Ford Detects Falcon Brake Problem

[JoeT]

Ford Detects Brake Problem

Andra Jackson
25 May 2007
www.drive.com.au

The Ford Motor company is replacing the brakes hose on its popular BF and BA Falcon models Australia-wide after a brake durability problem was detected.

Owners of the models are being asked to bring their cars into Ford dealerships "as a matter of course" to have the rear brakes hose replaced at no cost.

Ford public affairs spokesman Edward Finn said about 200,000 cars are involved, covering the Falcon range from the BA which came on the market in September 2002 to the BF Mark 2 which was released last March.

"The rear brake hoses on certain sedan models are being replaced because in certain circumstances they wear excessively and the brakes lose their operating effectiveness," Mr Finn said.

He stressed the brake replacements which began this week are taking place as a safety program and are not a recall.

So far the problem has been detected in around 1000 cars.

The brake problem will be noticeable, and accompanied by a warning light, but will still allow the car to stop within the prescribed distance, Mr Finn said.

The problem of excessive wear on the brake lining is believed to stem from the high mileage the vehicles tend to be put to over different road surfaces.

Another 20,000 vehicles in New Zealand will also be subjected for brake replacements.

BF Ford Falcon

[mikmak]

Interesting that it took so long to find. They must be fairly high mileage examples, so it's good to see they are taking due care..

[redimpss5]

Well, here in these parts, they call them secret recall's. Check with www.blueovalnews.com and see how many there is. Ford believe's, if the customer dont know, we wont have to pay!

[ford&holden]

Originally Posted by mikmak

Interesting that it took so long to find. They must be fairly high mileage examples, so it's good to see they are taking due care..

Yeah, strange how it's taken this long to show up, apprently a small number of vehicles are affected.

[ford&holden]

Originally Posted by redimpss5

Well, here in these parts, they call them secret recall's. Check with www.blueovalnews.com and see how many there is. Ford believe's, if the customer dont know, we wont have to pay!

Hmmm yeah ok, only Ford hides recalls so they don't have to pay for repair.

[ykickamoocow]

Originally Posted by mikmak

Interesting that it took so long to find. They must be fairly high mileage examples, so it's good to see they are taking due care..

I find it odd that Ford didnt find this fault earlier aswell. I remember over a year ago a Taxi driver told me that the brake hoses on the BA Falcon were too short and as a result they (taxi drivers) were constantly having to replace them. If the Taxi drivers knew about the problem over a year ago why didnt Ford?

[JoeT]

200,000 Falcons Need Ford’s Fix

Joshua Dowling
1 June 07
www.drive.com.au

Ford Australia is recalling 200,000 late-model Falcons because of a ‘‘brake durability problem’’ but the company says it is not an official safety recall, rather a ‘‘service program’’.

So, when is a recall not a recall? According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau website, a recall is when a carmaker or component supplier ''identifies which batch of goods may have a safety defect, advertises this and-or writes to owners, and rectifies the safety defect free of charge''.

However, Ford says the Falcon's problem does not fall into that definition because, says Ford Australia spokesman Edward Finn, ''the vehicle still operates within regulatory requirements and [the defect] has been found on 0.5 per cent of the total Falcon population''. He says Ford is not contacting customers; rather the fault will be fixed when cars go in for routine servicing.

All Falcons built between September 2002 and March 2007 need to have the rear brake hoses replaced at no cost to owners. Finn says the program, which began last week, is a ''precaution'' rather than a recall.

''The rear brake hoses on certain sedans are being replaced because in certain circumstances they wear excessively and the brakes lose their effectiveness,'' he says.

[BBDOS CV8]

This sort of stuff happens all the time and is no biggie. Probably a few cars used in extremes developed a fault - product liability being what it is rather than waiting ten years for a bush mechanic to drive his family into a tree when his hoses fail they are rotating the parts on the fleet as it is serviced. This is actually responsible on Ford's part, a stitch in time and all that - if Falcons were spearing off the road with failed brakes we'd've heard about it by now. Like the VE V8s with the fuel hose, probably no private owner has had a failure.

My wifes' first Astra the steering sleeve bearing collapsed. The dealer told me it was a fault detected worldwide on ~ 5,000 cars - which sounds a lot until you bear in mind there were well over 500,000 of that model in circulation at that time. 1% is not a big hit rate and it was not a safety issue - just an annoying clunk going round corners.