2023 FORD MUSTANG MACH E Service Brakes Problems

Parking break fault message appeared on the vehicle and the parking break was stuck on, making it impossible to release the break and therefore move the car.

Dear NHTSA Team, I am writing to urgently raise concern and seek answers regarding what appears to be a systemic safety issue affecting vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and self-driving technologies. I have personally experienced repeated and dangerous incidents of phantom braking, overcorrection, and loss of control while driving a 2019 Toyota Prius. The car suddenly brakes, swerves, or pulls sharply when it detects shadows, road inclinations, or mild curves — making it unsafe to drive, especially at highway speeds. These events occur without any driver error. To make things worse, this issue is not limited to one brand or vehicle. Over the past year, I have driven and rented multiple cars from different brands and models through rental companies, and many of them presented the exact same unsafe behavior — unpredictable braking, steering correction, and traction instability. This clearly indicates that the issue is industry-wide, not isolated to a single manufacturer. I have been a professional rideshare driver for over five years, completing more than 500,000 miles without a single accident or ticket. Since October 2023, these vehicle behaviors have made it nearly impossible for me to continue working safely. This situation has destroyed my livelihood — I am now three months behind on rent, my mental health has been severely impacted, and I am facing homelessness for the second time in two years. All of this has happened because of unsafe technology that drivers cannot fully disable, even when it is clearly malfunctioning. I respectfully ask NHTSA: Why are automakers allowed to release and maintain these unsafe systems on public roads? Why do drivers not have the right to safely disable malfunctioning ADAS or self-driving features, like any other electronic system that can be shut down in an emergency? When will NHTSA take meaningful action to stop these dangerous practices before more lives are affected?

I’m writing this message out of frustration, exhaustion, and genuine concern for public safety. Over the past months, I’ve been renting and driving multiple cars from different brands and models — Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, and now a 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E — and all of them show the same dangerous behavior: •sudden phantom braking for no reason, •traction control malfunctioning, throwing the car from side to side, •unstable handling, especially on highways or during light rain. This is not an isolated case — it’s happening across several brands and systems, which makes me question what is really going on. Why are drivers being forced to deal with unreliable technology that clearly isn’t ready for real-world conditions? Are these systems being tested using real drivers as data sources to “teach” self-driving cars how to handle special situations? Because that’s what it feels like — we are being used without consent, forced to correct constant software mistakes that could cost lives. This situation has destroyed my professional and financial stability. I work as a rideshare driver (Uber and Lyft), and passengers have reported me as “unsafe” because the car suddenly brakes or moves erratically — something completely out of my control. I’ve lost access to stable work, fell behind on my car payments, and ended up returning my own vehicle because of all the expenses and stress trying to fix something that was never broken in the first place. And I have to ask: Why did NHTSA approve a regulation that prevents drivers from fully turning off these driver assistance systems? In what world does it make sense for a safety-critical technology to have no emergency off switch? In any other context — like electricity — we have breakers to stop the system when it becomes unsafe. Cars should be no different. I’ve lost almost everything I worked for because of this. Please, take this seriously. People’s lives, jobs, and mental health are being destroyed by this technology.

While driving the 2023 Ford MachE in 1 Peddle mode Friday 12 July 2024. I had to suddenly brake due to a car cutting of the car in front of me to make an illegal turn. I applied the brakes (HARD) and my car came to a complete stop. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, and waiting for the still parked car in front of me to move. On I released my foot of the brake (the car should have held in place). However, warning lights sensors started beeping going crazy as the car lunged forward. It caused me to hit the car in front of me. The lunge was so forceful that for a moment I thought another car had rear-ended me and pushed me into the stopped car in front of me. I did not have time to see all of the alerts flashing on the dash as they were flashing as the car was propelled forward. The other car did not sustain any damage. However my car car did. While waiting on the Police to come make a report I did use the in car engineer feedback and recorded a message notifying Ford that my car had lunged forward. On Monday 15 July I called the Ford BEV team to tell them what happened. Was advised to take it to a dealership to be checked out. The dealership ran diagnostics and updated the car via a technical service bulletin. 24-2187 issued on 07 June 2024. Prior to me taking my car to the dealership I also came to your website and there were no active recalls and no mention of this bulletin. The bulletin address the 1 pedal drive fault. I was not aware of this TSB. I have documented over 50 posts related to this error and fail.

Whenever it rains the brakes on the ford Mac-E get stuck to the rotor. The car will not move unless you apply pressure to the pedal and accelerate. The car makes a clicking noise and it’s visible damage to the rotor and stoping isn’t smooth.

This vehicle has a one-pedal drive mode that uses regenerative braking to slow / stop the vehicle when you remove your foot from the accelerator pedal. On several occasions, this system has suddenly turned off with an error message displayed on the screen. This means that the braking that I was experiencing at the moment suddenly ceased. This is a dangerous situation that could result in an accident. Ford indicates it is a known issue, but currently does not have a fix for it.

Brakes: The brakes grab hard when coming to a stop and cause a slight jerk. I have reported this issue to the original dealership of purchase; Angela Krause Ford in Alpharetta, GA. It’s been two weeks since I purchased this vehicle brand new and I still have not been able to get it in for repair. Charge Port Door: The charge port door cover came off while I was trying to close it and the clip part that connects the door to the car and locks came off (very cheaply made and other Mach E owners have suffered this same thing shortly after purchase). I can’t drive the vehicle because of the brakes issue and also because with the slightest wing going down the highway the charge port door pops open. I have it secured with a piece of tape currently but that’s still not safe or secure and the door could still fly open.

Brakes grind when coming to a stop at low speed or may not disengage from a stop at low accelerator input. Note auto hold/parking brake feature disabled. Appears to be oxidation and rough surfaces on brake rotors. Car has approximately 2700 miles and has done this since new.

After a few days in garage attempted to drive out where first upon engaging drive selection, releasing brake pedal, and slight throttle, a clunk and jerk launch occurred. With each subsequent wheel rotation there was a scraping sound synchronized with a torque dip in the propulsion. drove 1-2 blocks up street up to ~5 MPH and this symptom followed exact with speed. Stopped car, tried reverse a block, same thing, surging like propulsion with apparent torque dips in sync with speed. Repeated in drive, then reverse a few times, then parked back in garage to be towed into dealer. I put masking tape on steering wheel AND on Windshield saying not to drive over 2MPH to witness the symptoms. Upon receipt at dealer, was told symptom was then repeated, therefore car would be held for a while as it would need to be torn down and analyzed to find the cause. After 3 weeks, told not yet finding the cause, we discussed possibility of brakes where they agreed and was to pull them apart to inspect. Never did. Now 4 weeks later, still at dealer, telling me they cannot repeat the effect but that drove it around. I told speed may have wiped it away, this 2nd time it was towed in for this. I consider this a safety / drivability issue and want it noted, (And fixed of course).

On Saturday July 15, 2023 my family and I were in the car going grocery shopping. By time I reached the grocery store a warning came up on the screen that stated brake fluid low. When I arrived home I did not have any brakes. The vehicle was towed the dealer where it was purchased. I was told that the brake caliper were faulty and their is only one mechanic that is allowed to work on electric vehicles.

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Mustang Mach E. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake fluid warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the brake pedal floored while depressed, and the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact that the calipers had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 237.

Mileage: 237