10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
86,413 miles

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problem #21

Oct 192010

F-150 8-cyl

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

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #20

Apr 042012

F-150 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 157,000 miles
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

- Toms River, NJ, USA

problem #19

Dec 012011

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • 76,825 miles
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.

- Reynoldsburg, OH, USA

problem #18

Nov 232011

F-150

  • 204,000 miles
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.

- Troy, OH, USA

problem #17

Sep 222009

F-150 8-cyl

  • 76,500 miles
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 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.

- Trafford, PA, USA

problem #16

Aug 292011

F-150

  • 100,000 miles
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.

- Robbinsville, NC, USA

problem #15

Mar 092011

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • 162,000 miles
1999 Ford F150 brake failure do to brake lines rusted through.

- Camden, OR, USA

problem #14

Jul 042010

F-150

  • 135,356 miles
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. Updated 08/01/11 both straps failed due to rust. There was no fuel spill. Updated 08/02/11

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

problem #13

Apr 162009

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
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!!!!

- Mt. Laurel, NJ, USA

problem #12

Jul 302010

F-150

  • 146,000 miles
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.

- Belmar, NJ, USA

problem #11

Feb 152010

F-150

  • 62,000 miles
1999 Ford F-159 ABS light on and red brake light on intermittently with change in brake "feel".

- Fleming Island , FL, USA

problem #10

Aug 082008

F-150

  • 62,000 miles
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 Ford 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 !!!

- Trafford, PA, USA

problem #9

Jun 292009

F-150

  • 102,000 miles
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.

- Granville, OH, USA

problem #8

Jan 052009

F-150

  • 78,000 miles
ABS failure on a Ford 1999 F-150. I have had the ABS fail twice and this time it has been in the Ford dealers shop for over 30 days. It is at morristown Ford in morristown, tn.37814. Each time my brakes have failed and almost caused a serious accident. This time this repair was not at my fault, service writer stated it had moisture in the module and needs to be replaced? morristown replaced this module in Aug. 2007, I feel I was sold a defective part and now the ABS module needs to be replaced at a cost of over $600. I feel Ford should be responsible for this repair since the part that was replace must have been defective since service writer told me it was missing grease that should have prevented moisture. Please help!

- Russellville, TN, USA

problem #7

Oct 012008

F-150 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 86,000 miles
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 updated 11/18/08.

- Calhoun, GA, USA

problem #6

Sep 012008

F-150

  • 91,000 miles
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.

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

problem #5

May 072008

F-150

  • 109,000 miles
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.

- Merrimack, NH, USA

problem #4

Aug 142006

F-150 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 86,000 miles
: 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.

- Norwood, MA, USA

problem #3

Jun 182004

F-150 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
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.

- Mt Iron, MN, USA

problem #2

Sep 032003

(reported on)

F-150 8-cyl

  • 16,000 miles
Brakes lock up if the vehicle sits a couple days or when it rains.

- Lebanon, TN, USA

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