Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1996 Ford E350 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 19 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
ABS SPORADICALLY CAUSES DIFFICULTY IN PRESSING THE BREAK PEDAL WHILE RHYTHMICALLY PULLING HARD RIGHT. HIGHWAY OR SURFACE SPEEDS. GOOGLE HAS MANY WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND NO FIX. NO CODES ARE THROWN. DEALERS ARE NO HELP. MUST DISABLE THE ABS BY PULLING THE 60AMP FUSE.
DISCOVERY OF CRACKED FRONT ROTORS ON MY 1996 E-350 MOTORHOME. FIRST CRACKED ROTOR FOUND IN MAY 2007 WITH 35,000 MILES ON VEHICLE. SECOND CRACKED ROTOR FOUND IN SEPTEMBER 2009 WITH 41,000 MILES ON VEHICLE. *TR
UPON INSTALLING PERFORMANCE FRICTION BRAKE PADS ON VEHICLE, I FELT THEY WERE WRONG. I CALLED AUTO ZONE FROM WHOM I PURCHASED AFTER MEASURING AND FINDING THEY WERE 0.773 THICK. THEY ASSURED ME THEY WERE THE RIGHT PADS. I INSTALLED AND THOUGHT NOTHING MORE OF IT. UPON DRIVING VEHICLE AROUND A MONTH LATER, I HAD NOT GOTTEN 5 MILES WHEN THE FRICTION CAUSED MY CALIPER SEALS TO CATCH FIRE. WE CONTACTED PERFORMANCE FRICTION THE SAME DAY AND TALKED TO MIKE COCHRANE, WHO ASSURED HE WOULD INVESTIGATE AND GET BACK TO ME. AFTER NOT HEARING ANYTHING FOR OVER A WEEK, WE CONTACTED AGAIN. THIS TIME I TALKED TO JENNIFER RAMSEY, WHOM CONTACTED ME THE FOLLOWING VIA E-MAIL AND SAID THEY WOULD INVESTIGATE AND GET BACK. I DID SOME INVESTIGATING MYSELF AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING : NAPA PADS MEASURED 0.719 ; ALBANY 0.720 ; WAGNER 0.717 ; WAGNER HEAVY DUTY 0.738 AAND MOTORCRAFT 0.738. I REPORTED THESE FINDINGS TO MS. RAMSEY AND ASKED WHY THEIR PADS WERE NEARLY 0.040 THICKER THAN ANY OTHER MANUFACTURER, BUT STILL HAVE NO ANSWER. THE LAST CONTACT I RECEIVED FROM MS. RAMSEY STATED THAT THESE PADS WERE HIGH VOLUME SELLERS AND THEY HAD NO OTHER COMPLAINTS, AND THEY WERE STILL INVESTIGATING DATED 11/07/01. I LAST E-MAILED MS. RAMSEY ON 12/07/01 AND HAVE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE. THANK YOU. *AK
CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY AND VEHICLE WAS VIBRATING. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO A SHOP, AND BOTH FRONT ROTORS WERE CRACKED. *AK
SYMPTOM IS THE ABS LIGHT ON THE DASH COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY FOR A FEW WEEKS, THEN STEADY. WHEN THE LIGHT COMES ON, THE ABS IS INOPERATIVE (UNSAFE CONDITION). THE 1ST HCU FAILED WITHIN 2 YEARS ($550 TO REPLACE). THE SECOND FAILED JUST OVER A YEAR LATER. THE DEALER MECHANIC SAYS THAT HE SEES *LOTS* OF THESE ($550 TO REPLACE EACH OCCURRENCE). FORD CLAIMS NO RESPONSIBILITY. I HAVE A CLASS C MOTORHOME BASED ON THE SAME '96 FORD E350 CHASSIS. THE ABS LIGHT IS COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY. I BELIEVE THE HCU'S THAT FORD IS INSTALLING ARE DEFECTIVE AND THEY SHOULD DESIGN A BETTER ONE (THAT LASTS LONGER THAN 1-2 YEARS). CURRENTLY, FORD EXPECTS THE CUSTOMER TO PAY $550 EVERY 1-2 YEARS JUST TO KEEP THE ABS SYSTEM FUNCTIONAL. THAT'S ON TOP OF ANY OTHER NORMAL MAINTENANCE THE VEHICLE REQUIRES. THANKS. *AK
VEHICLES TAKEN TO PA INSPECTION STATION FOR YEARLY REQUIRED INSPECTION. TECHNICIAN FOUND CRACKS IN BOTH FRONT DISC BRAKE ROTORS AND SEVER DRAGGING OF THE CALIPERS. VEHICLE WOULD NOT PASS INSPECTION AND REPAIR FACILITY RECOMMENDED REPLACING ROTORS AND CALIPERS. ALL PARTS ARE ORDERED AND EXPECT REPLACEMENT IN SEVERAL DAYS. CONTACTED FORD MOTOR COMPANY TO FIND OUT ABOUT RECALLS; NONE LISTED. ASK ABOUT REPLACEMENT OR REPAIR IN OUT-OF-WARRANTY SITUATION BECAUSE OF SAFETY ITEM; THEY SAID NO BECAUSE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. MY CONCERN IS THAT POSSIBLY MORE THAN JUST MY VEHICLE HAS DEVELOPED THE CRACKS IN THE ROTORS BECAUSE OF A DEFECT IN THE PART. I FEEL THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE OF THE WEIGHT AND SIZE OF THE UNIT. AS A MOTORHOME OVER 10,000 LBS AND 32 FEET IN LENGTH ANY BRAKING PROBLEM AT HIGHWAY SPEED COULD LEAD TO MAJOR ACCIDENT POTENTIAL. WHETHER FORD ASSISTS OR THE NHTSA INVESTIGATES TO DETERMINE IF A RECALL IS NECESSARY, THE VEHICLE WILL BE REPAIRED BECAUSE I PERSONALLY WILL NOT USE IT WITH DEFECTIVE BRAKES. *AK
THE VEHICLE COULD NOT PASS INSPECTION DUE TO WORN OUT BRAKE PADS. YH
THE BRAKES FAIL ON WET ROADS AND QUICK STOPS. *AK
WHEN BRAKES WERE APPLIED THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, RESULTING IN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. DEALER HAS INSPECTED AND REPAIRED VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES, AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
NO SUMMARY
FRONT RIGHT AND LEFT BRAKE ROTORS CRACKED IN THE SAME LOCATION WHICH MAY CAUSE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. BACK ORDER FOR BRAKE ROTORS. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
CURRENTLY OWN 4 FORD SUPER CLUB WAGONS, ALL 4 VANS HAVE EXPERIENCED BROKEN ROTORS, ONE VAN MORE THAT ONCE. *ET
ONGOING PROBLEM WITH ABS SYSTEM FAILING TO OPERATE PROPERLY WHILE DRIVING. THE ABS SENSOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON. ALSO, TRANSMISSION FAILS SIMULTANEOUSLY/ONE OR MORE WHEELS WOULD LOCK UP, AND BRAKE PADS FAILED AT 8-10,000 MILES. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
ABS SYSTEM PERFORMING POORLY.
WHILE DRIVING UP A STEEP HILL AND THEN DOWNSHIFTING BACK DOWN THE HILL, ENGINE QUIT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL, AND THE BRAKING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED, WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE, NEEDED TO APPLY THE EMERGENCY PARKING BRAKE. BEEN TO DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE PROBLEM. *AK
OWNER HAS ABS BRAKES, ABS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING. WHEN VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER HE WAS TOLD THAT THEIR WAS A HYDRAULIC FAILURE.OWNER IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *AK
OWNER STATES THAT ABS BRAKES ARE NOT OPERATEING PROPERLY, HE NOTES THAT THE FRONT BRAKES HAVE MORE PRESSURE THAN REAR BRAKES, RESULTING IN COSTLY REPAIRS AND POOR BRAKE OPERATION. *AK
ANTILOCK BRAKES ARE OVER BOOSTED, ALLOWING 60 TO 70 PERCENT OF BRAKING POWER NOT TO BE EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED , CAUSING BRAKE PEDAL TO GO TO FLOOR IF BRAKES ARE APPLIED/RELEASED AND REAPPLIED.(2ND VEHICLE ON 508695)
ANTI LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM EXPERIENCED CONTINUED PROBLEMS, POSSIBLE DESIGN FLAW OF LOCATION IN MOUNTING OF THE UNIT, MOUNTING IS ON THE FRAME NEAR EXHAUST HEAT FACTOR, POSSIBLE RESTRICTION TO THE SYSTEM, NOT ALLOWING THE FLUID TO RETURN FROM THE CALIPERS TO THE MASTER CYLINDER (RESULTING IN OVERHEATING AND FAILURE OF MULTIPLE BRAKE SYSTEM COMPONENT REPLACEMENTS). MJS
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .