2008 Ford Fusion Brakes

WHEN BRAKING ON ICY,WET, OR SNOWY ROADS THE BRAKES WORK THE FIRST TIME BUT THEN WHEN YOU ATTEMPT TO BRAKE AGAIN THE BRAKE PEDAL HITS THE FLOOR AND YOU LOOSE BRAKE PRESSURE. IN ORDER TO REGAIN BRAKE PRESSURE YOU HAVE TO PUMP THE BRAKES HARD OR SLAM ON THEM A FEW TIMES FOR THE BRAKES TO BEGIN WORKING AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED AT LEAST 5X LAST WINTER. WE CALLED SEVERAL FORD DEALERS TO REPORT THIS PROBLEM AND WERE TOLD THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF IT. AFTER FEARING FOR OUR SAFETY WE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND MANY OTHER FUSION OWNERS REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM AND HAD SUCCESS FIXING THIS PROBLEM BY REPLACING THE ABS. WE TOOK OUR CAR TO A DEALER AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO CONFIRM THE PROBLEM. WE WENT WITH OUR GUT AND HAD THE ABS REPLACED. WE PAID OUT OF POCKET ABOUT 2,000 FOR THIS REPAIR.

ON THREE OCCASIONS IN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS THE BRAKES NEARLY FAILED (WENT SOFT) WHILE BRAKING IN RAIN OR A ROUGH SURFACE. I REPORTED THIS TO MY SERVICE TECHNICIAN ON MY LAST VISIT OF 11/15/16. THE BRAKES WERE CHECKED AND NO PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. THE TECHNICIAN HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM.

AFTER PURCHASING OUR FUSION, THE BRAKE PEDAL SEEMED VERY SOFT. WE PUT NEW BRAKES ON IT BUT THIS DID NOT REMEDY THE PROBLEM. WHEN DRIVING THE PEDAL GOES ALMOST TO THE FLOOR AND SUDDEN STOPS ARE NOT AN OPTION! WE WERE TOLD BY A SERVICEMAN IT WAS MOST LIKELY THE "SENSOR OR BRAIN" OF THE BRAKING SYSTEM AND THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE OF CARS. *TR

IT WAS SLIPPERY OUT. I WAS GOING ABOUT 15 MPH AND HEADED TO STOP AT A STOP SIGN. THE ABS ENGAGED. AFTER THIS HAPPENED, THERE WAS NO PRESSURE LEFT IN THE PEDAL - IT WENT NEARLY TO THE FLOOR EACH TIME I HAD TO STOP. I WAS SO SCARED THAT I MIGHT NOT STOP ALL THE WAY, FOR MY WHOLE TRIP HOME - 20 MILES - WITH THE SNOW GETTING WORSE AND MY SON IN THE CAR. WE WERE BOTH TERRIFIED. SEEMS FINE NOW, BUT I ENDED UP TAKING THE CAR TO A MECHANIC, WHO LOOKED THROUGH THE WHOLE SYSTEM AND COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING. THIS WAS A $100 COST FOR INSPECTION....

ONCE ABS KICKS IN, I HAVE NO BRAKING ABILITY. CAUSED AN ACCIDENT BACK IN 2013, CHECKED BY FORD AS NO PROBLEM. EVERY TIME MY ABS KICKS IN I HAVE THIS PROBLEM.

AFTER AN ABS EVENT, I NOTICED MY BRAKE PEDAL WENT SOFT AND ALMOST TO THE FLOOR. I AM ABLE TO "PUMP" THE BRAKES AND WILL GET SOME PEDAL BACK BUT AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF DRIVING, THE PEDAL IS SOFT AGAIN. THE BRAKES AND BRAKING SYSTEM HAS BEEN CHECKED BY THE DEALERSHIP. MAIN COMPLAIN: BRAKE PEDAL GOING SOFT, TAKES LONGER DISTANCE TO STOP ON ALL ROAD SURFACES. *TR

I BOUGHT MY CAR IN 2011 AND IN 2014 I STARTED HAVING ISSUE WITH MY BRAKES GIVING OUT WHEN I WOULD BRAKE AND HIT BUMPS IN THE ROAD. I WOULD HAVE SLAM THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR TO GET ANY REACTION OUT OF MY BRAKES OR PUMP MY BRAKES. I TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE BRAKES LOOKED AT. THE AGREED THAT THE BRAKES WERE NOT REACTING AS THEY SHOULD. THEY INFORMED ME THAT MY CALIPERS NEEDED REPLACED. I ASKED HOW COMMON THAT WAS AND THEY SAID IT WAS RARE TO HAVE TO REPLACE CALIPERS. I GOT ONLINE AND READ CONSUMER REVIEWS AND REALIZED THIS WAS COMMON IN MY MAKE/MODEL/YEAR OF CAR. I SPEND OVER $1,000 TO HAVE THE CALIPERS REPLACED AND TO PAY FOR A RENTAL CAR WHILE THE WORK WAS BEING DONE. SINCE THEN I HAVE ADJUSTED MY DRIVING STYLE SO AS NOT TO TRIGGER MY BRAKES GIVING OUT. HOWEVER, THIS WINTER I HIT A BUMP WHILE BRAKING SO AS NOT TO HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND MY BRAKES GAVE OUT AGAIN. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR STOPPED BY PUSHING THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, BUT THOSE EXTRA SECONDS TO GET THE CAR STOPPED AND MY PANIC WHEN THE CAR WOULDN'T BRAKE WAS TERRIFYING. IT'S WEIRD BECAUSE THEN AFTER A FEW DAYS IT WAS LIKE MY BRAKES CAME BACK TO NORMAL, BUT IT WAS ABOUT A WEEK OF BEING VERY CAREFUL WITH MY BRAKES BEFORE THEY RETURNED TO NORMAL. DATE & INFORMATION OF INCIDENT GIVEN IS THE DATE & INFORMATION FROM THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED IN 2014, NOT THE DATE & INFORMATION FROM THIS YEAR (JAN 21, 2017) WHEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.

BRAKES GO SOFT AFTER GETTING ABS ACTION. BRAKES WILL BE ALMOST NON FUNCTIONAL AFTER BRAKING HARD THEN TRYING TO USE THEM AGAIN. HAVE ALMOST HAD SEVERAL ACCIDENTS OVER THIS.

WHILE DRIVING ON AN ICY STREET I HAD AN ABS EVENT WHERE THE ABS ENGAGED BUT THEN IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER THE BRAKE PEDAL FELT VERY SOFT AS IF THERE WAS LITTLE OR NO BRAKE. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND AFTER PUMPING THE BRAKES TO TEST THEM THE PEDAL NEVER REGAINED ITS PRIOR FEEL. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR HOME AND THEN TESTED IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY. AT FIRST THE BRAKES SEEMED BACK TO NORMAL BUT AFTER PRESSING THEM HARD ENOUGH FOR THE ABS TO ENGAGE IT AGAIN LOSS PEDAL AND FELT SOFT. NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED AS A RESULT BUT WE HAVE NOT DRIVEN THE CAR SINCE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD FUSION. WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES FAILED, CAUSING A 5-10 SECOND DECELERATION DELAY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 97,000.

I WAS BRAKING WHEN I CAUGHT A POT HOLE AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. SINCE THEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS SOFT AND WILL RANDOMLY GO TO THE FLOOR. I TOOK IT TO A FORD DEALER AND THEY TRIED REPLACING THE REAR ROTORS AND PADS AND FLUSHING THE FLUID BUT IT DID NOT WORK. I TOOK IT BACK AND THEY ENDED UP REPLACING THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT WITH A USED ONE. IT STILL DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT BUT IT'S BETTER THAN IT WAS.

I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT, THE CAR WENT OVER CURB AND INTO A TREE THAT STOPPED ME. THE BRAKES SEEMED TO WORK AFTER THAT BUT WAS I AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO A MECHANIC HE CANT FIND THE PART BECAUSE FORD DOESN'T MAKE THAT PART ANYMORE. I'M STILL WITHOUT A VEHICLE. I SAW ON THE NEWS YOU WERE INVESTIGATING 2007-2009 FORD FUSIONS FOR BRAKE PRESSURE FAILURE I BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.

BRAKES GOT REAL MUSHY AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO FLOOR BOARD AT TIMES. MOSTLY WHEN I WAS STOPPED ON THEM GOING TO THE FLOOR BOARD AND WHEN MOVING JUST MUSHY BUT STOPPING DISTANCE WAS NOT NEARLY AS GOOD. *TR

FIRST EVENT, UPON APPROACHING A CITY STOPLIGHT & BRAKING, THE 2008 FORD FUSION SKIDDED ON A MANHOLE COVER, VIBRATED, SHUDDERED & SUDDENLY BRAKES WENT SOFT & I HAD TO PRESS ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR TO STOP. CAR TOOK A LONG TIME & DISTANCE TO STOP, & APPROX. 15 MINUTES TO RECOVER NORMAL BRAKING CAPABILITY. PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED WHEN BRAKE IS ENGAGED & TRAVELLING OVER ROUGH PAVEMENT AS WELL AS MANHOLE COVERS - WITH ADDITIONAL TIME NOW REQUIRED TO RECOVER BRAKES. THESE SUDDEN ANTI-LOCK BRAKING EPISODES OCCUR ON CITY STREETS WHILE COMING TO A STOP SO NO EXCESSIVE SPEED INVOLVED. EPISODES INCREASING IN FREQUENCY OVER PAST YEAR. MECHANICS DISMISSED ISSUE AFTER CHECKING BRAKES A COUPLE TIMES & FINDING NO PROBLEM. OF COURSE, ANTI-LOCK EPISODES ARE INTERMITTENT & NEVER HAPPEN WHEN MECHANICS ARE AT THE WHEEL! ALTHOUGH OUR ONLY VEHICLE, CAR IS GARAGED UNTIL REPLACEMENT PARTS ARRIVE AS UNWILLING TO RISK ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE IN WINTER ROAD CONDITIONS. DANGEROUS ISSUE ALTHOUGH THANKFULLY NO ACCIDENTS TO REPORT.

BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND BRAKING DISTANCE WAS LONGER THAN NORMAL. I HAD TO TURN TO THE RIGHT TO CLEAR THE CAR STOPPING IN FRONT OF ME, HIT THE CURB PUTTING A HOLE IN TIRE SIDEWALL. BRAKES HAVE BEEN SOFT SINCE THIS OCCURRENCE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD FUSION. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOOR WHEN DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO A MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS AN ABS FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000.

AFTER BRAKING HARDER THAN A NORMAL EASY STOP, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT VERY LOW - TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS DIFFICULT TO BRAKE WITHOUT APPLYING A LOT OF PRESSURE. WE TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHO LOOKED OVER THE BRAKING SYSTEM AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG. AFTER THIS THE BRAKING WAS NORMAL. THIS OCCURRED ON OCTOBER 3, 2016. IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON DECEMBER 20, 2016. WE TOOK IT BACK TO THE MECHANIC AND ONCE AGAIN THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, AND AGAIN THE BRAKING WAS NORMAL WHEN WE GOT THE CAR BACK. WE THEN HEARD ON THE NEWS OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FORD FUSION OF OUR MODEL YEAR FOR WHAT SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE WHAT WE EXPERIENCED, AND DECIDED TO REPORT OUR EXPERIENCE TO YOU.

MY BREAK PEDAL NEEDS TO BE PUSHED IN ALL THE WAY TO ENGAGE.

BRAKE PEDAL WENT SOFT AFTER DRIVING OVER POT HOLE IN SUMMER OF 2015.DID ONLINE RESEARCH THAT POINTED TO THE ABS HYDRALIC CONTROL UNIT. FORD DEALER REPLACED BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND I HAD MARGINAL IMPROVEMENT. FEW MONTHS LATER WENT TO A SNOWY EMPTY PARKING AND ACTIVATED THE ABS DOING A QUICK STOP. BRAKE PEDAL WHICH WASN'T VERY FIRM AFTER MASTER CYLINDER REPLACEMENT GOT VERY SOFT. TOOK IT BACK TO FORD WHO REPLACED THE ABS HCU. BRAKE PEDAL RETURNED TO NORMAL FIRMNESS. FORD HAS REVISED THIS PART WHICH I HAD FAIL. IT'S THE ABS HCU WHICH HAS A VALVE STICK OPEN. GO TO YOU TUBE AND SEARCH FORDTECHMACALUSO SOFT FUSION BRAKE PEDAL WHO DESCRIBES THIS SAME PROBLEM.

FAULTY HCU: IN MARCH 2015, MADE A HARD STOP AND THE '08 FUSION WENT INTO AN ABS STOP. THE BRAKE PEDAL BECAME VERY SOFT AND ALMOST WENT TO THE FLOOR. I HAD TO PULL OFF THE ROAD AND PUMP THE BRAKES REPEATEDLY TO GET BACK TO A IT'S NORMAL STATE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ONLY DRIVING 25-30 MPH. I TOOK THE CAR TO A FORD DEALER TO HAVE IT INSPECTED FOR A COST OF $125. OF COURSE, THEY SAID EVERYTHING WAS FINE. FORD PROBABLY TOLD THEIR DEALER TO KEEP SILENT ON THIS ISSUE. WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, THIS SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN WHILE TRYING TO STOP ON VERY A ROUGH ROAD. FORTUNATELY, AGAIN I WAS ONLY DRIVING ABOUT 25MPH. NOW, THIS WAS GETTING A LITTLE FRIGHTENING SO I RESEARCHED THE INTERNET AND CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE HCU. ON 10/23/15, I HAD THE HCU REPLACED BY A FORD DEALER FOR A COST OF ALMOST $1,200. PROBLEM SOLVED...AT MY EXPENSE. FUNNY HOW THE FORD DEALER COULDN'T TROUBLE SHOOT THIS ISSUE.

YESTERDAY I WAS TURNING LEFT FROM A 2 LANE ROAD ONTO THE ONE LANE STREET WHERE I WORK AND HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY BECAUSE A CAR WAS STOPPED AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE ROAD. I BELIEVE THIS ENGAGED MY ABS. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT, MY BRAKES SUDDENLY REQUIRED ME TO PUSH MY BRAKE PEDAL ALMOST TO THE FLOOR TO ENGAGE IT. I BROUGHT IT TO A MECHANIC THIS MORNING AND THEY RECOMMENDED I REPLACE THE MASTER CYLINDER BUT THAT THERE IS NO TEST TO KNOW IF THAT WOULD EVEN FIX IT. I GOOGLED THIS ISSUE AND COME TO FIND OUT IT IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH A FAULTY HCU IN ALL 2008 FORD FUSIONS. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS KNOWN ISSUE IS NOT A FORMAL RECALL AS IT IS PUTTING PEOPLE'S LIVES AS RISK INCLUDING MINE. ALSO, BECAUSE IT IS NOT A FORMAL RECALL, PEOPLE ARE WASTING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON MASTER CYLINDER REPLACEMENT WHEN THAT DOES NOT FIX THE ISSUE AT ALL. PLEASE GET THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ISSUE ADDRESSED SO EVERYONE WITH A 2008 FORD FUSION GETS THE HCU REPLACED AND CAN BRAKE SAFELY. HERE ARE SOME LINKS THAT DESCRIBE THIS EXACT SAME ISSUE ON OTHER FORD FUSIONS. HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/0R46_UNYYK8 HTTPS://WWW.THECARCONNECTION.COM/NEWS/1108032_2007-2009-FORD-FUSION-MERCURY-MILAN-INVESTIGATED-FOR-BRAKE-FAILURE HTTPS://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/FORD/FUSION/2008/BRAKES/SERVICE_BRAKES.SHTML

I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY DRIVING MY 2008 FORD FUSION WHEN A TRACTOR TRAILER SUDDENLY PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF MY CAR. I SLAMMED ON MY BRAKES TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH THE TRACTOR TRAILER AND MY ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM ACTIVATED. AFTER MY ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM ACTIVATED, I LOST SIGNIFICANT BRAKE PRESSURE AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND LOW RANGE GEAR TO COME TO A STOP EVEN THOUGH I WAS TRAVELLING DOWN A STEEP GRADIENT HILL. MY CAR HAD ABOUT 100,000 MILES AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO A MECHANICS SHOP WHERE THE MECHANIC SAID THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT WAS STUCK. I REMOVED THE FUSE FOR THE ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM TO DISABLE IT.

I WAS DRIVING ON A ROAD AND WENT OVER A POTHOLE. AFTER DOING THAT, THE BRAKES WENT SOFT AND I HAD TO PUSH THE BRAKES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR TO GET THE CAR TO STOP AND, EVEN THEN, I FELT THAT THE CAR BARELY STOPPED. THE CAR WAS NOT BRAKING PROPERLY AND THE STOPPING DISTANCE NEEDED TO STOP VARIED EACH TIME I PUSHED THE BRAKE AFTER THE INCIDENT. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. THIS HAS OCCURRED WITH MY BRAKES THREE TIMES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS AND IN EACH INSTANCE, I'VE ALMOST BEEN IN ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF THE VARYING STOPPING DISTANCE NEEDED. IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHEN I'VE ENCOUNTERED ROUGH ROAD CONDITIONS OR HAD TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND MAKES ME FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING MY VEHICLE. I'VE HAD TO TAKE THE CAR TO BE SERVICED SEVERAL TIMES AND HAVE SPENT OVER $1,000 TRYING TO FIND A SOLUTION.

OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS WHEN THE ABS WAS ACTIVATED DURING HARD BRAKING, THE PEDAL WENT VERY LOW AND COMPROMISED BRAKING POWER. AFTER A FEW PUMPS THE PEDAL REGAINED ITS PRESSURE, BUT WHENEVER THE ABS ACTIVATED THE PEDAL WOULD GO LOW AGAIN. THIS SYMPTOM WAS EASILY REPEATABLE. IN OCT 2016, THE BRAKE PEDAL REMAINED LOW PERMANENTLY WHEN UNDER NORMAL VEHICLE OPERATION, BUT STILL HAD BRAKING POWER. I BROUGHT IT INTO A BRAKE SHOP IN NOV 2016 TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS AND AFTER THEY REPLACED THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER THE CAR STILL HAD THE SAME SYMPTOMS. THE NARROWED IT DOWN TO THE ABS PUMP AND AFTER BENCH-TESTING IT THEY DETERMINED IT HAD STUCK VALVES WHICH WAS ALLOWING AIR INTO THE BRAKE SYSTEM. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON AND POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM WITH 06-08 FORD FUSIONS.

DRIVING ON A CITY STREET, 40 MPH, LIGHT TURNED YELLOW, AND I HIT THE BRAKES. THE ABS FIRED AND CAR STOPPED. AFTER DRIVING A BLOCK OR TWO I NEEDED TO BRAKE AGAIN. WHEN I HIT THE BRAKES THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT DOWN ALMOST TO THE FLOOR OF THE VEHICLE BEFORE THEY "GRABBED" AND THE CAR BEGAN TO SLOW. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION BEFORE I CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. SUBSEQUENTLY, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, THE BRAKES FELT VERY SOFT AND SLUGGISH. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT I DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH BRAKE FLUID, SO I CHECKED AND THE FLUID WAS FLUSH WITH THE FILL LINE. AFTER A FEW DRIVING TRIPS THE BRAKES STARTED TO FEEL NORMAL AGAIN. UNTIL I HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY AGAIN. AGAIN, THE ABS FIRED AND THE CAR STOPPED AS EXPECTED. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BRAKE PEDAL FELT LOOSE AND THE BRAKES FELT SOFT. I TOOK THE FUSION TO A FORD DEALERSHIP AND ASKED THEM TO LOOK AT THE BRAKES, MENTIONING THIS PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. I AM NOW HESITANT TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE. *TR