2011s: How Spongy Is Your Brake Pedal?

[JanChristian]

I rarely drive our Explorer but I did the other day and noticed the pedal felt super soft and it lacked stopping power. We were at a mileage where the brakes would probably need to be done soon so I figured it was that and took it in. They put new pads on all around, machined the front rotors, and replaced the rear rotors. Once they got it all back together, they said the pedal still felt soft and didn't know what to do so they put in a call with Ford, who then had them replace a rear caliper. I picked it up today and it definitely stops better, but the pedal still feels really soft/spongy. I got a 2017 Escape to drive while our Explorer was in the shop and the braking difference was night and day. The Escape's brakes were firm and very responsive. Our Explorer's brake pedal goes far enough down to where it can't go any further. Are yours like this, or does it sound like something is wrong? I can't remember how it was when new and I'm used to driving a different vehicle, so this could be normal for all I know

 

[thefranchise713]

An Explorer is never going to stop like an Escape... the Escape is a MUCH lighter vehicle.

That said, I'm locking up the brakes on my 17 by about halfway. Once in a while I notice that it seems like it takes a bit longer to come to a stop and I have to press harder, but it might all be in my head. I had the brakes checked a while ago because every so often over night it seems to decide to lose vacuum, but it comes back just fine on a restart and doesn't seem to have a discernable leak.

If you're hitting the end of pedal travel in your Explorer, you've got a problem that needs addressing.

 

[peterk9]

I'm not sure if 'bleeding' the brake lines is a required step in a brake job but could that be the issue if they didn't perform that? Air in the line?

Peter

 

[1995E]

From my experience. When I changed my rear brakes with my 2011's original brake calipers. I never opened the bleeder valve, all I did was take off the brake fluid reservoir cap and use a brake tool to rotate and compress the piston. After that, the brakes felt so spongy and would not stop the car properly. I basically went through the neighborhood a couple times and slammed the brakes, and eventually, the brakes seemed to sort of catch. I never attempted to bleed it because I don't know how air could get in if I compressed it with the valves closed.. After 5000 miles with spongy brakes, I put in the interceptor brake calipers, and bled the whole system with DOT 4.

Definitely odd why the brakes felt so spongy after compressing the calipers in and I'm suspecting it's due to the lines.

 

[JanChristian]

An Explorer is never going to stop like an Escape... the Escape is a MUCH lighter vehicle.

That said, I'm locking up the brakes on my 17 by about halfway. Once in a while I notice that it seems like it takes a bit longer to come to a stop and I have to press harder, but it might all be in my head. I had the brakes checked a while ago because every so often over night it seems to decide to lose vacuum, but it comes back just fine on a restart and doesn't seem to have a discernable leak.

If you're hitting the end of pedal travel in your Explorer, you've got a problem that needs addressing.

I wouldn't expect the Explorer to stop as quickly as an Escape, I was just referring to pedal feel, which was very different. Bottoming out is definitely worrisome. With that being said, it does stop before bottoming out (but I haven't done any emergency stop tests).

I'm not sure if 'bleeding' the brake lines is a required step in a brake job but could that be the issue if they didn't perform that? Air in the line?

Peter

They replaced a caliper, which involves opening the lines, so I'm sure they did.

Thanks for the replies!

When you guys are sitting still with the engine on, are you able to depress the brake pedal far enough to where it "taps" at the stopping point?

 

[reserved50]

sitting and applying the brakes is always different than driving, did they flush all 4 brakes? I know mine feel average, nothing too noticeable, not too firm or soft

 

[MERC09]

I had the same problem, soft brakes, with my 2011 explorer. Brought it to dealership today it needs a master cylinder and rear brake pads and rotors. The dealership recommended not driving it until the repairs are made due to safety. You should make sure you are safe and ask about that. This is just one of the many ongoing issues with my 2011 explorer. Good luck!

 

[1995E]

I had the same problem, soft brakes, with my 2011 explorer. Brought it to dealership today it needs a master cylinder and rear brake pads and rotors. The dealership recommended not driving it until the repairs are made due to safety. You should make sure you are safe and ask about that. This is just one of the many ongoing issues with my 2011 explorer. Good luck!

I suggest having someone bleed the brakes completely first before doing the whole master cylinder thing. This means changing out all the fluids completely. I had the soft pedal and then I changed all 4 calipers and did a bleed. The rear calipers in the Explorer really like to seize and there was actually a TSB on it

 

[MERC09]

I suggest having someone bleed the brakes completely first before doing the whole master cylinder thing. This means changing out all the fluids completely. I had the soft pedal and then I changed all 4 calipers and did a bleed. The rear calipers in the Explorer really like to seize and there was actually a TSB on it

Thanks! I just called the dealership and they said they checked the calipers and that was not the problem. Should I believe that?

 

[1995E]

Thanks! I just called the dealership and they said they checked the calipers and that was not the problem. Should I believe that?

Not sure, I would actually take my last suggestion with a grain of salt. Mainly because I had two variables, I completely bled my system, and I swapped my calipers at the same time. When I changed my calipers, I upgraded to the Explorer Sport / Interceptor calipers. I would suggest having someone bleed your brakes completely. I would also have a look at your rear calipers, does your parking brake actually hold the car. Is there any play.

I knew my rear caliper was bad because one of the rear caliper would not clamp/ barely clamped when I applied the parking break.

I also think I may have just had air somewhere in the system and it was only solvable by doing a complete change of the brake fluid to ensure that there was no air in the system at all.

If that doesn't work, then I guess do what your dealer suggests which is replace the master cylinder.

My steps would be:
Do a complete brake fluid change, that means bleeding all 4 sides. This is a two person job. There are many great videos of doing a complete full system bleed. I would check out Chris Fix on youtube. After 4 years, the brake fluid was really dark brown. Or have your mechanic do it. I usually do it myself because I know I'll get it right

 

[Joejeffery]

I rarely drive our Explorer but I did the other day and noticed the pedal felt super soft and it lacked stopping power. We were at a mileage where the brakes would probably need to be done soon so I figured it was that and took it in. They put new pads on all around, machined the front rotors, and replaced the rear rotors. Once they got it all back together, they said the pedal still felt soft and didn't know what to do so they put in a call with Ford, who then had them replace a rear caliper. I picked it up today and it definitely stops better, but the pedal still feels really soft/spongy. I got a 2017 Escape to drive while our Explorer was in the shop and the braking difference was night and day. The Escape's brakes were firm and very responsive. Our Explorer's brake pedal goes far enough down to where it can't go any further. Are yours like this, or does it sound like something is wrong? I can't remember how it was when new and I'm used to driving a different vehicle, so this could be normal for all I know

Mine was similar, pump the brakes and they are fine, drive a bit and back to spongy. After all was said and it ended up being the front wheel bearings. Lol they were worn just enough for the rotors to wobble when moving and spread the brake pads pushing the pistons bak into the calipers, therefore causing a pump of the brake pedal to push the calipers back out into position….. until you moved again

 

[Todd Moore]

Mine was similar, pump the brakes and they are fine, drive a bit and back to spongy. After all was said and it ended up being the front wheel bearings. Lol they were worn just enough for the rotors to wobble when moving and spread the brake pads pushing the pistons bak into the calipers, therefore causing a pump of the brake pedal to push the calipers back out into position….. until you moved again

How many miles did you have on your explorer? I am having a similar problem on my 2015 Sport with 47k on it. When I sit at a stop light and press firmly on the brake pedal it slowly goes to the floor. Just replaced the front/rear pads and rotors, flushed and bled the brakes.

 

[boominXplorer]

How many miles did you have on your explorer? I am having a similar problem on my 2015 Sport with 47k on it. When I sit at a stop light and press firmly on the brake pedal it slowly goes to the floor. Just replaced the front/rear pads and rotors, flushed and bled the brakes.

You either have air or a leak in the line. Do the caliper slides move very freely? I've seen a few freeze up and cause a squishy pedal but not slowly go to the floor.

 

[Todd Moore]

You either have air or a leak in the line. Do the caliper slides move very freely? I've seen a few freeze up and cause a squishy pedal but not slowly go to the floor.

The caliper slides move freely. They were cleaned an lubed when the brakes were installed. There are no leaks that we can find. The brake fluid level is not decreasing over time. We rebled the brakes yesterday and did a an ABS service bleed three times with Forscan. The pedal is firm, but slowly goes to the floor under constant pressure. Could it be be an internal leak in either the ABS unit, the brake booster or the master cylinder? Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone want to buy a low mileage (46,000 miles) 2015 Explorer Sport with a Stage 4 Livernois Motorsports kit installed?

 

[Richardtroy]

I rarely drive our Explorer but I did the other day and noticed the pedal felt super soft and it lacked stopping power. We were at a mileage where the brakes would probably need to be done soon so I figured it was that and took it in. They put new pads on all around, machined the front rotors, and replaced the rear rotors. Once they got it all back together, they said the pedal still felt soft and didn't know what to do so they put in a call with Ford, who then had them replace a rear caliper. I picked it up today and it definitely stops better, but the pedal still feels really soft/spongy. I got a 2017 Escape to drive while our Explorer was in the shop and the braking difference was night and day. The Escape's brakes were firm and very responsive. Our Explorer's brake pedal goes far enough down to where it can't go any further. Are yours like this, or does it sound like something is wrong? I can't remember how it was when new and I'm used to driving a different vehicle, so this could be normal for all I know

I have a 2007 explorer and have the same issue. All break pads, rotors, caliper checked out fine but still soft. When I double pump they work great so I was told Master cylinder works fine with no bleeding at at all. Still can't figure out what's wrong. I rarely drove mine until recently and immediately felt the soft pedal. Scary when needing to stop abruptly. Still doing research to figure it out so anyone have clue????

 

[Aggiesdm]

Did you ever solve this problem? I’m having the same issue with my 16 year old daughters 2011 XLT w/136K Miles. The pedal will firm up when pressed while parked and engine off. Then it will slow sink to the bottom. I looked at all wheels and no leak that I could find. I figured it was a bad seal and it was getting pressure bleed at the master cylinder. So…I replaced the master cylinder tonight with a brand new AC Delco unit, bench bled it and bled the brake lines at the cylinder…no improvement. Same exact issue still going on.

Now I’m wondering about the ABS unit. Could that be it? Its not throwing an codes and has no leak that I can see.
I’m going to try to bleed the system some more, but this is not spongy, this feels like pressure leak somewhere.

Any thoughts?

 

[RonParise]

I have the same issue with my 2011 limited, Same as has been described in this thread. double pump and it feels right for a while. Its been this way as long as I can remember (300000 miles) I have done a panic stop or two and it stops the way I would expect, so Ive learned to live with it

Ill be watching this thread in th hope someone figures out what to do