2006 Ford Taurus Brakes Problems

FORD MOTOR COMPANY SOLD MY VEHICLE WITH A LIFE-THREATENING DESIGN DEFECT IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM. THIS DESIGN DEFECT COMPRISES A PLASTIC COVER OVER THE STAINLESS STEEL HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINES WHERE THOSE LINES PASS FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR TO ITS REAR BENEATH THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR. THE OSTENSIBLE PURPOSE OF THE PLASTIC COVER IS UNKNOWN TO ME, BUT ITS ACTUAL FUNCTION IS TWOFOLD. FIRST, IT TRAPS MOISTURE AND ROAD SALT TO CAUSE RAPID CORROSION OF THE STAINLESS STEEL BRAKE LINES, WHICH CORROSION EVENTUALLY CAUSES THE LINES TO RUST COMPLETELY THROUGH, CAUSING ONE OR BOTH LINES TO BURST UPON APPLICATION OF THE BRAKES, RESULTING IN SUDDEN AND COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. SECOND, THE PLASTIC COVER HIDES THAT CORROSION FROM VIEW SO THAT CAREFUL VISUAL INSPECTION DOES NOT REVEAL THE CORROSION PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO THE KNOWLEDGEABLE MECHANIC WHO REPAIRED MY BRAKES AND WHO HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PROBLEM, THE DESIGN DEFECT APPLIES TO BOTH FORD TAURUS AND FORD FOCUS MODELS. THAT MECHANIC HAS IN THE PAST URGED FORD TO RECALL THESE CARS BUT FORD HAS TO DATE REFUSED TO DO SO. PRESUMABLY THE DESIGN DEFECT OCCURS ALSO IN THE MERCURY SABLE WHICH IS MERCURY'S TWIN TO THE FORD TAURUS. THIS DESIGN DEFECT CAUSE MY BRAKES TO FAIL SUDDENLY AND COMPLETELY, CAUSING ME TO HIT ANOTHER CAR. FORTUNATELY THE DAMAGE RESULTED IN NO PERSONAL INJURIES, BUT IT CAUSE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO MY CAR AND PRESUMABLY COMPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE OTHER CAR. BUT IF THE BRAKE FAILURE HAD OCCURRED AS I WAS APPROACHING A STOP SIGN OR STOP LIGHT, OR IF I HAD BEEN BRAKING FOR A PEDESTRIAN, IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH. I AM ATTACHING THREE PHOTO FILES, ONE TAKEN AT THE REPAIR SHOP WHERE I HAD THE BRAKE REPAIR DONE, THE SECOND A MARKED-UP COPY OF THE SAME PHOTO, THE THIRD A ZOOMED-IN PORTION OF THE FIRST PHOTO SHOWING THE SITE OF THE BRAKE LINE RUPTURE.

I WAS DRIVING EASTBOUND, ON A CITY STREET, APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION WITH A STOP SIGN. WHEN I PRESSED ON THE BRAKES, IT DIDN'T SLOW DOWN. IN FACT, THE CAR WAS GOING FASTER. SO I PUT THE CAR IN PARK, HOPING TO SLOW IT DOWN, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. THEN I JUMPED THE CURB, HOPING THAT WOULD SLOW THE CAR DOWN, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. I TRIED TO AVOID HITTING A TRUCK THAT WAS GOING NORTHBOUND ON THE CROSS ROAD, BUT I COULDN'T AVOID IS SO I HIT THE TRUCK.

BRAKE LINE TO REAR BRAKES FAILED DUE TO RUST. ALL (ALL) BRAKE FLUID LEAKED OUT. THE SERVICE BRAKES WERE TOTALLY INOPERABLE. A LARGE OIL SPOT ON THE CONCRETE DRIVEWAY WAS THE ONLY WARNING.. NO LOW FLUID LIGHT IS INSTALLED. THIS VEHICLE IS NON-ABS. MUCH TO MY SURPRISE, THIS IS A SINGLE RESERVOIR SYSTEM. IS THIS A SAFETY ISSUE? MILEAGE 103,000. IT PICKED THE BEST POSSIBLE TIME TO FAIL. REPORTED TO FORD.

2006 FORD TAURUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO AFTERMARKET FRONT BRAKE PADS RECALL NOTICE. *SMD *JS

I SUDDENLY FOUND THAT MY BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY WHEN I WAS GOING AROUND 50 MPH. TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC AND HE TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND THE BRAKE BOOSTER. HE TOLD ME THAT HE SEES THIS PROBLEM MORE WITH FORDS. WHEN I GOOGLED A REVIEW OF THE FORD TAURUS 2006, THE VERY FIRST CONSUMER FEEDBACK THAT SHOWED UP STATED THAT HE NEEDED THE REPLACE THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER RIGHT AFTER HE GOT IT. I BET FORD KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. IT IS SO SCARY TO FIND YOURSELF ON THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT PROPER WORKING BRAKES. *TR

WITHOUT WARNING, THERE WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULTY IN STOPPING THE VEHICLE. FORTUNATELY, WE WERE ABLE TO LIMP HOME WHERE, SUSPECTING A CALIPER OR WHEEL CYLINDER LEAK, NONE WAS FOUND. ON CLOSER INSPECTION, AN EXTREME LEAK OF BRAKE FLUID WAS OBSERVED COMING FROM THE METAL BRAKE LINES LEADING TO THE REAR BRAKES. THESE LINES WERE FOUND TO BE EXTREMELY CORRODED. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT IN MY 50 PLUS YEARS OF WORKING ON CARS I HAVE NEVER, EVER SEEN SUCH DAMAGE TO SUCH A KEY COMPONENT FOR A VEHICLE. *JB

PRESSED ON BRAKE PEDAL AND BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR VERY LITTLE BRAKING EFFECT LEFT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND TO THE BRAKES BEING ENGAGED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO FINALLY STOP THE VEHICLE AFTER REPEATED PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKES. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN SHUT OFF. UPON RESTART, THE CONTACT WAS ABLE DRIVE THE VEHICLE AS NORMAL. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 178,000. ... UPDATED 08/15/12 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE INCIDENT OCCURRED AGAIN AFTER THE DEALER MADE REPAIRS. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPAIR VEHICLE. UPDATED 08/16/2012 *JS

ABS CONTROL MODULE WAS IDENTIFIED AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP SHOP AS BAD AND NEEDING REPLACEMENT. $1,284 COST FOR REPLACEMENT WITH 33,785 ORIGINAL MILES. WITHOUT THE ABS CONTROL MODULE ABS BRAKES ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. *TR

LAST SUMMER, MY CAR STARTED TO ACCELERATE AT STOP SIGNS/LIGHTS. I WOULD BE BRAKING AT A LIGHT AND THE ENGINE WOULD SUDDENLY START SURGING AND I WOULD HAVE TO HEAVILY HOLD MY BRAKES TO KEEP FROM ACCELERATING INTO THE CAR AHEAD OF ME OR PEOPLE WALKING ACROSS THE STREET. WHEN I WAS DRIVING, MY SPEED WOULD SOMETIMES ACCELERATE AND I WOULD NOT BE PRESSING ON THE GAS PEDAL. THESE PROBLEMS WOULD ONLY HAPPEN EVERY ONCE AND AWHILE SO I DID NOT TAKE MY CAR IN FOR TWO MONTHS. I ALSO NOTICED THAT MY CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT WORK. THE LIGHT WOULD COME ON WHEN I TURNED IT ON, BUT MY CAR WOULD NOT STAY AT THE SPEED I SELECTED. IT WOULD JUST DECELERATE IN CRUISE CONTROL. WHEN I TOOK MY CAR IN TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT, THEY INFORMED ME THAT I HAD A FAULTY CRUISE CONTROL CABLE THAT WAS NOT FITTING PROPERLY ON MY CAR. IT WOULD CATCH ON THE THROTTLE LEVER CAUSING MY CAR TO SURGE. I HAD TO PAY $293.92 TO HAVE THIS FIXED, WHEN IT SEEMED LIKE A FAULTY SAFETY ISSUE THAT THE COMPANY SHOULD HAVE RECALLED/PAID FOR! MY FRIEND RECENTLY SENT ME THIS ARTICLE: HTTP://BOTTOMLINE.MSNBC.MSN.COM/_NEWS/2012/03/12/10657814-FORD-PROBE-WIDENS-COULD-COVER-19-MILLION-CARS IT SEEMS OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND THIS ITEM NEEDS TO BE FIXED/RECALLED. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY NEARLY $300 FOR A FAULTY PART! *TR

STARTED WITH JUST ABS AND "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM" LIGHT COMING ON. ESCALATED TO SHUTTING THE CAR TOTALLY OFF WHILE DRIVING FREEWAY SPEEDS. PART OF THE DRIVING WAS AT NIGHT AND THE LIGHTS TURNED OFF ALSO MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO PULL OVER AND THANKFULLY NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME WHEN IT HAPPENED. TOOK IT TO FORD DEALER IN YAKIMA AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT GET IT TO DO THAT, EVEN THOUGH IT DID IT 3 TIMES ENROUTE AND ALSO WHEN I LEFT. TELL ME WHAT THIS IS SO I CAN GET IT FIXED! MAKES THE CAR BASICALLY UNDRIVABLEAND DANGEROUS TO PASSENGERS AND OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 80MPH WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON WHEN I DECIDED TO EXIT THE HIGHWAY TO GO TO A GAS STATION. AT THE TIME THE LIGHT WAS GREEN SO I MAINTAINED SPEED BUT SLOWED GRADUALLY. THE LIGHT TURNED YELLOW AND I TRIED TO SPEED UP A LITTLE BIT. THE LIGHT QUICKLY TURNED RED. I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES HARD AS I POSSIBLY COULD BUT THE VEHICLE DIDN'T SEEM TO SLOW AND THE ENGINE RPM REMAINED STEADY. I MANAGED TO SLOW THE VEHICLE TO AROUND 35MPH BEFORE HAVING TO TAKE AN EVASIVE MANEUVER INTO A BUSY INTERSECTION THROUGH A RED LIGHT. I STRUCK ONE CAR AND IT SPUN ME AROUND HITTING ANOTHER CAR. *TR

I HEARD SOUNDS LIKE MY BRAKES WERE SCRAPING, SO I THOUGHT MAYBE I NEEDED NEW BRAKE PADS. UPON TAKING THE WHEEL OFF, I DISCOVERED THE BRAKE HOUSING WAS BROKEN. A PART OF THE CASTING WAS MISSING, APPARENTLY BROKEN OFF. THE LOWER PIN THAT ALLOWS THE PADS TO SLIDE WAS STUCK. THE HOUSING IS SLIGHTLY BENT NOT ALLOWING THE PIN TO SLIDE FREELY. *TR

I HAD 2 INCIDENTS WERE I NEEDED TO STOP QUICKLY. THE CAR FAILED TO STOP AND JUST SKIDDED AND SLID. THE BACK TIRES LOCKED UP AND FISHTAILED. THE TIRES WERE BURNING RUBBER AND AGAIN THE CAR DID NOT STOP, JUST SLID. ONE TIME I WAS ONLY GOING 40 MPH, THE OTHER TIME 80 MPH. IN THE INCIDENT GOING 80 MPH THERE WAS A GOODYEAR, BEFORE A COMPLETE STOP NEEDED TO HAPPEN. AT THIS POINT THE CAR WAS STILL TRAVELING APPROXIMENTLY 40 MPH ,CAUSING ME TO RUN THROUGH A STOP SIGN. THANK GOODNESS NOBODY WAS COMING OTHERWISE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A TRERRIBLE ACCIDENT. THE OTHER INCIDENT A CHILD WALKED OUT ON A RED LIGHT AND AGAIN THE CAR JUST STILL JUST SLID AND I COULD NOT STOP...HE JUMPED BACK ON THE SIDEWALK AND AGAIN EVERYONE WAS FINE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME NOTHING WAS WRONG. I REFUSED TO LEAVE WITH THAT CAR, WHICH I ONLY BOUGHT 3 MONTHS AGO. I IN TURN TOOK A $3,000 LOSS BECAUSE I REFUSED TO DRIVE IT AGAIN. I BOUGHT A CHEVY AND DURING THE TEST DRIVE I WENT 80 MPH AND SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES, THERE WAS NO SLIDING OR BURNING OF RUBBER, THE CAR JUST CAME TO A STOP THE WAY IT SHOULD. *AK

TRAVELING AT 20-25 MPH, MAKING RIGHT TURN ON WET ROAD, BRAKES LOCKED UP, CAR SLID, LET OFF BRAKE AND PRESSED BRAKE, AND BRAKES REMAINED LOCKED, SLID OUT OF LANE INTO ONCOMING LANES OF TRAFFIC. DEALER STATES NO PROBLEM WITH BRAKE SYSTEM, REAR BRAKES NEED TO BE CLEANED AND ADJUSTED WITH ONLY 26,000 MILES ON THE CAR. *JB

TL* - THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING ON THE ROAD HE HEARD A RELEASE OF AIR COMING FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE ANY BRAKE PRESSURE AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT STATED VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE ROAD CONDITIONS WERE WET. THERE WERE TWO INJURIES AS A RESULT OF THE CRASH.*AK UPDATED 1/29/2007 - *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH ON WET ROADS AND DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE BRAKES LOCK CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SLIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER WHO ADJUSTED THE BRAKES, HOWEVER THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURRED.