10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 38 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 9 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 91,585 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
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.
- Washington, PA, USA
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.
- Zeeland, MI, USA
I lose brake pressure after the ABS is activated on slippery roads or uneven/bumpy roads while turning. Once the ABS activates and stops, the brakes seems to not to fully recover where the pedal has to go to the floor to get minimal brake pressure and it takes a longer distance to stop.
- Erie, PA, USA
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.
- Findlay, OH, USA
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.
- Jeffersonville, IN, USA
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.
- Westland, MI, USA
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!
- Mooresville, NC, USA
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.
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
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.
- Monroe, MI, USA
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 Fusion. Other person had no insurance so im stuck with a small amount of damage to my car.
- Loon Lake, WA, USA
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.
- Saranac, MI, USA
I am writing about my daughters car.the car was operating normally when she had to apply the brakes hard and the ABS engaged. The next time she applied the brakes the pedal went to the floor. The car would not stop, and passed through a red light into the intersection. After that the brakes slowly seemed to come back to normal operation. About 2 months later she was making a turn and hit some rough pavement and a pothole, and felt the ABS engage. On the next stop the pedal again went to the floor and she had trouble stopping the car. The brakes are now working, but not nearly as well as they used to. My local mechanic says he has seen this problem before on other Ford Fusion and that the ABS hydraulic control unit is defective and needs to be replaced. He stated that the part and the job is very expensive. At this point I do not feel safe allowing my daughter drive.
- Coram, NY, USA
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.
- Lees Summit, MO, USA
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.
- Arnold, MO, USA
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.
- Sudbury, MA, USA
Braking failure 3 times from August 2016 - October 2017. Each time vehicle was traveling between 30 and 50 miles per hour when brake pedal was pushed, and then brake pedal 'went soft' or 'went to the floor' only slowly slowing the vehicle. Each time car was successfully pulled to a safe stop. Braking returned to normal after sitting over night. Brakes serviced after first two incidents. After Oct 2017 incident problem was duplicated by service tech by breaking quickly and turning wheel on freeway off ramp, I don't know how fast they were traveling. Have been told that problem is ABS pump.
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
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.
- Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA
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.
- Reston, VA, USA
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.
- Ada, OK, USA
- Louisville, KY, USA