Driving and lost all brakes. went to the floor as i was driving in normal weather in iowa. this was my daughter's car, i am thankful it happened to me and not my 17 year old. as a single mom with no income at this time, the car now has been parked for 3 months. so i have had time to do some research: the brake fluid was completely empty. there were no signs of brake fluid leak. i did find it is possible that the plastic on the brake booster if corroded, that the brake fluid was being sucked into the intake manifold, leaving no signs of it leaking. i also found by doing a simple search on the web forums: the same issue has been reported by other 2008 form fusion owners. and if you paid attention by simply looking at vin number, all of the cars were produced on the same line, in the same plant, at the same time frame. and were about 100 cars apart consecutively down the line. i have had a master mechanic do a diagnostics: the brake booster and the master brake cylinder both need replaced. also a misfire was happening. have yet to be determined if this causes that. we won't know until i get the brakes fixed. i don't know how i, a 38 year old single mom from iowa can see that there needs to be an obvious recall from you and ford. but we shouldn't have to put my child's nor my lives on the line for you to pull your head out of your hind ends to see the obvious.
Once my antilock brakes kicked in this winter, my brake pedal never went back to normal. it is very mushy and sometimes when going slowly down a small incline (i.e. exiting a parking lot), or over rough roads, it is hard to brake. in 2015 the exact same thing happened - my abs system kicked in once during winter and my brakes were mushy. except that time, carx did a free brake examination, couldn't find the problem but when i got the car back. the brake pedal was firm again. this time, in 2017 i took to ford dealership and so far, they have no idea what is wrong with it. carx thinks i need a whole new hydraulic cylinder unit for abs and/or master cylinder.
I was driving on a slushy road and braked. the abs kicked in and now the pedal goes to the floor to stop. research shows me this is an issue with 06-09 ford fusion's hcu.
I was driving in the city down a residential road and had to switch into the turn lane, which had tons of cars in line. so i started to push down on my brake, which never had to be pushed down very far to activate. i had to push the pedal all the way to the floor just to get any reaction. i swerved out of that lane as i was nearing an accident with the next car in the turn lane. luckily there were no cars in the lane i swerved back into. i thought i had lost my brakes. the next day they were still just as bad so i had to take my car in to a ford service center to get it looked it as i wanted my brakes back. they had said it was the hydraulic converter unit and it would cost a pretty penny. since every car needs brakes, i had to pay the price(over $1,500). the employees there had told me this car had been having these issues and may be getting a recall for this specific issue. i see there have been over 140 complaints of this exact problem so i'd like to add my instance to that total. i'm lucky i wasn't in an accident as it was very close. it would be nice if the investigation would conclude since there's so many instances with this same occurrence and people could get there money back for whatever repairs they had to pay for.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. while driving various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to engage immediately. when the brake pedal was first depressed, it felt spongy and traveled close to the floorboard in order to stop the vehicle. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the cause of the failure was not determined. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 72,800.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. the contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed at 10 mph, the vehicle failed to respond. the contact mentioned that the brake pedal went to the floorboard and lost pressure. the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure was unable to be determined. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 67,000. the vin was unavailable.
Brake pedal went all the way to the floor and braking distance was longer than normal. i had to turn to the right to clear the car stopping in front of me, hit the curb putting a hole in tire sidewall. brakes have been soft since this occurrence.
We have had multiple instances where our anti-lock brakes have not engaged properly and it leaves us feeling like we don't have brakes at all. the pedal feels like it's going all the way to the floor and it's very soft. when this first started happening (maybe a year or two ago) it would reset itself within a day or two and the brakes would be back to normal. now, if it happens, it's lasting weeks and sometimes over a month. we are currently in a state of them being soft again. we had some snow and ice last week, and one time of applying the brakes and sliding, and it has caused the issue to come back. we are a week out at this point and seeing no improvement in our brakes. we have not had an accident, but have experienced this many times with our fusion. every time this has happened, it is when the brakes are being applied. if we hit a bump or rough spot, or the pavement is wet or icy, while applying our brakes, it causes the issue to happen.
2008 ford fusion 100,000 miles first of all my car is still in drivable ... i'm on a fixed income and i have already replaced the brakes,rotors,master cylinder ! my brakes have had issues for about a year . come to a stop just a regular stop ( like a top light ) brakes go clear to the floor . this has been going on for a year . the last event was in jan 2017 went to come to a stop in heavy traffic and i almost re ended the car in front of me . my brakes were all the way to the floor literally no brakes at all . made it home and my son started replacing everything as mentioned above ..... now still no brakes at all clear to the floor . the abs control module is the only thing not replaced ( which should be a [xxx] recall ) i feel the only reason ford hasn't done a recall is because of the cost . i'm already out $1000.00 now another $1000.00 part plus the labor . i'm 68 and fixed income no car since jan this is ridiculous! i won't purchase another ford and that's all i've purchased in my 68 years !!!! parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2008 ford fusion about 18 months ago i had to brake hard at freeway speed to avoid hitting an animal, resulting in activation of the abs system. immediately afterward the brake pedal became very mushy, requiring pumping of the brake pedal in order to restore a firm pedal. i took it to my mechanic who replaced the master cylinder. this seemed to fix the problem. then last week the same thing happened again; i had to brake hard on a rainy freeway going freeway speeds, again activating the abs system. immediately afterwards the brake pedal became soft requiring pumping of the brakes to temporarily restore a firm pedal. this works once, but after releasing the brake pedal it becomes mushy again. the brake fluid level is good and there are no external brake fluid leaks.
Re: investigation opened 12/20/16 on 2009-2011 fusions for soft brakes after abs deployment i suggest you add the 2008 year model as i have been experiencing the same problem. one month ago, the shop replaced the master cylinder to "fix" the problem, which worked until yesterday when the abs activated again.
Brakes got real mushy and went all the way to floor board at times. mostly when i was stopped on them going to the floor board and when moving just mushy but stopping distance was not nearly as good. *tr
Brake failure on uneven surface
On several occasions i have had an abs event,when braking and running over bumps or potholes, where the brake pedal goes to the floor and then remains very soft . i have had the lines bled 4 or 5 times in the last 2 years. the brakes, even after being bled are very soft and i must continually pump them to stop.
Multiple mechanics. no remedy to fix soft brake pedal. getting harder and harder to stop safely. no specific event occurred to cause this. it has gotten worse over time. i'm going to be forced to buy another vehicle i can not afford right now.
The roads were snow covered sent to stop at for a stop sign the abs brakes worked but after that every time i went to use my brakes i had to put the peddle almost to the floor to stop and almost went though a red light. went out the next day to see if it would do it again and it didn't do it all untill i triped the abs than it started to do the same thing as it was yesterday.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. while attempting to stop the vehicle, the abs activated and the brake pedal functioned abnormally. the braking distance increased. the contact indicated that the brake pedal felt soft during and after the incident. the cause of the failure was not diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 120,000.
I was pulling into a parking spot, the car went over curb and into a tree that stopped me. the brakes seemed to work after that but was i afraid to drive the vehicle. i have taken it to a mechanic he cant find the part because ford doesn't make that part anymore. i'm still without a vehicle. i saw on the news you were investigating 2007-2009 ford fusions for brake pressure failure i believe that is what happened to me.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. while driving approximately 45 mph, the driver slammed on the brakes to avoid rear ending the preceding vehicle. the contact stated that the brakes failed to stop the vehicle promptly and the abs warning indicator illuminated. on another occasion, while driving approximately 20 mph, the brakes failed to stop while the vehicle was at a stop sign. the vehicle crashed into a trailer. there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was damaged, but not towed. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. the failure was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. the contact did not receive notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v384000 (air bags). the failure mileage was approximately 120,000. vin tool confirms parts not available.
Brake failure over bumps or slippery surfaces. abs triggers and lose brake functionality. pedal goes soft and goes all the way to the floor.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. the contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 77,000. updated 03/03/17*lj *as
On 12/19/16,i was northbound on interstate 5 in south orange county, ca in the extreme right lane at approximately 60 mph. a pickup truck towing a small trailer in the lane to my left, suddenly started coming into my lane without signals. i stood on the brakes and the horn. the rear tires started to skid for approximately 2-3 seconds and then stopped skidding as the computer control took over the brakes. i was still hard on the brakes as the truck and trailer returned to the second lane. there was no contact and i was able to resume to the next off ramp. when i started to brake, the pedal felt as if it was almost touching the floor. i was slowing down very slowly and felt that i was not going to stop in time for the light. i drove home slowly and every time i braked, it felt as if i was not going to stop. the next morning, i drove to the ford dealer as they had replaced my front brakes on 12/02/16 (rears ok). the brakes felt normal on the drive over. the service advisor thought it had reset itself after sitting. the dealer could not find anything wrong and said to return if happened again. unknown.
Brakes will go soft. seems to coincide with abs events or rough surfaces. vehicle will still stop, but requires longer to stop. brake pressure seems a lot less during this. issue eventually corrects itself. can't say whether or not it is related to cold weather as it happens in above and below freezing temps. research has led us to suspect the abs/hcu module may have a stuck valve and is causing the brake fluid to bypass and recirculate through the system instead of being applied fully to the brakes. issue occurred after a hard stop in icy conditions which triggered the abs. issue occurred after make a turn on a dry but rough corner. most recent occurrence was around dec 19th, 2016. it was sometime in november 2016 that it happened before that.
December of 2016: while lightly pushing on the brake pedal as i approached a stop sign in snowy weather, i lost my brakes. the rural intersection had a slight incline with no turns, and i first applied the brakes at around 15 m.p.h. there was no sensation (by feel or audible) that my abs had activated and the brake pedal felt soft. pushing harder on the pedal had no effect, and i ended up gliding right through the stop sign. i didn't think anything of it until it happened again a few days later. i have never had any brake issues on this vehicle besides normal wear and tear. i had a rear caliper replaced in 2014, front brake pads and rotors were replaced in 2015. i recently saw on the news that 2007-09 ford fusions were being investigated for brake failure issues.
Loss of break pressure. almost complete loss of break pressure after an abs event. had my breaks fully replaced, but the issue continues. i live in wisconsin, where icy roads make are common, so this is extremely dangerous. brakes will remain soft, but usually i can pump the break pedal to rebuild break pressure.
I have not had a accident (thank god). but after a abs event on 2 separate occasions i lost 95% of my braking power/pedal. the pedal/braking does come back eventually but who wants to guess when it will go out again. i live in michigan so abs events can happen often in the winter. i was turning into a parking lot when i hit a low sewer cover that was wet which caused my wheel to slide just a brief moment . then when i went to use the brakes next to pull into a parking spot there was nothing. that was the first incident. i really cannot say for sure what caused the next one due to being a snow storm outside. dealer says the hcu is the culprit and the part alone is $1200.00. full install is almost $2000.00. i am having it fixed for safety sake because i feel this is not something to be put off. *tr
Dec 25 2013 the abs activated on ice in our driveway, the next day the brakes were soft and delayed in activating. considering age and miles i decided to flush and bleed the brakes, this did not fix the problem until i activated the abs by performing a hard stop on dry pavement. dec 16 2016 the abs activated on ice, once again the brakes became soft, and once again i was able to clear the problem only after activating the abs by braking hard on dry pavement. now i hear in the news my brake symptoms are under investigation.
I was on the highway driving my 2008 ford fusion when a tractor trailer suddenly pulled out in front of my car. i slammed on my brakes to avoid a collision with the tractor trailer and my antilock brake system activated. after my antilock brake system activated, i lost significant brake pressure and the brake pedal went to the floor. luckily i was able to maneuver to the side of the road and use the emergency brake and low range gear to come to a stop even though i was travelling down a steep gradient hill. my car had about 100,000 miles at the time of the incident. my car was towed to a mechanics shop where the mechanic said the hydraulic control unit was stuck. i removed the fuse for the antilock brake system to disable it.
It was slippery out. i was going about 15 mph and headed to stop at a stop sign. the abs engaged. after this happened, there was no pressure left in the pedal - it went nearly to the floor each time i had to stop. i was so scared that i might not stop all the way, for my whole trip home - 20 miles - with the snow getting worse and my son in the car. we were both terrified. seems fine now, but i ended up taking the car to a mechanic, who looked through the whole system and couldn't find anything. this was a $100 cost for inspection....
Brakes- whenever i am driving down the road and preparing to brake, if i hit the smallest pothole or bump in the road, my brake pedal goes to the floor. this has occurred ever since the car was bought in 2013. when this occurs, there is no pressure to apply the brakes. i see this as a very dangerous issue and this needs to be addressed quickly. *tr
My brake pedal goes to the floor when the abs engages making it almost impossible to stop at a safe distance. if you manage to stop the car & pump the brakes many times, the brake pedal is hard gain allowing you to stop. however the next time the abs engages the pedal softens & goes to the floor again. the vehicle was in motion on a city street. a friend with the same vehicle had a similar problem. see nhsta number 10876335.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. while driving 40 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. the vehicle was able to stop after pumping the brake pedal multiple times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear brakes needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred five months later. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 38,000. updated 06/23/17*lj *cn
Brakes have become spongey and a lot of pressure is needed to engage the brakes. the master cylinder and the rotors and brake pads have been serviced and inspected. the fusion has done this multiple times and now has stayed consistently spongey. all services have been done through the ford dealership.
While driving on light snow covered road the brakes would not stop the car. the brake pedal became very soft and had to pushed to the floor to stop the car. it continued for many more minutes before regaining pressure. took it to the dealer and they said it was the brake booster and master cylinder, $1500 later still having issues. *tr
Takata recall the brake pedal can go "soft" when driving on slippery or uneven surfaces. the brakes do not feel like they are working correctly. i have to put it almost to the floor in order for the car to stop. even then it feels that it will not stop in time. during our last snow storm it was completely un reliable. i do not currently feel safe or that they re working correctly at all. it has been going on for some time now. you can feel the abs engage when you use the breaks but it never goes back to the way it was prior to the engagement of the brakes. *tr
When the abs activates the pedal goes to the floor and you have to pump to stop. i had it reset with tester and it is doing it again. i was told the pump and control module are bad need to be replaced. very dangerous and common. 2 other vehicles in shop for the same thing. ford needs to a dress this.
I braked on slippery pavement and the abs system was kicking in to stop me as i skidded. i eventually stopped safely; however, since then the brake pedal has been very soft. it seems as though i have to push the pedal to the floor to operate the brakes. the brake pedal continues to feel soft and i believe that i have adjusted to the softness. sometimes i pump the pedal to try to make sure the vehicle will stop, and it has, but the stopping distance is too long.
Driving along normally, relatively low speed in the city limits, dry conditions, nothing out of the ordinary. pressed the brake pedal to stop the car, and instead the pedal had little to no resistance and went to the floor without stopping or slowing the car. had to pump the pedal a couple of times before getting pedal resistance and slow the car. this has happened 3 times in the past 1 year, most recently this past monday. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford fusion. the contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed at 30 mph, the vehicle hesitated to stop. the contact mentioned that the vehicle eventually coasted to a stop. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the abs controller failed and needed to the replaced along with the master cylinder. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 55,000. .updated 01/23/17 *bf updated 03/13/17.*jb
I bought my 2008 ford fusion sel (v-6) from the local ford dealer in 2009 - the car spent the first year of its life as a rental car. i just watched a feature on cnn about ford fusions brakes failing on occasion. several times since i've owned my fusion, the brakes have failed when pulling head-on into a parking spot - never has this happened during a routine straight-on stop. when this happens, the engine also revs up, making stopping even more difficult. the car lurches 2 to 3 feet before coming to a stop. i have attributed (guessed) the problem to be the brake pedal going down too far causing my overlapping shoe to contact the accelerator pedal (the two pedals are very close to each other). i'm 75 years old and have been driving for 64 years and i have never encountered a problem like this with any vehicle; i've become very apprehensive when driving my fusion because of this random problem. my fusion is also under a takata air bag recall - i received a letter several months ago from ford, but have heard nothing since. *tr
After the abs brake system engages one time the brakes go soft and mushy. you have to press the brake pedal all the way to the floor. it will not reset and go back to normal. it makes trying to stop very difficult and unsafe.
While making a moving left turn that had a dip in the road ,while braking for the turn ,the brake pedal went to almost floor on all subsequent braking. this had happened before temporarily after going over a bump while braking. at this time the car will stop with brake almost all the way down ,but doesn't feel safe at all .being i've heard through the news & complaints that this may be a common occurrence and is being investigated ,i felt i should also register a complaint so hopefully there will be a recall before someone gets injured.
I was driving on a snow covered road and went to brake and the abs kicked in like it should, so everything was normal. then afterwards the brake pedal felt soft and would just about go to the floor when it would be depressed. i did not lose my braking power all together but i would have to pump the brakes or begin to stop far in advance to be able to stop like normal. it was like that for about two weeks and then one day the brake pedal went back to normal, but this is the second time in two years that this has happened and it worries me that this will happen again. i have looked into the situation and from what i've read it seems that it's a problem with the abs control module and is pretty common. most people and even dealerships diagnose this as a faulty master cylinder, worn rotors and a number of other things and they end up replacing what they thought was the issue only to have the same problem occur again! i have not replaced anything in relation to this problem due to the fact of my brakes going back to "normal" and the abs control module being so expensive to fix. so i am taking my chances that this will not happen again until there is a recall on this issue. i believe it is a safety concern because although i did not lose my brakes all-together, i did lose most of my braking power and it could happen again at a time where i need to stop quickly and don't have time to pump the brakes. *tr
When breaking sudden my brake pedal goes to the ground and won't stop. it happened when hitting a bump in the road and breaking and has occurred in slippery conditions. it has been intermittent. i have had my break pads, rotors replaced, all lines checked for pressure no leaks. the car may be very dangerous if we fall in the wrong situation. fortunately that hasn't happened yet. today the brakes are working fine but you just don't know when you have to use them and the pedal goes to the floor. this has happened on several occasions in the past few months.
After sliding on loose gravel and having an abs episode my brake pedal never returned back to normal. my pedal now goes to the floor causing me to have to pump the brakes to come to a stop . this also happened last year but after a few days my pedal returned back to normal . i cannot use my car and this is a very costly repair . *tr
While driving on snowy/icy roads my abs brakes took hold when i needed to stop. however, after that my brakes didn't seem right. they seemed to be soft. my pedal goes further to the floor. not as much pressure on the pedal. i have concern that when i am on snowy roads my brakes do not seem to be reacting like they should. *tr
Absolutely malfunction on gravel and snow, brakes go to floor and vehicle skids and need to pump brakes to return to normal brake brakes system ok mechanic states abs valve body bad. no abs malfunction light ever came on. close to accident with 3 children in car.
After a sudden braking caused the abs to activate in december 2016, the brakes now feel "spongy" and the brake pedal travels almost to the floor before the brakes take effect. this did not occur until after the abs activated. the brakes will stop the car, but the spongy feeling has not gone away, and the brake pedal takes longer to begin braking the car. this was not a problem until the recent abs activation.
Takata recall. on 12/5/16 i was traveling on a busy road to a busy intersection. the vehicle in front of me was going to go through the beginning of a yellow light, then changed their mind and stopped at the light. i slammed on my brakes and the pedal went all the way to the bottom and i couldn't stop, i had to veer to the left lane which was clear and it still was hard to get the car to stop before ending up in the busy intersection. i hit the driver rear corner of the vehicle in front of me that i was trying to avoid hitting. it caused damage to my vehicle's front passenger fender. this wasn't a slippery or wet condition, it was dry road in the middle of the day. i haven't had the damage fixed yet but i can send a picture if it's needed.
2008 ford fusion soft brake pedal problem brake pedal goes to the floor after the abs unit engaged on slippery road. this is the 6th time this has occurred. the first time occurred at 50,000 miles. the car now has 100,000 miles. it recently snowed and the abs unit engaged and now the brake pedal has been going to the floor for the past 3 weeks. the past "soft brake pedal" events have corrected themselves after a few days or a few weeks. currently the soft brake pedal has not corrected itself. apparently a valve gets stuck in the abs unit and can cause this exact problem. the brake system has been checked over and everything is fine which is indicating the abs unit. the "soft pedal" only occurs after the abs unit engages and when the abs unit self corrects, then the brake pedal goes back to normal. this is an extremely dangerous situation and the braking capability of the car is severely compromised. stopping distances are greatly increased which could cause a serious accident. one event occurred on a dry road in the middle of summer when an animal ran in front of the car. the abs unit engaged and then the brake pedal went to the floor. it took several days for the abs unit "self corrected" and the brake pedal returned to normal. the other events occurred on slick pavement. it appears that a valve may get stuck in the hydraulic unit of the abs and this causes the soft brake pedal. when the valve breaks free and returns to its normal position, then the car brakes return to normal. the abs unit is still in failure mode as of today.