the back of another truck which then hit a third vehicle. i was injured and the truck i hit was totalled. dt

We purchased this truck in oct 1999 new, we have had it in the shop 4 times for the brake problem. it first started out with the brakes locking up when it was damp out, they could not find a problem at that time .the next time they said it was the axel seal leaking. on july 11, 02 they said it was the brake shoes , which with only 35838 miles on the truck how could that be .the brake shoes was replaced at that time. now today i was going down the road and the back rear brake started growling, so i stopped to see what the problem was , i removed the back tire and removed back hub and found pin to wheel cylinder laying in the hub. i called a wrecker to come and get me and my truck , went to dealer where i purchased it and stayed there just about all day .thank you very much for hearing my complaint.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

I started haveing warped brakes around 13,000 miles this truck went through 4 brake jobs i asked the last time to speak with a field representative, but was denied. in less then 500 miles after last break job i complined to the dealer that something was loose they said that they could not find anything wrong i was pulling my boat home from storage driving aroun 55 miles an hour i applied the brake to slow down for railroad tracks and the left front tire locked up pulling the truck across the oncomming lane then into the oncomming lanes ditch where the truck stoped 6" from a telephone pole. i called the owner of the dealership and asked for a ford field engineer to examine my truck. he said he would get back with me but has not i have called ford customer hotline for help and they said i can not take it to another dealer and they can't get a field engineer to look at it and they have made no atempt to fix my truck . it know sits in my driveway witht the left front wheel locked up and metal shavings all over the left front rhim. ford has made no atempt to fix it*ak

Consumer states the vehicle would pull hard to the left when brake are applied. manufacturer was notified. nlm

Critical component of anti lock brake system failing at less than 5000 miles? ford motor treating as normal repair item and expecting customer to pay half of cost.*ak

When traveling about 65mph on highway vehicle shakes and vibrates. brakes are defective and hold a little. dealership is aware of problem.*ak

While decelerating in and applying brakes, rear wheels lost traction and skided. driver released brake pedal and reapplied in an attempt to slow down on exit ramp and entering curve at approx. 40 mph rear wheels lost traction and started to skid to left. driver regained control. several miles later in heavy stop and go traffic and driving at approx. 35-40 mph driver applied brakes to stop behind a group of cars making panic stop. driver was approx. 4 car lengths behind vehicle on wet pavement after driving approx. 1.5 hours on rainy roads. brakes locked twice, and would not allow driver to turn out causing driver to skid into other vehicle.*ak

While applying brakes brake pedal went to the floor without any warning, causing a collision with a parked vehicle. insurance company was notified, and informed consumer to make this report with nhtsa. *ak consumer states steering was pulling to the right while driving and also states that insurance did not investigate accident correctly. *slc

While driving at 10 mph brakes went out when trying to stop. consumer stated pedal went to the floor.*ak the dealer could not find the cause of the problem but there was an accident twice. *yh

While braking at any speed vibration occurred in vehicle, more noticeable when there was a load in truck. dealership examined vehicle over 10 times and found that a dust/powder was accumulating inside brake drum. dealership informed consumer there was no effective remedy for this problem. *ak consumer states on four occasions the vibrations caused the rear wheels to lock and then the pedal went soft with no braking power. *slc

Brakes had been vibrating, and dealer repaired them under warranty first time, second time was under protest. presently, brakes are doing it again, and ford will not help with problem. *ak consumer states it has only been 19000 miles after being fixed under warranty and the brake problem has come back again. *slc

While traveling approximately 20 to 25 mph attempted to stop vehicle, but brakes failed. truck crashed into another vehicle, causing 2 passengers to be taken by ambulance - no other information as to what injuries they received. dealership had previously examined vehicle several times for complaints about brake system. dealership had replaced brake pads/ rotors, and brake fluids. please provide any additional information / attachments / photographs.*ak

Back brakes lock up first few times after startup when it is cold or wet or humid out. *ak