Brake Failure

[Julie Butler]

Thought all of you might be interested in knowing the brakes went out on my 2002 t-bird. Going up hill at about 50 miles per hour and knowing that there was a stop light at the top, I let off the gas and at about 150 feet from the top of the hill I began to apply the brakes. Thought it was my imagination that the brakes felt mushy and did not respond in the normal way. When the brakes finally caught I was at the top of the hill about 10 feet from the stop light. I did manage to get the car stopped at the light and looked down at the floor and the brake pedal was on the floor. When the light changed, i gave it a small amount of gas and got thru the light and coasted into a parking lot. The dealership I purchased my car from sent a tow truck. I received the usual crap that I get from my dealership....."We will take a look at it and of course it will be covered under warranty". To make a very long story short..the mechanic called and said the brake fluid was corroded and he would order a new master cylinder and drain the fluid and it would be ok to pick up the next day. ..well, 9 days later I finally got my car back. They tried for three days to get the brake fluid out and could not. They said..."Never seen anything like it!". It took several calls from them to the Ford hotline to figure how to drain the fluid and clean out the lines. Ford hot line had them order and install another new master cylinder and then try bleeding the lines , one line at a time. No luck again! Finally after consulting with the hot line again they ordered a hydrolic pump which enabled them to finally bleed and clean out the lines. Two master cylinders and one hydrolic pump and countess mechanic hours later I got my car back. I am furious at Ford and I let them know it. I could have lost my life or killed someone else trying to get my car stopped. The dealership manager told me the brake fluid has problably been corroded since I drove my car off the showroom floor. There is no excuse for this, my car had only 10,000 miles on it. If I didn't love this car so much it would be sitting out on the street with a "For Sale" sign on it!

End of story....hope none of you have the same problem. Just want all of you to pay attention to your brakes and if at all they feel strange have them checked.

J F Butler

 

[InfernoRed]

Ok,as a former mechanic for the Air Force and now an assembler in a major coroporation who has dealt with various versions of hydraulic systems.......just how in hell does brake fluid(a hydraulic fluid which is liquid) "corrode"????......To corrode means it has rusted....A fluid/liquid cannot rust.

Infact,hydraulic fluids by thier design help prevent corrosion by keeping air and water away from the metal interior surfaces in which they move......such as brake lines(which themselves are often stainless steel and cannot rust)unless somewhere the system has become open...which would almost immiediately result in brake failure as well as a leak(with a hole somewhere in the system....pressure will not build up so the system will fail).

Something here that the dealer mechanic has told you sounds just plain fishy.The fact that they supposabley could not figure how to bleed/drain the system is also questionable.This car..although new is not revolutionary....It uses a standard brake system.Probably the same one(or a slight variation of)the one used in the Lincoln LS.

To me...this particular situation would warrant further investigation.Perhaps an inspection by another dealer.....even perhaps a Lincoln dealer or a completely different dealer alltogether.Something just does not sound right.

InfernoRed

 

[Julie Butler]

A thousand pardons please...just reread my post. I should have used the word contaminated. Contaminated brake fluid was what i was told. Sorry to have gotten you so upset InfernoRed!

J F Butler

 

[tbird]

Have you considered that someone may have tampered with your car? You don't know anyone that would want to "contaminate" your fluid do you?

 

[Julie Butler]

No, honestly....... I gave that some thought. Can't believe anyone could stoop so low. I am pretty protective of my car and keep a pretty close eye on it, but cannot watch it every second. I guess you never know tho, there are some pretty strange people out there. It does make an owner wonder tho. I even wondered if Ford might try to get out of the warranty after they found it was contaminated (I said the right word this time Inferno), but they gove me no problem.

J F Butler

 

[Free as a Bird]

In the "old days" it was very easy to check and add fluids. Today, however, symbols on caps replace the actual location of exactly what item you are looking at to check and what it is actually connected to. And remember, the person doing this type of service is usually been recently promoted from lot boy(or girl). I've recently had my bird serviced at my Ford dealer. Even though the mechanic checked off and changed the oil, filter, fluid levels, tire air pressure, etc., I noticed the washer fluid was not refilled and upon further checking, tire air pressure varied more than 5lbs. and NONE were per specs. I know for sure the pressures weren't checked as the road dust around the valve stems were undisturbed and the washer fluid took approx. a gallon! I called and e-mailed dealer and so far no one has had the courtesy to even call back! Inexperienced people would not know the location of this brake fluid reservior, usually mounted on the firewall (whats that?!) and not at the front of the engine compartment, like our bird. If your vehicle was serviced at any time prior to this event, someone could have accidently put the wrong fluid in the wrong place..... Glad you are OK!!!

 

[InfernoRed]

Julie,I think you mistook my agrivation with an appearent dealership seemingly acting.....I don't know......perhaps clueless???Maybe slightly patronizing toward you?????as annoyance with you.

This could be no farther from the truth.Infact....I was not even upset or mad......something always hard to convey on these forum boards is emotions....even using the "emoticons".

I could easily see in my "minds eye" a dealer mechanic saying to you that the brake fluid is "corroded".Most dealership mechanics figure Joe or Jane Doe who comes in off the street knows zilch about the mechanics behind/underneath thier vehicles.I have had the "pleasure" with the resulting amusement of standing at the local dealership maintenance desk as a mechanic explains what is wrong with the car/truck in question....using dubious and "creative" terminology.It is especially funny when somebody they are doing this to just happens to be a home mechanic that would regularly do said maintenance/troubleshooting on thier own....but since the car is under warranty has brought it in....only to be patronized.Ahhhhh,the stories I could tell you....funny and scary.

Back to your situation though.........contaminated instead of corroded makes far more sense.

InfernoRed

 

[HKS]

Wrong Fluid

I second that. I think someone put the wrong fluid in the brake reservoir.

Originally posted by Free as a Bird
In the "old days" it was very easy to check and add fluids. Today, however, symbols on caps replace the actual location of exactly what item you are looking at to check and what it is actually connected to. And remember, the person doing this type of service is usually been recently promoted from lot boy(or girl). I've recently had my bird serviced at my Ford dealer. Even though the mechanic checked off and changed the oil, filter, fluid levels, tire air pressure, etc., I noticed the washer fluid was not refilled and upon further checking, tire air pressure varied more than 5lbs. and NONE were per specs. I know for sure the pressures weren't checked as the road dust around the valve stems were undisturbed and the washer fluid took approx. a gallon! I called and e-mailed dealer and so far no one has had the courtesy to even call back! Inexperienced people would not know the location of this brake fluid reservior, usually mounted on the firewall (whats that?!) and not at the front of the engine compartment, like our bird. If your vehicle was serviced at any time prior to this event, someone could have accidently put the wrong fluid in the wrong place..... Glad you are OK!!!

 

[Free as a Bird]

Julie.... In the unlikely event this would reoccur, the hand brake could be used to bring the car to a stop. This is a mechanical setup totally independent of the hydraulic system. Give it a try to get a feel for it. It is perfectly safe to do. Also, you may want to examine those who performed prior service on your bird!