brakes failed at low speed and caused an accident
On August 27, 2015 at approximately 5:15 p.m. I was driving to work and my brakes just randomly stopped functioning without any warning whatsoever. I was driving in stop and go traffic in a construction zone approximately 10 to 15 mph. When the traffic stopped, I pushed the brakes but my car was still moving. I tried slamming on the brakes and even though I pushed the brake pedal all the way to the floor, the car never stopped! It just kept moving and the car crashed into the back of a Jeep that was in front of me. Because of the crash, the hood of the car folded into the engine, so I was not able to start it. The accident was very close to a fire station, and the fire and rescue team asked me to put the car in neutral so that they could push the car out of the construction zone, as I was obstructing traffic. The car has a manual transmission, so I put the car into neutral and men from the fire department pushed it. As the car was rolling, I pushed the brakes again and nothing happened, so I had to pull up the parking brake to make the car stop rolling and avoid hitting a brick wall.
Because the car was not drivable, I had it towed. I was not with the car when it was towed, but rather it was delivered to my home by the tow truck driver at approximately 10:50 p.m. the same night. The tow truck driver had a ramp on the back of his truck and as I was coming out of the house to meet him he was yelling at me saying “Lady, your car was so hard to tow! It has no brakes!†The driver has given a recorded statement of the condition of the car when he towed it to my insurance company Allstate.
The same night I filed a complaint with the car's VIN number to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA Report ID Number: 10759864) and I have additionally filed a complaint with the Center for Auto Safety.
I also called Ford Motor Company and filed a complaint (Case # CAS7789402) the very next morning on August 28, 2015.
Even though I was driving relatively slow, the damage caused by the accident amounted to over $6,600.00. I cringe to think what would have happened if I had been going the speed limit and had tried to use the brakes and the car had not stopped? Or what if I had hit a pedestrian? I was on my way to work to teach an evening class at a university with pedestrians walking everywhere. I could have killed someone that night!
My car was repaired at a collision center, who by the way did not repair the brakes, and because I was afraid to drive the car I had it towed to a Ford Dealership for evaluation by a Ford representative. The dealership kept the car for a few days, drove it for approximately 26 miles and the Service Manager said that he and his team have evaluated the brakes and that they were no brake error codes and that the brakes are functioning as they were designed.
I called Ford about 10 or 12 times while my car was at the dealership hoping they would simply switch me out of the car into a different one because I was afraid of driving the car. I also fax and mailed a Certified Letter to Ford expressing everything in this message. I started having terrible crash and crash and roll nightmares about the car that I was driving hitting the brakes and not stopping about 2 or 3 times a week. A family friend let me borrow their car while my car was with Ford. I spoke with a representative that let me know that they were not going to do anything about the car and that I also should be receiving a letter in response.
After that call, I went and got the car from the dealership and had a family friend follow behind me for about 3 hours while I was driving the because I was very afraid of driving the car. I noticed that the brakes had been tightened as they were way more sensitive than they had been prior to my accident. I finally stopped having brake-failure nightmares in February 2016.
I finally received a letter back from Ford expressing that they "regret to learn of the circumstances" I described, but that there were some situations where Ford Motor Company cannot be of direct help, and that my situation was such an instance. They encouraged me to seek subrogation help from my insurance company. And they repeated that Ford will "not be able to offer any type of assistance with this matter."
As far as I know, my insurance company was not successful with that.
brakes failed at low speed and caused an accident On August 27, 2015 at approximately 5:15 p.m. I was driving to work and my brakes just randomly stopped functioning without any warning whatsoever. I was driving in stop and go traffic in a construction zone approximately 10 to 15 mph. When the traffic stopped, I pushed the brakes but my car was still moving. I tried slamming on the brakes and even though I pushed the brake pedal all the way to the floor, the car never stopped! It just kept moving and the car crashed into the back of a Jeep that was in front of me. Because of the crash, the hood of the car folded into the engine, so I was not able to start it. The accident was very close to a fire station, and the fire and rescue team asked me to put the car in neutral so that they could push the car out of the construction zone, as I was obstructing traffic. The car has a manual transmission, so I put the car into neutral and men from the fire department pushed it. As the car was rolling, I pushed the brakes again and nothing happened, so I had to pull up the parking brake to make the car stop rolling and avoid hitting a brick wall.
Because the car was not drivable, I had it towed. I was not with the car when it was towed, but rather it was delivered to my home by the tow truck driver at approximately 10:50 p.m. the same night. The tow truck driver had a ramp on the back of his truck and as I was coming out of the house to meet him he was yelling at me saying “Lady, your car was so hard to tow! It has no brakes!†The driver has given a recorded statement of the condition of the car when he towed it to my insurance company Allstate.
The same night I filed a complaint with the car's VIN number to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA Report ID Number: 10759864) and I have additionally filed a complaint with the Center for Auto Safety.
I also called Ford Motor Company and filed a complaint (Case # CAS7789402) the very next morning on August 28, 2015.
Even though I was driving relatively slow, the damage caused by the accident amounted to over $6,600.00. I cringe to think what would have happened if I had been going the speed limit and had tried to use the brakes and the car had not stopped? Or what if I had hit a pedestrian? I was on my way to work to teach an evening class at a university with pedestrians walking everywhere. I could have killed someone that night!
My car was repaired at a collision center, who by the way did not repair the brakes, and because I was afraid to drive the car I had it towed to a Ford Dealership for evaluation by a Ford representative. The dealership kept the car for a few days, drove it for approximately 26 miles and the Service Manager said that he and his team have evaluated the brakes and that they were no brake error codes and that the brakes are functioning as they were designed.
I called Ford about 10 or 12 times while my car was at the dealership hoping they would simply switch me out of the car into a different one because I was afraid of driving the car. I also fax and mailed a Certified Letter to Ford expressing everything in this message. I started having terrible crash and crash and roll nightmares about the car that I was driving hitting the brakes and not stopping about 2 or 3 times a week. A family friend let me borrow their car while my car was with Ford. I spoke with a representative that let me know that they were not going to do anything about the car and that I also should be receiving a letter in response.
After that call, I went and got the car from the dealership and had a family friend follow behind me for about 3 hours while I was driving the because I was very afraid of driving the car. I noticed that the brakes had been tightened as they were way more sensitive than they had been prior to my accident. I finally stopped having brake-failure nightmares in February 2016.
I finally received a letter back from Ford expressing that they "regret to learn of the circumstances" I described, but that there were some situations where Ford Motor Company cannot be of direct help, and that my situation was such an instance. They encouraged me to seek subrogation help from my insurance company. And they repeated that Ford will "not be able to offer any type of assistance with this matter."
As far as I know, my insurance company was not successful with that.
- Tarra C., Annnandale, VA, US