The contact owns a 1997 Ford Taurus. During brake application at 25 mph the pedal went to the floor. He had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. A mechanic from a local repair facility stated that the brake line was leaking. No repairs were made. The failure and current mileages were 90000.

- Clifton, NJ, USA

Brake line failure.

- Akron, OH, USA

I am the owner of a 1997 Taurus. Approximately one week ago, the brakes failed completely while I was exiting off a highway; the pedal went all the way down to the floor. Since I was relatively close to home, I drove cautiously back to my house, after which I called a tow truck the take the car to my mechanic. A couple of hours later I received a call from the shop informing me that the entire brake line system was rusted & rotted away and that the fluid had completely leaked out. The mechanic said in his 20 years he had never seen a brake line system rust so completely in such a young car. In fact, he said, it should basically last the life of the car, never needing to be replaced. After all was said and done, the job cost almost $800. I asked to see the old lines and couldn"T believe how rusted and rotted they had become. There was no protective sheathing on the lines. I feel that I should be reimbursed for these repairs since it should have never have happened in the first place. The mechanic did mention that he had recently been seeing a lot of young Ford models coming in with the same problem or rusting and failing brake line systems. Also, while searching the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website for similar defects, I found complaints lodged about the rotting of the hard tubing, causing the brake lines to burst. In these cases, the cars were 1997 Taurus". my mechanic fixed the entire line system, completely replacing any old parts with new, custom made tubes. I kept the old tubing just so I can show Ford what their cars are relying on for stopping. The entire job came to almost $800.

- Seaford, NY, USA

Brake line burst on 2 different Ford cars in same week! and in both cases it was rot, and in both cases it was the hard tubing, not the hoses. One a 1997, so it was only 7 years old. Brake line rotted enough to burst during firm stop. The new ABS style brake lines are dangerously thinner than the older style brake lines. They also seem to have electrostatic properties that cause premature rotting in some cases. The piece that broke was much more rotted than the other pieces attached the holding clips actually causes more rotting because water collects in the open space where it hold the thinner brake line. It is extremely dangerous that these brake lines are being made much thinner. Also on the 1997 Ford Taurus the brake lines hang down lower than other suspension in the middle and present a hazard during winter when cars may be driven across frozen snow. Ford engineers need to go back to school. Brake line tubing walls must be made thicker. I have had many cars and driven them over 100K miles each and never had a brake line burst for rot before. This car broke at around 80K I think. Date is approximate...I'm not going to look up the repair bill right now. Ford could easily be number one if they stop doing stupid things like this.

- Deland, FL, USA