Ford - Focus :: Antilock Brakes Failing In Traffic Jams
Mar 4, 2012
In the winter, driving around downtown in Minneapolis can be very... interesting, to say the least. The usual 5 minute trip from the highway exit ramp to the parking garage can take an hour. But hey, it's a job. There's enough stop and go that I can't just put it in park, so I'm riding the brake for most of this hour.
It only happens a couple times a year, but every time we get weather, after about 45 minutes of this, my abs warning light comes on and my abs system stops working. (Finding that out was... unpleasant.)
I pull into the garage, leave my car for the shift, and it's fine on the drive home. Is this normal? What's happening?
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97 RANGER EXTCAB 4 CYL 5 SPD---I have the PU, 2 cars, & a motorcycle. Only the pu has antilock brakes. #1 I don't like them. #2 I can't remember which one I am driving in an emergency, so I either lock the brakes or don't push hard enough, either way at times, I don't stop as well as I could. So, is there a way to "turn off" the antilock system so all vehicles (and stop) the same?
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It's a farm truck, lumber getter trailer puller. Not driven often, after sitting for awhile the brakes seem to be pulsing in front like antilock, as if braking on ice. I checked both front caliper springs or plunger slides and they are free not froze up.
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I have a 220k 1994 Corolla with I have come across a couple problems recently. It all started about a week ago when I decided to change my rear brake shoes. The old ones turned out to be all cracked and everything but were generally in pretty good shape in terms of wear. Anyways I put the new shoes in (my first brake job) and tightened up the e brake cable and went for a test drive. I walked away extremely satisfied, the e brake worked perfect which was my main reason for changing the shoes in the first place.
Basically the whole thing worked perfectly until 2 days later. I was driving for about 8 miles when my brake pedal suddenly fell through to the floor (or pretty close) at first I even thought I hit the clutch pedal! anyways after pumping the pedal a few times my pedal feel returned about 70% and after another maybe 10 seconds braking power was lost again until I pumped the pedal. So lucky for me my destination was a 1/4 mile away so I parked and checked the fluid level; it was at the max mark, then I check the wheels/drums and they were REALLY hot.
Also the driver's side drum had a faint smell of brake fluid. Anyways about an hour later I went for a short drive and the brakes worked fine so an hour after that I drove the 8 miles home and about 1/8 of a mile from home same thing happened; brake pedal basically goes almost down to the floor until pumped. My thoughts were that the new shoes were constantly rubbing and the old fluid overheated and caused failure so I flushed the system and put new fluid in and adjusted the shoes "in" with the click adjuster bolt. I had a really hard time getting the drums of to begin with. That and I loosened the e brake cable just in case.
So the next morning I drive about 5 miles without using the brakes pulled over to check that the drums were not heating up anymore (they weren't) so I thought I had fixed it. Well 3 days later (last night) I was experiencing the rear brake stickiness again. Basically when I was just moving from a stop where I had used the e brake to secure the car, I could literally feel that the rear brakes were stopping the car pretty aggressively and sure enough after a few more miles my brake pedal fell through so I poured water on the drums and they started to let off lots of steam, even after like 10 bottles!
So I limped to my friends house at 12:00 AM and jacked my car for a look. Again the drums really didn't want to come off and once we did get them off my friends dad inspected them and could find anything wrong with my installation. The conclusion that we came to was that the auto adjustor for the shoes makes the shoes too tight and they rub. So I am thinking maybe this is cause for the fluid to overheat and boil, causing the pedal to fall through. The pedal fell has gotten much worse since I bled the system 3 days ago so that may be an indicator. Did a test this morning for 5 miles and the drums were just below lukewarm.
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2007 Ford Focus - 70,000 miles
The ABS light went on two weeks after we had the brakes done at Ford. We have not yet had the chance to return there, and I am wondering if the recent brake job played a role in the ABS light issue... there is a youtube video claiming that debris from a brake job could dirty the "tone wheel/ring" and make it difficult for the ABS sensor to read the wheel. True or not?... And is this something I have a chance of dealing with myself?... I prefer to work on vintage cars that have no high tech add-ons... but for the time being, this is the car we have ...
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I have a 2007 Ford Focus and 'bout a month ago, the brakes lost compression when applied. The mechanic replaced the master cylinder and we thought everything was ok. After driving it around we noticed the brakes are less sensitive then before. Prior to this, lightly taping/pressing the brakes would slow the car. Now you must press more firmly and with a bigger stopping distance. Additionally, if you press very hard or very suddenly, it feels like the roughness of the road is transmitted to the foot. It's a bit choppy too and the car won't stop for several seconds. After 2-3 seconds it does stop. This happened three times in two weeks. It's never occurred before. When this happens to my husband, he pumps the brakes to correct it, and when this happens to me, I keep pressing down 'till it works. Could the anti-lock brakes be acting up? We brought it to the mechanic and so far he hasn't found a problem.
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Friday morning my brakes went out on me. I was pulling out of a parking space and my car was puttering (as if it was going to turn off) then I was pulling out of the parking lot, but when I stepped on the brake pedal, it wouldn't go down! So i put it in reverse ( i was going about 5mph)and circled around and just put in park and turned it off. I didn't even think to use the Ebrake. My son was in the back seat so I just tried to stop it automatically.I've been reading that doing that might have ruined my transmission.
It's a 2001 ford focus SE....
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I have a 2009 Ford Focus and have been having a problem with the brakes. When I hit the brakes at any speed there is a feeling of pulsing as I slow down. It is proportional to the speed I am going. It feels like there is an unevenness to the rotor or brake drum that makes one spot on either of those hit the brake pad/shoe more severely than the rest of the pad/shoe and thus I slow down more during that one spot. Maybe the best way to describe the feeling is like this: While the brake pedal is pressed down it feels like I am slowly pulsing the pedal even though the pedal is steadily pressed down. This pulsing feeling slows down as I slow down until I stop. What might cause this?
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My girl friend drives a 2000 Ford Focus manual 5 speed but she is hearing a rattle after she lets off the accelerator even in neutral with the parking brake on ?
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The door jams on my Ohio EX is rotting out. When Ford will release aftermarkets be allowed to be made?
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On a 1998 F150 2 wheel drive 4.6 250k, the front brakes will drag under a specific set of circumstances; only in prolonged stop and go traffic with hot ambient temps. Rotors, calipers, rear shoes, drums, fluid, bearings, seals have all been replaced. This occurs only a couple of times a year, otherwise the brakes work perfectly. It starts out as a slight shimmy that worsens until you can smell the pads cooking and the wheels are hotter than hell. The truck will hardly move at times. The rears are normal. After the truck cools for hours, no symptoms.
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My car makes a grinding/popping noise when driving that worsens when I go over bumps and that completely stops if I even touch the brakes. When I accelerate, the noise speeds up as well. I took it to a mechanic about three months ago and he said it was a loose bumper and that he secured it. After leaving, the noise got louder and happened more often. Sometimes the noise doesn't happen, while other times it does. My dad changed my front brake pads about a month ago so it can't be those. Is it possible that it is still my bumper making the noise? If so, I don't understand why it would stop when I brake.
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I have a 2000 X that the paint is starting to flake/peel off on the door jams and on the inside frame of the door? It has lived it's life in Vegas and wondered if the heat maybe had an effect on it? It is now in the cold of Salt Lake?
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I am having a starting problem with my Excursion. It cranks but immediately quits as if the entire engine jams or locks up. I thought it was the starter so I replaced the current one with the original starter that I happened to still have from a previous starting problem. The problem persisted. What the problem could be?
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Had a problem with squealing brakes? My brakes squeal awfully when I am in stop and go traffic (in dry weather). Taken it to the dealer 2x and they've told me it will just do due to the pad having metal in it. I just have a hard time believing that my just over 1 year old car squeals like a dump truck..
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When I step on the brakes during traffic & released it to roll the wheels, I hear the brakes squeaking a few rounds & then it will disappear. It sounds like the brake is still engage with the rotor & doesn't fully release until a few roll. This happens more during warmer days.
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My ABS light resets itself when I leave the truck, but when I go down the road later, after a few miles it lights up until I turn the engine off again. It's a 2008 Lariat Super Crew 60 K miles. I've searched and seen only a few posts related to the ABS. One item I've seen mentioned is a sensor on the rear differential. What other parts are in the ABS system that may cause a light to come on. How to troubleshoot the system would be great, too.
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This happens many times especially when I am parking parallel and need to take reverse frequently. The steering kind of jams, then vibrates and then the car engine is off. I need to restart every time this happens. This is causing fear to drive the car on highways.
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My 87 F-150 rear antilock light was coming on and off every now and again, but now it is on all the time... What it could be.
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Last week my ABS warning light came on. I took it to a mechanic (who I trust but is not a Prius-specific mechanic) who said warnings are coming up for the anti-lock accumulator and hydro boost motor. However, in July 2011 I had these both replaced. The work was done by a Toyota dealership. I ended up taking my car back 4 times after this work was completed as it kept having braking issues. They replaced the shim kit and bled the brakes. And eventually they replaced the master cylinder (this they did under warranty bc there was no way I was paying them any more money). At no point did they seem to understand what they were doing. (Along the way they broke my windshield and killed my battery.)
Finally by November 2011 my car was driving normal again. And then the warning light and high-pitched alarm went off again last week. I talked to Toyota Corporate who suggested I call the dealer to do the work since technically the accumulator and motor just ran out of their one year warranty. But this is the same dealer that didn't seem to know what they were doing last year.
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I have a 2006 GMC Yukon XL 4WD 1500 with 95,000 miles. When I make left turns, after coming to a stop, the antilock brake system engages, making a groaning-pumping sort of sound in the upper front left area under the hood. (This does not happen every time I turn after stops, but frequently.) My local GMC dealer mechanic believes that there is a faulty wheel bearing, and that a signal is being sent to the antilock brake system to engage. Not sure whether I should believe that or not. The repair would be expensive.
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