Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - SWITCHES - BRAKE LIGHT | |||||
| 02176 | 09/02/2002 | 10008580 | Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock. *mj | 08/05/2004 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - SWITCHES - BRAKE LIGHT | ||||||
| RQ03008 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 10/23/2003 | 03/05/2004 | BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FAILURE | 04V106000 | |
| Ford conducted a recall in march, 2001 to correct a defect affecting the brake light switch in my 2000 through early-2001 taurus and sable vehicles equipped with power adjustable pedals (recall 01v-078).rq03-008 was opened to investigate complaints concerning the remedy and scope of 01v-078.odi's analysis identified concerns with post-repair failures in recalled vehicles,failures in my 2001-02 vehicles with adjustable pedals that were not included in recall 01v-078, and failures in my 2000 vehicles with fixed pedals.(note: the manufacturer failure data in this resume includes all crashes and injuries, but the complaint information is limited to my 2001-02 vehicles that were not included in the scope of recall 01v-078.)on march 1, 2004, ford notified nhtsa of a safety defect in my 2000 through early-2003 taurus and sable vehicles equipped with adjustable pedals and my 2000 subject vehicles equipped with fixed pedals (recall 04v-106).the notification identified three factors contributing to brake light circuit failures:(1) continuing grease contamination issues that prompted 01v-078; (2) misalignment of the booster rod pin and the brake light switch; and (3) wire assembly fatigue.the first two conditions were limited to vehicles with adjustable pedals and the latter condition affected vehicles with fixed pedals.ford will instruct owners to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the brake light switch and associated wiring replaced with a re-designed brake light switch and wiring assembly. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 12/17/2012 | 135000 | ||
| Brake light switch failed, at first the car wouldn't go out of park, after several tries it finally did. at that point it was noticed that the brake lights wouldn't turn off. i found an old recall that appeared to match the vehicle (04s12) but the ford dealer stated my car was not part of that recall and they would not state whether the car had already had it done or not. | |||
| 12/05/2012 | 67400 | 1 | |
| The car was being driven at 15 miles an hour, slowing down to prepare to turn left. suddenly the car sped up uncontrollably. the brakes would not slow the car down. the car had to be thrown into park to make it stop. we turned the engine off. turning the engine back on, the engine started revving up very high on its own. we turned the engine back off and towed the car to the mechanic, and he found that the cruise control malfunctioned. he disconnected the cruise control cable, and the problem went away. this is identical to the problem reported here: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/03/13/feds-expand-ford-taurus-sticky-accelerator-probe-to-1-million-cars/ we were lucky there were no pedestrians on the road and that we were not driving very fast. if this problem happened on the highway, the results could be very different. this needs to be turned into a recall before it causes a fatal accident. *tr | |||
| 08/04/2012 | 75000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact was driving 40 mph and applied the brakes but the vehicle did not respond. the contact shifted into park in an attempt to stop the vehicle. the vehicle did not stop and the vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle. during the crash both the driver and passenger side air bags deployed however, the contact was not injured. the driver of the second vehicle suffered a laceration above the eye. a police report was filed. the manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed. the failure mileage was 75,000. kmj | |||
| 08/04/2012 | 75000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated while driving 40 mph the contact applied the brakes to slow the vehicle down a the brakes failed. as a result of the brake failure the contact shifted the vehicle into park in a attempt to stop the vehicle. the vehicle did not stop and the vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle. during the crash both driver and passenger side air bags deployed and the contact was not injured. the driver of the other vehicle suffered a cut above eye. a police report was filed. the contact the manufacturer and filed a complaint. the failure mileage was 75,000. jo | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR - ANTILOCK | |||
| 08/04/2004 | 18000 | 2 | 02/11/2003 |
| Brakes go to the floor sometimes, and stick in the down position. they feel like they arent going to stop. the dealer said they cant find a problem.*ak | |||
| 07/10/2003 | 7100 | 1 | 01/09/2003 |
| The vehicle brakes did not respond at all causing the vehicle to slide and impact a concrete barrier.*ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 12/15/2011 | 128000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact was unable to shift from park into drive unless the brake pedal was engaged repeatedly. in addition, the rear brake light failed to illuminate when applying the brake pedal. the failure recurred intermittently. the contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 04v106000 (exterior lighting: brake lights: switch) however the contact's vin was not included in the recall campaign. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the failure mileage was 128,000. kmj | |||
| 12/15/2011 | 128000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact was unable to shift from park into drive unless the brake pedal was engaged repeatedly. in addition, the rear brake light failed to illuminate when applying the brake pedal. the failure occurred intermittently. there was a recall related to the malfunction under nhtsa campaign id number 04v106000 (exterior lighting: brake lights: switch); however the vin was not included in the recall defect. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. js | |||
| 03/17/2010 | 106617 | 1 | |
| 2003 ford taurus. consumer states problems with coil springs *tgw the consumer questioned the lack of a recall for an obvious safety problem and perhaps defective material. the front and rear coil springs ruptured on the consumers vehicle. the ball joints, front stabilizer and serpentine belt all had to be replaced on different occasions. the caliper froze, and the were rotors were warped. *jb | |||
| 09/01/2008 | 46000 | 1 | |
| 2003 ford taurus with only 46,000 miles on it and the water pump has had to be replaced twice. also, the brake pads on the vehicle have had to be replaced at least three times and the mechanic told us that the pads on the taurus are cheap and will erode quicker than on other vehicles. lastly, the vehicle does not get good gas mileage as expected. next car will be a honda. *tr | |||
| 07/08/2008 | 68000 | 1 | |
| Application of brakes causes car to shake and shimmy. rotors, pads and calipers replaced twice. replaced right front bearing, ball joint, sway bar link and half shaft the second time, do to bearing wear and squeak. none of the above has fixed this problem. it is especially bad when the brakes are being applied while going around a corner. *tr | |||
| 07/28/2004 | 7500 | 10 | 04/01/2003 |
| Excessive brake pressure to get vehicle to stop. dealer unable to locate problem.*ak | |||
| 08/29/2003 | 17 | 08/28/2003 | |
| Tires causing vibration of vehicle's front end. *mr (when driving 35 mph or higher tire vibration would occur) there was also a brake problem. grinding would occur. *sc *jb | |||
| 1 | |||
| Request for details about the defect trends odi uses for determining recall factors. *ph *la | |||
| 10000 | 4 | 02/14/2003 | |
| Vehicle is experiencing a problem with the brakes. while moving at a speed of 65mph, driver applied brakes and ended up in the back of a suv, damaging the hood. vehicle has been at the dealership 3 or 4 times for brake repairs. mechanic says this vehicle was not equipped with anti-lock brakes. this experience occurs intermittently. provide further details. *ph *ph | |||
| 10/01/2003 | 1000 | 1 | 09/11/2003 |
| Engine surges under constant speeds. brakes soft in middle of pedal stroke. dealer says both are related. soft pedal alarms driver. 2 inches sudden travel in pedal causes driver to over depress brake to compensate for sudden no brake condition. *la | |||
| 04/15/2003 | 6700 | 1 | |
| When trying to apply the brakes, the pedal went to the floor, which caused the consumer to experience extended stopping distance.*ak the consumer had an accident.*jb | |||
| 03/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| The brakes failed to stop the vehicle, which resulted in a collision. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 06/02/2008 | 56000 | 1 | |
| Just pulled into my workplace in my 2003 ford taurus and all of a sudden a loud bang and the drivers side front end fell right on my tire. no prior warning whatsoever. the front drivers side spring had broken. i did have extended coverage but what a hassle with the insurance company to get them to pay which they finally did minus a $100.00 deductible. took 1 1/2 weeks to get it fixed and now something is wrong with the brakes. *tr | |||
| 11/15/2004 | 25000 | 7 | 06/02/2003 |
| Dt: while coming to a stop the caller hit the brake and the vehicle surged forward. it happened when vehicle was in park as well. also, there was a sudden loss of power and rough idle when on the highway or city streets. the caller said there was poor gas mileage. tool vehicle to dealer 7 times, on february 11, 2005, july 6, july 22, 2005, july 27, 2005 , and august 12, 2005. called the manufacturer, and manufacturer said they have had this problem in other vehicles. dealer said they could not fix the problem and someone form the manufacturer will get back to him. *ak | |||
| 12/03/2004 | 37400 | 1 | 09/30/2003 |
| The consumer rear ended another vehicle traveling at 35 mph and the air bag did not deploy. *jb consumer stated the brakes pulsated twice failing to stop the vehicle. *tt | |||
| 9800 | 1 | ||
| When the brakes were applied, the abs automatically kicked in and caused the vehicle to shake violently. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC | |||
| 1 | 11/02/2002 | ||
| Brakes are grinding, and the vehicle slides when braking in the rain. *ak *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS | |||
| 12/15/2004 | 21000 | 1 | 07/15/2004 |
| Front brakes were squeaking and scrubbing. braking distance continued to increase in length. vehicle was taken to midas. at that time it had less than 22,000 miles. brake tech. at midas examined pads, which were original equipment from manufactuer. pads from both wheels had hairline cracks in them and pieces of metal shavings embedded. metal shavings were causing rubs in rotors. tech stated it was only a matter of time before pads cracked completely and vehicle had aloss of braking. pads were replaced with midas ceramic type. old pads were discarded after a visit to ford dealer had no results. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 07/01/2003 | 1 | 05/01/2003 | |
| Possible defective brakes are a concern. before the vehicle had 3,000 miles, the rotors were cut. that is unheard of for a car with so little mileage, at least to me. we still hear grinding noises on a hard brake in the right front. everytime we take it back, (4 times) no problems are found. i have already talked to ford twice about this, but since the warranty has expired, and the dealership says that brake pads need to be replaced (at cost to us), they do not feel they (ford) should pay for it. one of the times that we took it in for service, they suggested a remedy that is not even recommended in the owner's manual. i understand that sometimes a vehicle is just not put together correctly, then fix it. vehicle has 36,470 miles on it. *nm | |||
| 2000 | 1 | ||
| While coming to a light brakes made a grinding noise. when going up hills, and when coming to a stop vehicle skidded. mechanic said rotors were severely rusted.*ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DRUM - WHEEL CYLINDERS | |||
| 07/22/2005 | 70267 | 2 | 01/05/2004 |
| Rear brakes went out due to defective wheel cylinders. the wheel cylinders on both the right and left sides were leaking and/or completely broken. this caused the rear brakes to completely give out causing not only a potentially dangerous situation, but a complete rebuilding of my rear brakes: drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, assembly kits, self-adjusting kits, and lines. this could have very well caused the minor accident which damaged the rear bumper cover of the vehicle, due to the fact these wheel cylinders went out without warning. through my personal investigation, wheel cylinders usually last 5-7 yrs on average. this vehicle is less than 2 yrs old. *jb | |||