Self-applying brakes!?

[Alteben]

Afternoon, everyone. Has anyone had a problem with the brakes self-applying?? I have a 2014 Limited and it’s been going on for several months now. The problem seems to occur at speeds between five and maybe 20 mph. And only while going through a curve or turn. Seems that the braking system (or something else) will apply either the front left or right brake (sometimes both) for just a fraction of a second. For now, this is only an annoyance. But I could definitely see it evolving into a safety issue. Ford dealership said that it could be several things but they did not know which. And it would get expensive for them to start replacing components. Please let me know if anyone has experienced this and what the remedy was. Thanks!

 

[MrPlat]

Afternoon, everyone. Has anyone had a problem with the brakes self-applying?? I have a 2014 Limited and it’s been going on for several months now. The problem seems to occur at speeds between five and maybe 20 mph. And only while going through a curve or turn. Seems that the braking system (or something else) will apply either the front left or right brake (sometimes both) for just a fraction of a second. For now, this is only an annoyance. But I could definitely see it evolving into a safety issue. Ford dealership said that it could be several things but they did not know which. And it would get expensive for them to start replacing components. Please let me know if anyone has experienced this and what the remedy was. Thanks!

Leave it to a dealership to skip any diagnostics and just start throwing parts at the problem.

It could be a few different things, like they said. I'd suspect a wheel speed sensor or something similar making the car think it has lost traction. Do you get any stability control or ABS lights or anything like that on the dash when it happens? You may be able to talk the dealership into letting you take a data logger.

 

[Alteben]

Leave it to a dealership to skip any diagnostics and just start throwing parts at the problem.

It could be a few different things, like they said. I'd suspect a wheel speed sensor or something similar making the car think it has lost traction. Do you get any stability control or ABS lights or anything like that on the dash when it happens? You may be able to talk the dealership into letting you take a data logger.

Thanks for the reply. There are no ABS codes present. But it does feel like the ABS system is pulsing one or both of the front brakes for a fraction of a second. Did a test drive with the traction control turned off and it made no difference. Next I pulled the 10a fuse for the ABS module and the problem went away. Unfortunately, that also activated about every warning light on the dash and also disabled the speedometer. So something is telling the ABS module two flash the brakes. Ruling out the traction control system since turning it off made no diff. I remember reading about a curve control system and also a grade assist system. Guessing it’s one of these two? Last guest would be the ABS module, itself. Thoughts?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Alteben.
What you are experiencing could be the curve control of the AdvanceTrac system kicking in.
Try doing the same maneuvers with the Terrain Management System in either Sand or Mud/Ruts to see if it still happens.

Peter

 

[MrPlat]

Thanks for the reply. There are no ABS codes present. But it does feel like the ABS system is pulsing one or both of the front brakes for a fraction of a second. Did a test drive with the traction control turned off and it made no difference. Next I pulled the 10a fuse for the ABS module and the problem went away. Unfortunately, that also activated about every warning light on the dash and also disabled the speedometer. So something is telling the ABS module two flash the brakes. Ruling out the traction control system since turning it off made no diff. I remember reading about a curve control system and also a grade assist system. Guessing it’s one of these two? Last guest would be the ABS module, itself. Thoughts?

I wonder if you have a faulty wheel speed sensor. Or maybe wiring going to the sensor. Usually when they go bad the ABS module can tell and just disables all of it, but maybe this is an edge case? If you have an OBD2 reader, try logging all four wheel speeds. If you can get the car to behave as you're describing, throw that data into Excel or something similar and graph the results to see if there are any major variations in the individual wheel speeds.

 

[Alteben]

Welcome to the Forum Alteben.
What you are experiencing could be the curve control of the AdvanceTrac system kicking in.
Try doing the same maneuvers with the Terrain Management System in either Sand or Mud/Ruts to see if it still happens.

Peter

Thanks for your input. Mine is front wheel drive, not all wheel drive. So it does not have the selector knob. One mode only.