Well, it seems Toyota isn’t the only one with brake problems these days. Consumer Reports is reporting that Ford has issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) on the brake systems on 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrids and 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrids. A similar issue to what Toyota is experiencing with their 2010 Prius, it seems the transition from regenerative to conventional brakes is bothering Ford as well.
From what Consumer Reports is saying, they experienced the issue while doing a report on the Fusion Hybrid. The driver started braking for a stop sign and found that the brake pedal went down further than normal, but the car didn’t slow quickly. The brake system dash lights lit up as the driver blew through the stop sign, and after coasting to a stop and restarting the engine the car performed as it normally should. Ford was notified, and within a few days, issued the TSB, which they also call a “Customer Satisfaction Program.”
The TSB in question is coded “TSB-09-22-11,” so owners of Fusion and Milan Hybrid sedans built on or before October 17, 2009 can mention this code to their service advisor to ensure that the issue is fixed. The solution is a software fix, much like Toyota’s probably will be.
In the mean time, if you experience this issue, full braking power should be available if you push the brake pedal down about an inch further than normal. If you do experience this issue, push the brake pedal down firmly and you should be fine, no need to actually measure the difference. Once you restart the car, the brake controller will have reset as well, so your brakes should work properly.
Ford will begin notifying owners any time now, as they specified “early February, 2010” as the start date for the program. For once, an automaker is taking a safety issue quite seriously, having already devised a solution and letting its customers know about it.
No injuries or crashes have been reported because of this issue, but we’ll keep you updated when more is known.
Consumer Reports‘ video of the issue:
by John Suit
Source: Consumer Reports via AutoBlog