2023 FORD F-150 Service Brakes Problems

After the vehicle sat parked for 12 days, upon initial startup, the vehicle experienced a total failure of the Electronic Brake Booster (EBB). The dashboard displayed multiple critical fault codes including "Brake System Failure," "Service AdvanceTrac," and "Check Brake System." The vehicle software triggered a safety interlock, refusing to shift out of Park, rendering the vehicle completely disabled. This failure is a direct match to the defect described in NHTSA Campaign 25V488 (Ford Recall 25S77). Ford’s official filing for that recall admits the EBB module is "susceptible to normal but infrequent voltage disturbances" which causes the EBB motor to enter a "faulted state" or shut down. My 2023 Lightning is currently excluded from this recall despite experiencing the exact same "voltage disturbance" failure mode upon waking from a sleep cycle. This is a critical safety defect that resulted in a total loss of power braking assist and vehicle immobilization. Ford is currently refusing to cover the $2,800 repair cost under the recall, despite the identical nature of the failure

The contact's mother owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the owner received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V512000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that there was an abnormal squealing sound coming from underneath the vehicle, near the brakes upon depression of the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who advised the contact to not be concerned about the squealing sound. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 18,614.

Mileage: 18,614

When pressing on the break to come to a stop pulling in parking space, my F150 quickly accelerated cause a crash into a building my 2 year old truck has been declared a total loss from insurance.

While slowing down the vehicle on a downward slop, vehicle applied Parking Break by itself and stopped the vehicle suddenly with Parking Break sign on the odometer. There was no object or anything in the front of the vehicle and it was being driven on forward direction. So, this abruptly applying of Parking Break by itself created a confusion and unsafe situation.

I was parking my car and pressed down on the brake. The car continued to roll forward so I pressed down farther. The car kept rolling forward. I took my foot off the brake and then pressed down hard and came to a stop. The brake fluid is clean and at max levels. The brake pads are relatively new. No visible signs of damage or leaking.

On [XXX] at [XXX] I dropped my wife and 2 children off at the Funland Arcade in Deep Creek, Maryland. The parking lot was full from the holiday weekend and I was planning on taking the Lightning to a nearby charger while the family gamed so I double parked perpendicular to the arcade entrance, put the hazards on, and let them out. After the 3 of them got out, I placed the Lightning in reverse to back up 5-10 feet so that I could exit the parking lot through the same way I came in. Once I had enough space from reversing so I could make the turn to exit I placed the Lighting in drive. The moment the Lightning switched to drive it accelerated at a very high speed as if I was flooring the gas pedal, which I was not. The lightning was in one-petal mode which I always use unless I’m on a highway. I immediately began pumping the brakes but the truck would not stop, I probably slammed on the brake petal 4-5 times to no avail. I even tried shifting the truck back into park but it would not shift out of drive. I was able to luckily steer the truck into a hillside approximately 150 feet away. The truck ran over numerous small trees and shrubs before crashing to a stop approximately 16 feet up the hill. Shortly after the shock wore off, I slowly reversed the truck down the hill, exited the truck, and informed dozens of onlookers who came out of the arcade to see what the noise in the parking lot was from, that the truck just took off on its own but that I was fine. I called 911 and the police came. Luckily no people or vehicles were between the arcade entrance and the hillside or the outcome would have been significantly worse. This crash was witnessed first hand by wife and 2 children. I have grave safety concerns about this truck now and will not put my family or self back in it until Ford fixes this problem. I am making this complaint in case this information can help prevent future crashes of this vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving my 2023 Ford F-150 XLT through a parking lot at low speed, I attempted to stop and shift into reverse to avoid a tight turn between parked vehicles. With my foot firmly on the brake, I shifted into reverse—though the gear shift was abnormally resistant. The system indicated the vehicle was in reverse. Despite keeping my foot on the brake, the truck suddenly and forcefully accelerated on its own, overriding my braking input. It collided with two parked vehicles before I was able to bring it to a stop by turning off the engine. The vehicle continued to accelerate even while I applied firm pressure to the brake pedal, which depressed all the way to the floor and failed to stop the truck. At no point did I press the gas pedal. After impact, the gear shift remained in reverse with a blinking red light. No airbags deployed. This was an extremely dangerous situation that could have seriously injured someone had they been standing nearby. Additionally, for some time leading up to the incident, I noticed increasing difficulty shifting gears even with the brake fully depressed. At times when in park the light for other gear modes would turn on.  Indicating the vehicle may be in another mode other than park.  The brake pedal has also felt inconsistent, often requiring unusually deep and forceful pressure to stop, whether on highways, city streets, or in parking lots. This appears to be a critical failure of both the braking and transmission systems. I am extremely concerned for my safety and that of other Ford drivers. I am requesting a formal investigation into this matter

My 2023 F150 has been having issues with the key fob connecting to the vehicle and responding to commands (unlock/lock, remote start etc). On the date of this incident the truck was not responding to the remote start key fob function. While standing outside the vehicle from a distance of about 10 feet I attempted the remote start function with no success approximately five times. On the last attempt I heard the audible sound of the parking brake releasing (moving from the “brake on” mode to the “brake off” mode). Once inside the vehicle I confirmed that the parking brake had been released. I was ultimately able to get the truck started and driving in a normal condition. The parking brake has not malfunctioned since. The key fob / truck connection continues to malfunction to various degrees. Sometimes no response, sometimes no remote start, sometimes the truck will be running and display a dashboard message indicating the key fob is not present leaving the truck running but “locked” in park. During this parking brake incident the vehicle was parked and locked with the parking brake set as normal (on or about May 10 , 2025). It was on level ground in a parking lot. No other vehicles were parked near mine. It was morning time, the truck was “cold” after being parked all night. No other unusual condition were noted. Weather conditions were dry and mild (50 degree temperatures). The remote connection issues have been going on about 6-8 months. I have replaced the battery in the remote 2x with no improvement. The vehicle has been inspected by the selling dealer once for the fob with no results (April 17, 2025). I have an appointment for the latest issues on June 2 2025. It is my belief that the random release of the parking brake system poses a risk for myself and other members of the public that may be injured by a sudden “roll away” of this vehicle by parking brake failure. I am in possession of the vehicle and it’s available for inspection. .

On three separate occasions when I open my door, I get a “brake fault service soon” notification. I’ve done research and forums say this was a recall in the past. I’m aware my truck doesn’t have any current recalls but it has me wondering if it was ever fixed or if the repair was not good enough. I never owned the vehicle when the original recall came out so I’m not too sure what happened.

Emergency brakes automatically deployed. Vehicle not letting me retrieve key from ignition. Vehicle does not indicate it is in park.

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-over prevention camera malfunctioned, and a blank screen was displayed, causing a visibility hazard for the driver. Additionally, the "Brake Fault" message was displayed while at a stop light. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 2,000.

Mileage: 2,000

numerous times while emergency braking my foot pushed on accelerator and brake at the same time called Ford and they said take to dealer Called dealer and discussed the problem I said it is a design problem and they said if designed that way nothing they can do Accelerator is 5/8" wider than my cars

Stoped truck to get gas ! put in park ! When I got out of truck it went in reverse almost running me over !! Ripped my driver door all the way around to the front wheel before I could get it to stop !! It is equipped with a sensor to automatically put it in park when door opens !! But it did not happen !!!

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while her son was at a red light, the vehicle jolted forward crashing into the vehicle in front without warning. The automatic braking system failed to engage. No injuries were sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not towed and was able to restart. The dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

Mileage: 46,000

My parking brakes just comes on as im driving. This has become a dangerous situation as its caused My car to suddenly stop in different driving situations.

Transmission jerking, harsh shifting, clunking, lunging, and hesitating. I have taken this truck to Hagerstown Ford for repair. They advised they were able to duplicate the problem and found the transmission was 1.5 quarts low on fluid. I have driven the truck a few hundred miles since and the issues are still there. I also understand Ford is having issues with the 10R80 transmission and there have been recalls but mine is not applicable. I have also had two occasions with the park brake not fully releasing and getting a service park fault now appearing on the dash. They said there were no codes, and everything is, ok?

Repeated failures with my parking brake applying itself when it wants too. It’s not on a hill, it’s not just when towing my trailer, it’s not related to solar flares - this truck is dangerous. The brakes apply at speed, did it on [XXX] in LA. The whole system just applied the brakes at 55mph. I have Repeated failures with “collision warning system” and the FORD app has this notated. And at times this system applies the brakes when there is nothing in front of me! The screen (not dash) pixelates, crashes, doesn’t work properly. It will not stay connected. I rely on this navigation, the screen quits working. The passenger window goes down & up at will, like a TX employer. I cannot stop it, can’t even figure out what’s going on. My truck is not subject to recall but should be! Others have similar issues why is mine not recalled? This truck is very dangerous to drive and I don’t trust it. Problems began after we left TX around August 2023 and I was working and could not get it fixed - DEALER COULD NOT MEET FORD WARRANTY TO PROVIDE ME A CAR/TRUCK TO USE! And now I’m in North TX where Ford Dealers have horrible reputations. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I have only had this vehicle for maybe 300-400 miles. Bought it new. Three times I’ve had the parking break engage on its own when trying to accelerate at intersections. For no reason the red parking break will light up and cause the truck to screech to a hault, then disengages when I engage the throttle again. I’ve not noticed any messages in the instrument cluster beyond the red parking light indicator. It’s intermittent and I’ve been unable to figure the triggers to recreate, but I’m scared about this happening at a time when it would cause a serious accident with my kids in the truck.

On several occasions, while in drive, the parking brake will automatically engage uncommanded, resulting in an abrupt stop. This has happened a total of 7 times since 4/26/2023; 6 times with the owner operating the vehicle, and one time with a sales rep operating the vehicle. Unlike the collision emergency braking system, the heads up display displayed “parking brake” at the time of the incident. Following the incident with the sales rep, the dealership was “unable to replicate the issue”. The vehicle was released to the owner where the fault occurred in the middle of an intersection. Had this not been a three-way stop, serious bodily injury or death may have resulted to/from oncoming traffic.

When selecting the TOWING option on the dash cluster, the dash shuts off to a black screen and restarts while driving. This prevents seeing the speed and other dash information. The truck also sends warning to phone after dash shut off that power steering, ABS, seatbelt control, and airbag control is malfunctioning. Took to dealer and they were able to reproduce the issue. The replaced dash but did not fix. They escalated the issue to Ford who said they are working on it back in October. Still no fix.

I experienced a complete brake failure.

My 2023 Ford F-150 keeps having an issue where the electronic parking brake will engage while I'm driving. The issue has happened to me at least five times. Luckily for me I was going between 5-10 miles per hour and did not have any vehicles around me. However, the issue can be dangerous if I vehicles behind me and the parking brake engages with no warning. Once the parking brake engages the only way to turn off the parking brake is to do it manually. There was a recall regarding the same issue for F-150s 21-23, but my vin number was not part of the recalled because my vehicle was probably manufactured after the Feb 25, 2023, listed on recall 23S35. I called Fort customer service, and they were no help besides telling me to take the vehicle to the dealership.

The dash cluster randomly shuts-off/restarts while driving the vehicle and when it did last time ford app sent 3 notifications of faults with antilock brakes, TPM, restraint indicator warnings. If there is an issue with these items and I have road emergency and my brakes and restraints do not work properly it could be a safety issue for all involved in accident (I would not know how fast i was going since dash cluster is off). I took the truck to dealership and they are passing it off on SSM 51757 (which my truck also has an issue with) and a loose pin connection. But this happens with no checking of trailer tire information. The speakers made a loud crackling noise and my phone disconnected from infotainment center just prior to the incident.

I was slowing down for a corner and was going approximately 5 mph when the emergency brake activated without any action on my part. The truck came to a stop with 3 or 4 jerking motions. I released the brake and continued with my drive. The truck had about 1500 miles on the odometer at the time and I have had no problems since. This week I heard of the recall which doesn't cover my truck.

1. Issue number one parking brake engages on and applies the brakes while the vehicle is moving. I had this issue happened to me at least three times; luckily I was not going very fast when it happened. Additionally, Parking brake light will come on at random times. (is not Auto Hold) 2. Multi-functions switch that controls turning signal gets stuck in the up or down position after engaging the switch to change lanes. When attempting to flip the turning signal to off the switch will get stuck and will only go back to off or neutral position after forcing the switch up or down. Additionally, when forcing the turning switch to the off position, it causes the high beams to turn on. 3. Pre-collision assist warning will come on at random times while driving. I have had this happen to me almost daily when I'm driving into work in the morning.

The contact rented a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to slow down as needed. The contact stated that multiple unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 300.

Mileage: 300

While driving at approximately 45 mph my parking brake warning light and message on the instrument panel cluster came on, on several occasions. I also recently experienced an unintended activation of the electric parking brake while driving.