On multiple occasions i have had difficulty with stopping the vehicle regardless of the weather conditions. i have had my brakes checked repeatedly and been informed that my pads, rotors, master cylinder are all in great condition. i have had the brakes bled, brake fluid change and it has not rectified the issue. on more than one occasion i have either ended up on the side of the highway or almost hit another vehicle trying to stop. there is no forewarning as to when this happens. the brake pad is extremely spongy and at times when being pushed goes nearly to the floor. this has happened on the street, on the highway, the worse and most scariest incident was driving highway 77-south through wv, going through the mountains. i have counted 13 incidents of this over the past year. there have been more incidents over the span of 3 years but on each previous occasion i was told that air gets in the brake line and to pump the brakes. this clearly has not elevated the issue. the most recent evaluation by a mechanic assured me that my brakes themselves were in good condition.
I was driving and needed to stop quickly on uneven pavement. when i pushed the brake pedal, it was almost like something slipped and the brakes would not catch. i then lost the pressure in my brakes and was unable to come to a complete stop. i was able to slow the car down and pump the brakes to get the pressure back. but it has not functioned the same since and the braking system is unreliable at best. i've since had brake pads, rotors, and the master cylinder replaced with not much improvement. i will be trying to replace the abs hcu unit. i really think this needs to be a recall at this point. i drive a maximum of 10 miles most days and am not hard on my vehicle. it should not break from braking on uneven pavement.
Brake pedal mushy goes to floor had to have abs replaced to correct car would not stop in a short distance only 90000 miles mechanic says it a problem with a lot of fusions 2007-2009 years
Initial experience was abs engaging while making a turn thru antiskid gravel. pedal immediately went soft, luckily not on heavy traveled road. returned home, disconnected battery, reconnected after a while, issue seemed to have resolved itself. next incident was 12/9/17 during a snow event here in ne pa. when i crested a slight hill and applied the brakes to slow for stopped traffic. (high traveled road) abs engaged, pedal immediately went soft. i was unable to control the car with braking, so i steered off the road to the right shoulder area. to avoid striking a object head on, (cemetery headstone) i was able to steer back to the left, but then had to avoid a utility pole. i was concerned a) with electrical wires coming down, b) air bag deployment since vehicle is one affected by takata switches. i avoided the pole, but ended up striking a support guy wire. this resulted in over $3,000.00 damage to front of vehicle, but luckily airbags did not deploy. however, had the guy wire not stopped me i would have slid back out into traffic, as i was on snow covered grassy surface. vehicle not driven after that. dealer looked at vehicle in january, no codes in computer. flushed and refilled brake system, had normal braking. recently went around same corner as initial entry, (early march) problem immediately recurred, pedal almost to floor. as with other posters, pumping pedal does restore some brake capability, but only for that instance. pedal is soft again directly after. i have spent $2,000.00 already, and dealer says either master cylinder or hcu, or both. seems to be hcu based on other complaints. car has 95,xxx miles. nhtsa needs to get on ford to address this issue pronto, before there is a death. i purchased this vehicle based on cr reports. i am not happy. it seems once they have your money, they don't care. car not purchased new, had low mileage, one previous owner.
I had to hit the brakes really hard as someone pulled out in front of me. moments later the brake pedal goes straight to the floor. the hcu is stuck. the brakes are soft and it takes significantly longer to stop.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while driving 40 mph, the abs failed and the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard while attempting to stop the vehicle. there were no warning indicators illuminated prior to the failure. the contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing and no failures were found. it was unknown if a dealer or manufacturer were contacted. the failure mileage was 82,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while driving 50 mph, traffic came to an abrupt stop. the brake pedal was depressed, but failed to adequately slow down the vehicle. the contact stated that the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard. additionally, the brake pedal became spongy. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that either the abs module or the abs controller failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. blaise alexander ford located at 2265 old turnpike rd, lewisburg, pa 17837, (570) 524-7267, was notified of the failure. the manufacturer was not contacted. the approximate failure mileage was 50,300.
On three separate occasions over the past 4-5 years, my brakes have gone "soft". the first time was the second i started the car and began to leave my parking spot, the second time was after i hit a pot hole on regular streets, and the 3rd time was after i had to brake suddenly on the highway. all three times it felt like i had to push my brake entirely to the floor to stop. the last time resulted in such extended braking times, that i had to swerve to avoid hitting the person in front of me. the first time did not last very long, but the other two times required time and a lot of pumping the brakes to make the brake feel normal again. i have not had to take it in to the mechanic and i do not have insurance or police reports for the incidents. i believe this problem matches the current open investigation (nhtsa action number pe16017)
While driving straight on an asphalt street (no unusual road surface conditions that i can recall) i braked hard to avoid a vehicle that ran a stop sign immediately in front of me. since then any time i press on the brakes they are spongy for the majority of the press down and the stopping distance is increased. the reduced braking of the car is even, it doesn't pull to one side or the other. there don't appear to be any problems with the brakes at the wheels and the problem is evidently symptomatic of a problem with the anti-lock braking system.
For the last few months i have had intermittent problems with my braking system. many times, when i would apply the brakes as i was going over uneven surfaces or gravel, the abs system would engage and the brake pedal would lose pressure. during this time i would have to apply a much greater force to the pedal to get the car to stop. almost every time this would happen, i would not stop where i was intending to, but would go by my intended target. until today, this has not caused problems. however, today, i was traveling at a speed of approximately 25mph as i was going down a hill and approaching a turn. as i was applying the brakes the abs system engaged unexpectedly, the pedal lost all pressure and went straight to the floor, and the car was not slowing down at all. i lost control of the vehicle, went over a curb, hit an embankment and finally came to a stop. i had the vehicle looked at, immediately, by my local mechanic. he told me that the general braking system seemed to be in good working order (pads, rotors, calipers, hoses, pressure, master cylinder, etc...) he mentioned that this model of vehicle had some problems with the abs systems and recommended that i take it to my local ford dealer. i have an appointment with them this week. in the meantime, i researched the abs issue he mentioned and found the open investigation into exactly my problem. this is another complaint showing that this problem is very real and quite dangerous. nhtsa action number: pe16017
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to come to a complete stop. the contact applied excessive force to the brake pedal. the contact was concerned of a future injury. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the rear passenger side caliper and brakes needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. the vehicle was then taken back to the independent mechanic where the abs modulator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: cas13938410. the approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
After the abs kicks in brake pedal becomes soft brake pedal goes to the floor brakes remain soft after engaging abs
Driving 55 mpd, then went to turn and no brake response after pushing pedal after abs engaged, nearly went off the road, continued to have to push pedal all the way to floor to get any response; went away after car restarted for now; dealer said needs abs hydraulic control unit replaced
Brake pedal is soft after abs activated resulting in unexpectedly increased stopping distance. i recently had the mast cylinder replaced to fix this, but the problem persists. after several hard pumps of the pedal, it's firmness is restored.
Hit patch of ice and had abs system engage. immediately afterwards the brakes became soft and wouldn't engage until the pedal was almost to the floor. car has 70k miles on it.
Brake pedal went to the floor while braking. this happened three (3) times while the wife was driving the car; had a hard time stopping. twice in 2017 and once in 2018. the events happened while trying to stop for a stop sign on city streets.
Driving in light snow approx. 20 mph, stopping at a stop sign pedal went to floor and remained soft, pumping pedal brought it up again slightly but stopping is very slow. after not moving it for a day, pedal came back up and seemed fine. second time this has happened in 6 months. it is now in the repair shop as i feel it is unsafe to drive. mechanics have said it is mechanical either master cylinder or abs valve but there is no test to determine what the problem is according to ford mechanics. there are only 73000 miles on the car. seems this happens when it is wet or snowing and it is random when it happens, however once the pedal goes to the floor it does not come back up to normal until after the car sits for a day. this is a very expensive repair and if it turns out to be the valve there is a 3 day wait to get the part, in the meantime i am forced to rent a car also. i have heard that ford is well aware of this issue but is not addressing the situation or taking responsibility for poor design and engineering. in the meantime the consumer is forced to either pay for the repair or get rid of an unsafe car.
During a braking event on a snowy, slippery surface, my abs was activated. i was slowing down from ~50mph to 0mph in order to make a turn. after my abs activated during the initial application of the brake, my pedal became soft and i can now press it all the way to the floor. due to this increased brake pedal travel, it takes me a significantly longer distance/time to slow my car down. if i were to apply the brakes normally, i would not be able to stop in time and could end up in an intersection or in an accident. this has happened once before and my brakes were bled to 'address' the issue. the issue now has reoccurred after another abs event. these incidents are similar to what is described in the open nhtsa investigation pe16-017.
Everything described in investigation pe16017 happened to my fusion this year. the first incident occurred when the abs kicked in while driving in motion on a wet road. immediately after the brakes were mushy - almost to the floor. pumping the brakes restored hydraulics, and the problem did not reoccur until 12/24/17. that night the abs kicked in multiple times while moving on a snowy / icy road. brakes went mushy and almost to the floor. pumping the brakes restored hydraulics but only temporarily. if i let off the brakes for any amount of time, the next press of the brakes results in the same thing occurring. mechanic says the abs requires a computer reset to resolve and that this may occur every time the abs kicks in. i did not have an accident but it would be easy to rear end someone since you expect pressure much sooner than happens.
Issue happened 4 times in last year and a half. slight skid twice on wet pavement, once on stone driveway, and once on wet metal sensor plate leading into toll booth. all 4 times were at low speed. two times i was turning. two times i was just slowing to a stop. brake pedal went soft and braking distance increased. soft pedal gradually improved over a period of weeks, but still felt softer than it should be and i questioned the reliability. the first time it happened, i took to a mechanic who couldn't find anything wrong. the last time i took to a ford dealership, told them the symptoms, and asked them to check the hcu for the abs. they told me the master cylinder was shot and had to be replaced and they could only check the hcu afterwards, which turned out to be faulty. so they ended up replacing both the master cylinder and the hcu. the bill was $2000 but the brakes now feel like they are supposed to.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. the contact stated that when she had to abruptly apply pressure to the brake pedal, the vehicle did not stop. there were no warning indicators illuminated before or after the failure. ford lincoln of columbia (115 s james campbell blvd in columbia, tn) diagnosed the failure, but the results were not available. the vehicle was not repaired in the past; reported problem but ford couldn't duplicate issue. but the failure recurred. seems to be a failure with the abs sensor. slowing down, hit bumper press suddenly harder on brakes abs pedal goes down to floor, car speeds up! currently contact is not driving the car. the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 150,000. *bf*jb
The road was wet, and during a hard stop going down hill, the brakes shook, went to the floor and became spongy afterwards. this has happened to me several times, usually in the rain or after driving over a bump or pothole. the most recent time before today, the brakes were spongy for months before returning to normal responsiveness. the open investigation "pe 16-017" perfectly describes my problem.
2009 ford fusion - brake system: i have been having trouble with my vehicle for over a year. when the anti-lock brake system (abs) engages while my car is in motion due to sudden stops, braking on wet surface, crossing uneven surface (railroad tracks) while braking, or maintaining speed while crossing a pothole my brakes become "spongy" immediately after. the brakes feel as if the brake pedal lost pressure requiring me to press my brake all the way to the floor. this has increased my stopping distance and has become a safety concern. these occurrences happened on a city street and/or highway and has happened going straight or turning. the speeds in which my abs has engaged occurred at or below the speed limit of the road i was on (i.e. 15 mph to 70 mph). at first, i would pump the brakes and my brakes would return to normal within an hour or so. it has gotten worse over the year or so and currently my brakes do not return to normal and are still in the "spongy" state. last month i had my master cylinder replaced and i thought that had fixed the problem up until yesterday when my abs engaged again crossing train tracks while decelerating. my brakes are currently in the "spongy" state due to yesterdays event. i am uncertain to what the cause of the problem is but can speculate from online forums that it could be the hydraulic control unit. please contact me if you need any additional information. i do not currently have my invoice from the master cylinder replacement with me but can obtain it if needed once i get home.
Driving car in inclement weather. was going forward ( straight) on a local road with a downhill grade at a speed of approximately 15 mph. used brake to maintain speed as i was going down the hill. the abs engaged briefly as expected due to snow on the road. removed foot from brake briefly but when i stepped on the brake again to stop at the stop sign the brake did not engage as it usually does but instead went almost all the way to the floor before engaging. stopping distance was significantly longer that usual. if i had not allowed extra stopping distance as a precaution due to the weather i would have driven through the stop sign on to a busy road. once stopped i turned left onto a flat straight road. as i drove forward going approximately 25 mph i tested the brakes 4 additional times over a distance of approximately a mile and a half. each time the brake petal went almost to the floor before it engaged. when it did engage it took much longer to slow the car down. i pulled into a flat parking lot and called a family member to check the area where the car was parked for evidence of a brake fluid leak. there was none. i kept the car running for approximately 10 - 15 minutes thinking the issue might be related to the cold ( it was about 20 degree fahrenheit). after allowing the car to run i tested the breaking again by accelerating and stopping in the parking lot. the brakes appeared to be working as usual. i am having the vehicle towed to the dealership as i feel it is unsafe to drive.
Abs engaged while braking on icy road. after that brakes were mushy and could barely stop. was very scared to drive for fear i wouldn't be able to stop.
Spongy brake pedal after abs is triggered. issue lasts several days to several weeks. longer than expected braking distances. need to push the pedal almost to the floor to get the car to stop.
Was driving about 10 mph in a parking lot while it was 28 farenheit out . someone backed up without looking and i pushed on my brake to stop and the pedal went to the floor and i hit the vehicle. felt like the abs turned on for a second then i lost all braking power. the parking lot was not slippery. caused a scuffed bumper and bent license plate. this is very dangerous. what if i was at highway speeds and had to make a emergency stop. im afraid to drive the car now. did a quick online search and it turns out alot of people have this problem with the ford fusions. other person had no insurance so im stuck with a small amount of damage to my car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while driving in the snow, the brake pedal was depressed, but required excessive force to stop the vehicle. the abs warning indicator illuminated. an independent mechanic was contacted. the manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 99,000. the vin was not provided.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while driving, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. the contact mentioned that the vehicle stopped, but it was very minimum stopping action. in addition, while the vehicle was parked for an hour, the contact had to pump the brake pedal in order for the vehicle to function properly. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 68,500. *tt
Driving in snow, aprroximately 25 mph. braked hard enough to engage abs. brakes are now spongy and go all the way to the floor before engaging. very dangerous. happened a couple years ago as well, but resolved itself within a day, so i did not research it. after researching this time, 99% sure it's a faulty hcu and there have been 140+ complaints regarding this problem. ford needs to do the right thing!
Had the first snow of the year in michigan. normal day on my way into work, i came up to a stop light and applied the brakes as usual. when in did this my abs kicked in and the brake pedal went to the floor. at this point i had no brakes and luckly there were no other cars in the intersection because i blew right through it. i then pumped the brakes franticaly, they slowly started to come back but were still very soft. they eventually returned to normal but this still reoccurs every time my abs turns on. did some research and come to find out it is a common issue with the abs hcu. ford really needs to issue a recall on this. somebody is going to get killed, very serious safety issue.
3 times in the last 2 months, my car's abs has engaged and i lost most braking ability afterwards. twice it happened while running over manhole covers while slowing, when abs shouldn't have gone off. once was in snow, during gently braking which also shouldn't have engaged it. after each time, the brakes were immediately extremely soft and spongey, going all the way to the floor before working. once i actually coasted thru the stop sign and ended up in the road before being able to stop, thankfully no one was coming. when we bled the brakes, they would be firm and normal again, until the next time abs engaged. research and mechanic says it's likely the abs hcu, an expensive repair that we cannot afford. my research also turned up that this is a common problem in these years of fusion, and that there is an open investigation into it: pe 16-017. please consider recalling these cars and fixing the units! the alternative to not being able to fix it is to pull the abs fuse, making the abs inactive, and that is not safe. but it is what i would guess most of us will do, as we're not driving 8-10 yr old cars because we're well-off financially, and a $1200 repair is a significant portion of the car's value. my car has 109,000 miles if it matters. thank you for your consideration.
Last week i was braking for a red light downtown in the city where i work when i went over a large bump in the road. the abs briefly kicked on, followed by the pedal dropping to the floor from a complete loss of brake pressure. this caused me to continue past the red light and through the intersection. luckily no one else was in the intersection at the time. after frantically pumping my brakes repeatedly, i finally regained a little brake pressure about a half a block from where the incident occurred. my brakes remained very mushy, however, for six days until yesterday. i went over a large pothole in a city street as i was preparing to turn into my neighborhood when suddenly, i completely regained all braking pressure. this is not the first time this has happened. something similar has happened at least three different times that i can recall over the past three years. once, i was braking on a busy bridge during rush hour and hit a patch of ice, causing me to lose braking pressure and narrowly avoid a rear end collision. another instance occurred when i had to make a hard brake on a bumpy highway while it was raining. the pedal again dropped to the floor, causing me to veer across a lane of oncoming highway traffic and into a parking lot before i could get it to stop. the most recent instance before the incident last week happened on a clear day when i was braking over a rough patch of city street. all instances resulted in a loss of pressure, the brake pedal dropping to the floor, and mushy brakes for a period of time afterward. the last instance made me fear for my safety, especially after realizing this is a continuing pattern. i am filing this formal complaint in hopes that something can be done before someone is seriously injured or killed as a result of this malfunction.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when it was depressed. the failure occurred on several occasions. an independent mechanic was able to duplicate the failure, but was unable to determine the cause. the failure was not repaired. the local dealer (sterman and larkin ford in pittsburgh, pa) was notified of the failure. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 106,000.
The abs system is faulty, the brakes lock up when on the least amount of ice or snow and now the pedal requires pumping or it will go to the floor. it used to correct itself but now seems to be permanent. while i have been able to stop the car i am concerned about my safety, what if it stops working at all? if can happen from any speed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford fusion. while driving 35 mph, the brakes failed when the brake pedal was depressed. the contact stated that the brake pedal traveled all the way to the floorboard and had to be pumped several times until the brakes engaged. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the failure was unable to be duplicated. the contact stated that the control module was replaced, which was unrelated to the brakes. several days later, while the contact's son was driving 40 mph, the brakes failed once again. the driver had to pump the brakes several times until they engaged. as a result, the contact's son rear ended another vehicle. there were no injuries and a police report was filed. the contact stated that north brothers ford (33300 ford rd, westland, mi 48185, (800) 586-4203) was contacted and stated that there were no recalls. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to nhtsa. the failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Once abs kicks on, hydraulic control unit makes brakes soft and dangerous, cannot stop. has happened multiple times with car over years. i have notice thousands of people over the internet describing same incident. recall immediately.
Car in motion and an abs event is triggered - brake pedal suddenly loses pressure and the vehicle stopping distance increases. i believe this issue is related to the hcu beginning to fail as symptoms are exactly as described in the following nhtsa investigation. investigation: pe 16-017 date opened: 12/20/2016 investigator: stephen mchenry reviewer: paul simmons approver: michael brown subject: extended braking distance this has happened multiple times.
Once the abs mode is activated from a hard braking the front wheel locks up leaving no braking available until the fusion is almost stopped. once the vehicle has slowed significantly the locked wheel releases and brake function returns to normal. the dealership that sold the vehicle did replace the master cylinder but it made no difference once hard braking was applied. this situation gets worse during inclement weather allowing the front wheel to lock up much easier and quicker. it worries me that this is their only vehicle and they always have their 3 children with them.
Recently i had difficulty getting my car to come to a full stop. it took much longer to stop my car and more effort to get it to stop. i had to depress the brake pedal significantly harder at a an extended period of time to the point panic set in because i feared my car would not stop before it entered the intersection. while braking i didn't have the usual feel of braking either. it didn't feel like the brakes were functioning. my car kept going even though i was pressing firmly on the brakes. it felt like i couldn't press hard enough to get a response from my brakes. my car was moving at a low to average speed (maybe 30mph) when this occured. it was not the first time this occured. it was on a dry local road on a clear day, approaching an intersection.
While driving on a highway going approximately 70 mph, i took evasive action to avoid a deer in the roadway. i veered right and hit the brakes. initially i felt the abs engage and felt, through the brake pedal, a series of thuds. after about a second the brake system failed almost completely and the vehicle continued to move despite the brake pedal being all the way to the floor.
Takata recall i was in a wreak because the brakes in the floor when i was driving in the rain on the highway. the air bag in the steering wheel came out.
After abs engages, the brake pedal goes spongy, brake pedal goes to the floor while breaking. this has happened on quite a few occurrences. i feel like this is a dangerous situation while driving at highway speeds as you may have to break suddenly.
Takata recall, my brakes failed my daughter and me several times i had the brakes replace thinking that was the problem but on 11/07 /17 i was existing off the freeway coming to the red light with the blessings of the lord the light was yellow i braked it wouldn't stop the person on my left waiting for the light to turn green notice i couldn't stop they waited until i made my left turn that was scary please tell me what i should do to solve this problem. [xxx] please don't wait until i have an accident i would loose my brakes and they will go all the way to the floor pumping them didn't help so i would drive in the far right lane when approaching a light or a car i would start pumping and pray all the way to my destination city street and highways been blessed so far. thanks [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Hydraulic control unit has or is failing, causing loss of brake fluid pressure and increased compression of brake pedal to stop car. event happens when car is in motion. if a valve in the hcu is stuck open or closed, brake fluid is not moving through system properly, and this could cause loss of braking power or the ability to stop at all.
Takata recall i received the notice to have my airbags replaced & bolton ford has not responded. my driver door will not open from the inside of the vehicle & my brakes need me to go all the way to the floor before the brakes stop the car. car was stationery when driver door would not open & driving coming to a stop when brakes need pushing to the floor to work properly.
The abs system will engage and the brake pedal will go to the floor with no pressure and very little braking when going over railroad tracks. this has happened at least 3 times in the past 2 months and it doesn't matter whether you are using the brakes or not when going over the tracks. the brake pedal will not reset until the car has been stopped, turned off and restarted the next day.
Two times in three months - after abs event, the brakes go all the way to the floor. stopping at high speeds with such little grab in the brakes makes travel extremely dangerous. i beleive it is the common hcu problem... actually im certain. ford should issue a recall for this. im sure there is a lot more people who havent reported.
Continually noticed that increased pressure was needed to operate vehicle brakes. after incident where abs system was required at highway speeds to avoid collision, the braking seemed to deteriorate. after several visits to local mechanic, and research by local mechanic, it was found that air was found in the abs hydraulic motor, degrading performance of the abs braking system. mechanic was able to bleed the air from the lines, but advised that this would eventually occur again, and may require a new abs hydraulic motor. (mechanic advised that a new motor would have the same issue.)
Initially, on a wet city street at 45 mph, the brakes failed with the pedal going to the floor. pumping the brake seemed to restore the brakes. several weeks later, travelling at 35 mph on a dry city street, my brakes failed as i approached a yellow traffic light. with the brake pedal depressed to the floor, i travelled through the intersection on a red light. i took a back road to get back to my point of origin and was unable to stop for any of the stop signs. the master cylinder and the booster were replaced but did not solve the problem. after weeks of being checked out by a ford dealer, the vehicle was returned to me but the brakes are still soft and feel unsafe. it sometimes feels like the car accelerates after i depressed the brake pedal before the braking kicks in. a longer stopping distance is required.