1997 Ford F-250 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED AFTER MULTIPLE USES, THE BRAKES WENT TO THE FLOOR WHEN PULLING AN RV IN TOWN. THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THE BRAKE FLUID IS BOILING AND THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE FLUSHED, THEN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF BRAKE FLUID PUT IN TO HANDLE THE WEIGHT OF THE RV.
WHIEL THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED FOR A FEW DAYS, A MECHANIC NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE TRUCK. HE OPENED THE HOOD AND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FLAMES WERE COMING FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER. AS THE BRAKE FLUID RESEVOIR MELTED BRAKE FLUID IT MADE THE FIRE BIGGER. NO PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO THE FIRE. NO AFTER MARKET EQUIPMENT. PHOTOS AND INVESTIGATION REPORT MAILED TO BRUCE YORK. *JB
MILEAGE IS 113,086. HAVE ABS. BRAKE LINES TO BOTH REAR WHEEL HAVE RUBBED AGAINST MOVING PART OF SHOCK ABSORBERS. THE RUBBER COVERING OF BRAKE LINES IS WORN OFF COMPLETELY AND PART OF METAL IS WORN. FORD DOUBLE INSULATED THE BRAKE LINES SO IT IS CLEAR THEY KNOW THE LINES WERE RUBBING AGAINS THE SHOCK ABSORBERS. IF THESE LINES WERE TO WEAR THROUGH AND FLUID SPRAYED OUT, I DREAD TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAPPEN. TO REPEAT: REAR BRAKE LINES ARE RUBBING AGAINS PART OF SHOCK ABSORBERS, THUS WEARING AWAY ALL THE INSULATION ON LINE.*AK
BOTH REAR BRAKES LINE CONTACT WITH REAR SHOCK ABSORBER, CAUSE BRAK LINES TO WEAR AND LEAK.*AK
VERY INTERMITTENT INCIDENTS OF FALSE ABS CYCLES WHEN BRAKING TO A STOP FROM A LOW SPEED. THIS SEVERELY EXTENDS THE STOPPING DISTANCE WHICH COULD RESULT IN A COLLISION INTO STOPPED VEHICLES. MOST OF THE INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED ON DRY PAVEMENT. THE ABS WARNING LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON DURING THE INCIDENTS. THIS SAME PROBLEM IS DESCRIBED IN NHTSA ITEM NUMBERS SB604767 AND SB606515. WILL BE TAKING TO FORD DEALER, BUT IT WILL BE HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK
THE BRAKE LINE BROKE WHERE IT IS RETAINED BY A CLIP. NO PREVIOUS ROUGH DRIVING OR ABUSE.*AK
WHEN APPLYING BRAKES THE BRAKE PEDAL CHATTERS AND DOES NOT STOP TRUCK , ONLY WHEN I LIFT MY FOOT AND APPLY THE BRAKE IT WORKS. *AK
FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS ARE PREMATURELY WEARING OUT, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHEN TRAVELING AND UPON DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO MAKE A NORMAL STOP THE REAR BRAKES LOCK UP, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO GO INTO A SKID, RESULTING IN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER, PARTS REPLACED. *AK
INTERMITTENTLY ABS LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE WHILE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. DEALER HAS INSPECTED VEHICLE AND HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, THUS THE PROBLEM CANNOT BE CONFIRMED OR CORRECTED. THE MANUFACTURER WILL BE NOTIFIED. *AK
REAR BRAKES LOCK UP; ABS NOT WORKING PROPERLY; EMERGENY CABLE NOT WORKING PROPERLY.
LEFT REAR DRUM IS OVERHEATING . THE DEALER WAS CONTATCED, AND REPLACED VARIOUS PARTS. OTHERWISE, DEALER INSISTED THAT CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG . *AK
BOTH FRONT ROTOR ASSEMBLIES CRACKED. NLM
BRAKES CONTINUALLY FAIL, UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM.
WHILE GETTING NEW TIRES PUT ON VEHICLE DEALER NOTICED THAT FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WERE CRACKED. DEALER REFUSED TO FIX PROBLEM, EVEN THOUGH CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY.
REAR BRAKE FAILURE ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. FINALLY RESULTED IN CRASH. DEALER COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM. SELF DIAGNOSIS OF RAISING REAR OF VEHICLE WHILE IDLING IN DRIVE WITH REAR WHEELS SPINNING REAR WHEELS COULD NOT BE STOPPED WITH FULL BRAKE PRESSED. NO BRAKING ON REAR WHEELS. DISCONNECTING WIRE TO PROPORTIONING VALVE RESULTS IN NORMAL REAR BRAKE OPERATION. POSSIBLE CAUSE IS EBCM OR PROPORTIONING VALVE.
REAR BRAKES WORN OUT. YH
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY REAR ABS BRAKES FAILED, VEHICLE LOST CONTROL, RESULTING IN A CRASH.
BRAKES LOCK UP OCCASIONALLY.
WHILE DEPRESSING THE BRAKES THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO TRAVEL, CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
BRAKE SYSTEM OVERHEATS AND FAILS.
DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS RIGHT REAR BRAKE WILL LOCK UP, CAUSING TIRE TO SLIDE. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
CONSUMER WAS ENTERING A FREEWAY AT 45-50 MPH WHEN HE TRIED TO STOP VEHICLE AND COULD NOT DUE TO BRAKE FAILURE. *AK
WHEN DRIVING ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS THE BACK BRAKES DO NOT GRAB AT ALL OR SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN. THE VEHICLE HAS TO BE TAKEN OUT OF DRIVE AND PUT IN NEUTRAL IN ORDER TO STOP. ON 3/14/97 BRAKES ADJUSTED BY DEALERSHIP, PROBLEM STILL OCCURRING. *AK
BRAKES: DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10MPH PREPARING TO MAKE LEFT TURN AND VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. ICE WAS ON HIGHWAY, APPLIED BRAKES AND PEDAL WENT COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR, CAUSE OF FAILURE UNKNOWN , VEHICLE NOT TAKEN IN FOR REPAIRS. MANUFACTURER INSISTS THAT THERE IS NO RECALL. *AK
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 1997 Ford F-250 has 25 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.