NHTSA to Investigate 2011-2012 Ford F-150s

2011 Ford F-150 trailer II

Although not an official recall announcement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into a possible defect in the brake pedal of model-year 2011-12 3.5-liter EcoBoost-equipped Ford F-150s.

According to Automotive News, there have been 32 complaints about problems with the electric vacuum assist pump that resulted in loss of braking power.

The investigation could include as many as 250,000 half-ton pickups; there is no official time frame for the evaluation before it is determined whether it might justify a full recall. According to a corresponding report in the Detroit News, more than half of all the reported complaints have come in the last nine months.

Ford reports it is fully cooperating with the NHTSA investigation.

Cars.com photo by Ian Merritt

 

Comments

Brakes are not important. Zero to 60 is. RAM lost again.

They should just recall ever Ford truck made, cause they are all pure junk!

Ford sucks, Chevy sucks, Ram sucks. The Nissan Titan is the best (and least recalled) truck in America!

Well, with the Titan, they should've recalled them for the cracking exhaust manifolds, leaking radiators and the rear axle seal leaks. However, the radiators were made by Visteon, which is a Ford supplier, so we really can't count that one.

@Chris
Won't be much of a recall since there's only like five dudes in the country driving a Titan! Haha. And yes Ford still suxs.

@Cooper, yes and I guess that makes me one of the five.☺

However, that's not a bad thing though. At least, I don't see a mirror image of myself at every stop light like the other makes. And, if you add a few tasteful customized modifications, you can essentially be one of a kind in a sea of "they all look the same" fullsized trucks..

And once again Pickuptrucks.com and the comment section have sunk to new lows. I have more respect for the tabloids at the local grocery store. Good job!

Detroit news says they changed the design on the 2013 F150 which would tell me they knew there was a problem. Why not do the right thing and do the recall? A couple good lawsuits will cost them more then the repair. I own a 2012 F150 and I've always had good luck with Ford but this is the kind of stuff that changes brand loyalty.

I don't see Lou

it's a good thing that made the new Ford out of aluminum. It's easier for the owners to push it home

32 out of 250,000. Or .0128% of owner complain this has been an issue. Fix the 32 and move on as it really isn't much of a issue since the other 249,968 others haven't had a brake issue.

Scott, Wrong. It means 32 reports on the NHTSA website. Just because 249k others haven't reported to NHTSA website doesn't mean they didn't have an issue. Get your facts straight.

32 is high for website complaints on a single issue on the NHTSA website.

32 complained to the nhtsa about brake issues..... Thats it out of 250,000 truck owners. No more then 32 complained to the NHSTA....

Speaking of alot complaining to the NHTSA.....
"Over 1,000 consumers complained to NHTSA,"
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/10/28/nhtsa-probing-ram-recall-pace-communication/

Two reported crashes were allegedly caused by increased brake pedal effort required to decelerate or stop the vehicle.
In all of the reported incidents, the brake power assist failure occurred without warning indicators to alert the driver of brake power assist loss.

No warning light, no problem.

32 complained to the nhtsa about brake issues.....

Right and that doesn't mean others out of the 250k have not had the issue like you originally stated.

We don't know that. What we do know is FCA is dragging their feet on the gas tank recall. I suspect they are short on funds which is why they need to merge. One thing I will say, it takes guts to buy an FCA product with the possibility of bankruptcy a real threat. Who wants to be stuck with a vehicle that can't be repaired?

@Tom
FCA will have best June and best market share since 2007 .

http://allparnews.com/index.php/2015/06/best-june-market-share-since-2007-for-fca-29062

My neighbor , always Ford owner I know for 15 years got Jeep for his wife last year instead of Ford Edge and he god a new Tacoma last week instead of F150.
I asked him why .He was on Highway, when his trany down shifted heavily and everything just died.
Ford is loosing customers left and right and this investigation won't help them.
Your post doesn't have any objective base.

If you read that article you know FCA is just behind GM in incentive spending, averaging almost $3400 per vehicle. FCA has the lowest profit per vehicle, which is increasing their need to merge. They have pushed back several platform updates, including Ram trucks. I don't see how an FCA fan can be upbeat.

FCA is not dragging their feet as you tried to present in here. I can't wait for June numbers to support my claim.

The report indicates that these incidents occurred almost immediately after start up. Makes me wonder if it takes the ECM and/or BCM time to get operational and the same with the electronic brake boosters.

My 2011 F150 EcoBoost is having vacuum pump replaced today for $700 at a Ford dealership at my cost as they say it is not part of powertrain. I have appealed to Ford and will await answer. If the pump is connected to the EcoBoost it is part of powertrain. If FMC has changed the pump to mechanical in 2013 there must be a reason?

I own a 2011F150 4x4 with 31,000 miles. I finally went to my dealer to ask about a braking problem and on and off noise when first starting. The noise is a clicking and grinding noise. Also when first backing out of the garage the brake pedal was very spongy.
After explaning all this to the service tech I asked if someone could listen to my truck. A mechanic went with me and he knew right were to look. He disconnected the vacuum line from the brake vacuum reservoir and the noise immediately started.
I have an extended warrenty for my truck and this part is covered so it only cost $100 instead of the $800 that I was quoted.

The mechanic that fixed my truck said this is a VERY common problem.
Ford needs to step up and acknowledge that they a defective part in the braking system in these trucks.



The comments to this entry are closed.