2014 Energi Brake Problems

[gprooney]

I leased a 2014 Ford Fusion Energi in August, 2014. Had vehicle for nine days and absolutely loved it. However, on the ninth day I was approaching cars stopped at a light (at approximately 10-15 mph) and as I attempted to apply the brakes my vehicle wouldn't stop but just slowed slightly. The best way to describe the feel is comparing it to trying to stop a moving vehicle that has power brakes but the engine stalled. I pressed down on the brakes as hard as I could but to no avail and I ended up hitting the vehicle stopped at the light. There was no damage to the vehicle in front of me (other than a slightly bent muffler pipe that pierced my plastic bumper). The damage to my vehicle was the front grill, hood and both front fenders. My insurance company is referring to it as a "constructive total loss" as the damage doesn't exceed the value of the vehicle but they are totaling it out anyway for safety reasons (???). My fusion only had about 200 miles on it. I am very curious if anyone else has experienced this problem with the brakes. I look forward to any replies. Thank you

[Fat Fusion]

Dang.  Did you try to get Ford to just give you another one?  That's a HUGE liability problem on a new car and sounds like the car could potentially repeat the problem.  I've never had that problem.  I haven't read any threads about others having that same problem either.  Good luck with whatever you decide to do about it.

[Russael]

I've never heard of that happening... well, only if something got jammed behind the brake pedal, such as if your floormat got bunched up behind it, preventing you from pressing it to the floor.  Not only does the car have regen braking (using the electric motor) but also has mechanical brakes.  The car also has a built in safety program in case the accelerator pedal becomes stuck - the manual says to just continue to apply your foot to the brakes and the car will come to a stop.

 

I think Ford would be VERY interested to study your car if indeed the brake pedal was unobstructed and it still wouldn't stop.

 

Aside from that - I'm glad you're OK and the person in front of you too.

[Hybridbear]

Never heard of anything like this. Did the insurance do any investigation as to why your brakes didn't work?

[openair]

Saw this thread and thought I would ask if what I've been experiencing with my energi's brakes is normal.  Sometimes when I press the brake pedal, I can hear what sounds like an electric motor running.  Similar to the sound of the parking brake but sounds as those it's coming from the front rather than behind. Almost always occurs at least the first two times I press the brake pedal when getting into the vehicle.  Sometimes stops after I start the vehicle.  There is also a clicking noise and sensation felt on the shifter when pressing the brake pedal in park.

Edited September 24, 2014 at 01:15 AM by jeff_h

[Russael]

That is all normal.

 

The electric motor noise you hear is the active grill shutters opening or closing.  I always hear it while in the garage.  Sometimes I hear it as I'm pulling out, other times I hear it as I press the brake pedal.  I've heard it pulling in and turning the car off.

 

The clicking noise felt on the shifter is also normal.  There is a pin that retracts when the car is started and the brake pedal depressed.  It is a safety device to keep people from moving the shifter from park unintentionally.

 

You may hear one other clunk when pressing the brake and touching the start button, and that's the large HVB relay/closer engaging, which supplies power to everything.

[Hybridbear]

The electric motor noise you hear is the active grill shutters opening or closing.  I always hear it while in the garage.  Sometimes I hear it as I'm pulling out, other times I hear it as I press the brake pedal.  I've heard it pulling in and turning the car off.

It's not the grille shutters, they're silent. It's the electric brake booster vacuum pump.

[Devon D]

I have had this exact problem twice now.  Once in April 2016.  While driving my 2014 fusion energi, a complete loss of braking power, and a simultaneous "brake failure alert".  

The car was under warranty, as it has 22k miles on it at the time.  I was told the 'brake pedal sensor' had failed.  It was replaced, and I was assured it would not happen again.  Today July 2017, I had the exact same problem again.  While driving the car, a complete and total loss of braking power, while the vehicle was moving.  It is in the dealership again for diagnosis.  At my expense.  Additionally, I am paying the dealer for a rental, while they diagnose the problem.  

 

This is an extremely unsafe condition.  Why would a bad sensor, completely disable braking.

[murphy]

Sounds like a power brake failure.  Did you try as much force as you could muster on the brake pedal?  They are supposed to still work in the absence of power assist.  The same is true for the steering.

[Devon D]

Even with an extreme amount of pressure (grinding my foot down, while pulling on the bottom of the steering wheel), failed to produce any braking power.  The only slowing I think I got at that critical moment, was from the battery regeneration.  

[jj2me]

Yikes. How did you come to a stop? Did the electronic parking brake work? In the congested state where I live, it would be improbable that I could coast to a stop on any of my trips without crashing into something, to say nothing of doing that twice.

[Devon D]

I put the car into lowest gear, and turned on hill assist, then ground my passenger side tires into the curb.  I tried the parking break, but it kept auto-releasing because the car was in drive.

 

Pretty much a terrible experience....if I was traveling at more than 30mph, it would have been effectively impossible to stop.....would have just had to find an inanimate object to ram into, or better yet, drive off road, and hope the grass would do the trick.

[murphy]

Low on brake fluid?

Master cylinder failure?

Air in the brake lines, but it is hard to believe that both systems would have air in them.

[Devon D]

It doesn't seem like a physical problem at all.  Its instantaneous nature of complete brake failure, not weak or soft breaking, makes me think it is some computer controlled disablement of the braking system entirely.  Dealership, can't seem to find/isolate/or reproduce the problem.  This puts me in a real bind, because I'm relatively sure it will happen again.  

[Russael]

That's so bizarre.  I wouldn't think the brake system was "brake by wire" like the accelerator pedal is.  There should still be a physical connection between the brake pedal and the master cylinder.  I will say, that if the brake booster goes, it becomes extremely difficult to stop a car.  My other vehicle needed a tow and wouldn't start due to a bad fuel pump, but when we put it in neutral to maneuver it for the tow truck, we were on a slight decline, so the truck rolled backwards slowly, and literally standing on the brakes felt like it did absolutely nothing, and we nearly rolled in to traffic.

 

If they can't find the problem, I'd insist that they replace everything having to do with the brake system (except the calipers, pads, lines, etc).  I'd get after them about every sensor, master cylinder, brake booster, so on and so forth having to do with that system, or I'd threaten to hold them responsible next time the system fails and you wind up crashing.  That is a massive safety issue.

[Kgrover]

I've had something like this happen on other vehicles in the past.  A bad ABS sensor can cause the system to think that a wheel has locked up and it will hold back the braking effort causing the car to not be able to stop.  It's possible the ABS system in your fusion is getting a reading from a sensor and causing it to think it needs to release the brakes to prevent a skid.  I'd have them really look over the signals from the sensors and make sure they are all OK.  I'm not sure if you can hear or feel the ABS system working in the newer cars, but that could be what's causing the issue. 

[Devon D]

UPDATE:  apparently on these vehicles there is no direct braking.  It is electronically controlled, and the brake 'feel' is simulated.  However, after 26 days in the dealer, the problem could not be isolated, or reproduced.  I had to dump the car, for safety reasons, and buy another.  Ford motor company was more than useless, as every time I contacted their customer hotline, I was re-directed to the dealer, as dealerships are independently owned and operated, even when the dealer could do nothing for me.  I took a real financial hit on this one and will NOT repeat the mistake of buying another ford vehicle....and this coming from a 5 time ford owner.  

[jj2me]

Very scary. Maybe sue Ford in small claims court for the hit you took on selling it? Rationale: they didn't provide an emergency brake that could be used in a normal braking failure.

[Aaron]

This has happened to my 2014 Fusion Energi twice now.  The car will drive with normal brakes fine for about 5 minutes, then complete loss of brakes.  Regen is the only thing slowing the vehicle.

The first time it happened it was in the dealer for 3 weeks before they reported I needed a new wiring harness for the brakes.  $550.

Now it has happened again 1 year later.  This car is extremely unsafe.  Ford did a terrible job engineering this braking system and they should have a recall with a real fix.

[knight3136]

I was in the rear seat of a 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid. We were going about 40 MPH. I was in the rear passenger seat. We then suddenly see a vehicle has it reverse lights on and actually reversing. We were about 60-65 feet away from the car when it started reversing. The driver of the fusion hit the break pedal all way down, but the car wouldn't stopped. The vehicle traveled about 30 -40 feet before colliding with the vehicle that was reversing on a one way street.   Similar to non-hybrid I think Ford has problems with their breaking system on all Ford Fusion. Everyone in the Ford Fusion vehicle ended up in the hospital. Front passenger airbags blew up and didn't provide much of protection to the front passenger. The car had about 45000 miles at the time of the accident.