Check Brake System

[MotoWojo]

I had a pretty good scare on my way to work this morning. About 22 miles into my 25 mile commute, I was exiting off the highway and when I started braking, the brake pedal was not moving, and the truck was not slowing down. I am a big guy, and I ended up slowing the truck down, but I was really stepping into the pedal, which was super firm and hardly budging. There is a gas station not far from the exit and I was able to nurse it into the parking lot, but even at a crawl, I really had stand on the brake pedal to get it to slow down and eventually stop. Once stopped, I shut the truck off and opened the door and closed it again and restarted the truck. An error message popped up warning "Check Brake System". Even while parked, the brake pedal was super firm. I was thinking I somehow lost the brake assist, but man that pedal was hard to push, and there is no way I could have made a sudden stop, if I needed to. The other thing to note, was that it sounded like the ABS was kicking in, at least the noise of it, even though the pavement was dry and I am positive I was not sliding at all. Anyway after sitting there for 10 minutes, thinking I would need to call roadside assistance, I started the truck up and the warning was gone and the pedal felt normal, so I made it the remaining few miles into work. At 7:00am, when the local Ford dealer opened, I called them and they are getting me in tomorrow to look at it. I did drive it home, but I was super cautious the whole way. I did a search, but could not find anything on the forum, has anyone else experienced this? If so, what was the culprit?

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[Dr3wDrop]

That is terrifying. Hopefully they don’t say the dreaded “we could not replicate”

 

[rcairflr]

In this situation, can the Emergency brake be used?

 

[MotoWojo]

In this situation, can the Emergency brake be used?

I didn't even think about that, I was in total panic mode, luckily there was no one in front of me at the time. I checked for codes with my torque app and nothing shows up, so it will probably be a wasted trip to the dealer?

 

[SICKQK]

Is your truck equipped with AEB?

Just curious.

 

[Rangeo]

In this situation, can the Emergency brake be used?

don’t mean to be ‘that guy’ but what you refer to as the emergency brake is just a parking brake. Would it help you stop? I’m sure it would but it wouldnt Be able to stop you as abruptly as ABS

 

[Apples]

You can use the hand brake, which applies the rear calipers.

What it sounds like to me (especially if it was really cold outside at the time), is the vacuum booster failed to operate and/or a leak in the vacuum hosing.

 

[rang19ca]

If you did have a code, the dealer should be able to pull it. Good luck.

 

[MotoWojo]

Is your truck equipped with AEB?

Just curious.

Yes, it is a Lariat.

 

[MotoWojo]

You can use the hand brake, which applies the rear calipers.

What it sounds like to me (especially if it was really cold outside at the time), is the vacuum booster failed to operate and/or a leak in the vacuum hosing.

It wasn't that bad this morning, I think it was even double digits. I was thinking it had to be a failure of the vacuum assist, but it felt much worse than having manual brakes. I mean I was pushing on that pedal with everything I had to get slowed down. Also, the ABS groaning sound felt like it was fighting me from stopping the truck? If there would have been vehicles in front of me getting off the exit, I would of had to head for the ditch or I would have been in a wreck.

 

[MotoWojo]

Just got home from the dealership. They pulled 2 codes:

P050F Brake assist vacuum too low
P0555 Brake booster pressure sensor circuit

They said it must have been due to the cold weather and everything looks good now. I need to let them know if it happens again. Yeah, I live in Wisconsin, so cold weather is rare. Oh well, Ford service has really gone down the shitter. I love my Fords, but I am really hating their new strategy to reduce warranty costs.

 

[jblc]

I love my Fords, but I am really hating their new strategy to reduce warranty costs.

Out of curious, what do you see is that strategy?

 

[Big Blue]

Just got home from the dealership. They pulled 2 codes:

P050F Brake assist vacuum too low
P0555 Brake booster pressure sensor circuit

They said it must have been due to the cold weather and everything looks good now. I need to let them know if it happens again. Yeah, I live in Wisconsin, so cold weather is rare. Oh well, Ford service has really gone down the shitter. I love my Fords, but I am really hating their new strategy to reduce warranty costs.

Once again Ford gets blamed for the problems of the world. What part of this was a warranty issue, did they need to replace something that was broke or not working? S*** happens in cold weather, not sure what part of Wisconsin you live in but it does get cold here, not rare. The dealer got you in to look at it quickly, by todays standards. They read the codes and checked the system out and found it working. Without a reoccurance it it is just a random issue that hopefully won't happen again. Could have happened to any modern vehicle.

 

[Jrel209]

Oddly enough there was another story in here where someone’s wife almost got into an accident because of a brake failure. He never told us what happened, but I wonder if its the same issue you had. And if it is….. should everyone in colder climates be concerned……

 

[TomC]

Once again Ford gets blamed for the problems of the world. What part of this was a warranty issue, did they need to replace something that was broke or not working? S*** happens in cold weather, not sure what part of Wisconsin you live in but it does get cold here, not rare. The dealer got you in to look at it quickly, by todays standards. They read the codes and checked the system out and found it working. Without a reoccurance it it is just a random issue that hopefully won't happen again. Could have happened to any modern vehicle.

Hope is not a great maintenance strategy. Sometimes that thought process ends up being a footnote in an accident report. I would leave the truck at the dealer, ask for a loaner, and have them test it in same conditions as the original occurrence. It's one thing to clear the codes, it's another to verify it works. The problem isn't the sync system, it's the brakes.

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