Car died at intersection - "parking brake fault"

[Scott Asheville]

We love our AAA membership. I'm pushing 70, and I've called them to (free) change a flat tire in my driveway. Yup, that's part of the membership. They've saved us on the road more than once over the years. Mainly batteries and tires.

Sponsored

 

[oysterville]

Yeah I'm not sure how any of that works. My main gripe was that the Ford service was going to take 60 - 90 minutes but the cop was able to get a truck there in 5 minutes that gladly charged me $135. There were trucks available in the area, just not trucks available to the service I was using... which makes the service useless lol.

Cash tows pay better than club tows.

 

[Tim d]

I stopped the car at the light, the car shut off from the auto start / stop. Pressed the gas, then got a message about a parking brake fault and nothing worked. No power to anything, couldn't get it into neutral, nothing.

So I used the Ford app and requested roadside assistance. I indicated that I was blocking traffic and needed assistance ASAP. They came back with 60 - 90 minutes. What a joke. Police officer pulled up, said he needed to get the car out of the road (I agreed), he called a tow truck, they charged me $135 cash only. Officer was nice enough to drive me to an ATM and the dealership. In my frustration I forgot to get a receipt from the tow truck driver.

Checking into the Ford dealership service, they asked how many miles are on the car, I say somewhere between 36k and 37k. They tell me that since it's past 36k miles I will likely be on the hook for repairs.

I'm going to refrain from using language which I really REALLY want to use, but suffice it to say that I am done with Ford, and done with all this modern technology BS in vehicles. I'm sure I just sound like an angry boomer, but being stranded with literally no way to move my vehicle off the road is one of the worst feelings there is. I know enough about cars that I can service everything in, say, a 1975 pickup. So that's going to be my next move. I'll gladly sacrifice some gas mileage in exchange for being able to quickly diagnose and fix (or at least temporarily address) a problem.

And Ford roadside assistance is useless. Guess I'll be getting AAA.

Rant over.

I agree,I'm 65. modern vehicles,modern problems.in some aspects modern vehicles are better,but also in some aspects they are not.the fact you can't even put a vehicle into neutral to move it is outrageous.

 

[MikeS1942]

I stopped the car at the light, the car shut off from the auto start / stop. Pressed the gas, then got a message about a parking brake fault and nothing worked. No power to anything, couldn't get it into neutral, nothing.

So I used the Ford app and requested roadside assistance. I indicated that I was blocking traffic and needed assistance ASAP. They came back with 60 - 90 minutes. What a joke. Police officer pulled up, said he needed to get the car out of the road (I agreed), he called a tow truck, they charged me $135 cash only. Officer was nice enough to drive me to an ATM and the dealership. In my frustration I forgot to get a receipt from the tow truck driver.

Checking into the Ford dealership service, they asked how many miles are on the car, I say somewhere between 36k and 37k. They tell me that since it's past 36k miles I will likely be on the hook for repairs.

I'm going to refrain from using language which I really REALLY want to use, but suffice it to say that I am done with Ford, and done with all this modern technology BS in vehicles. I'm sure I just sound like an angry boomer, but being stranded with literally no way to move my vehicle off the road is one of the worst feelings there is. I know enough about cars that I can service everything in, say, a 1975 pickup. So that's going to be my next move. I'll gladly sacrifice some gas mileage in exchange for being able to quickly diagnose and fix (or at least temporarily address) a problem.

And Ford roadside assistance is useless. Guess I'll be getting AAA.

Rant over.

Only problem with that, is Ford, or any other manufacturer, use AAA as their roadside assist. They don't have fleets of tow trucks sitting around waiting for calls for roadside assistance. I had to use AAA for a lockout last summer and it was 120 minute wait.
Be nice to hear what went wrong with your Maverick though.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

... I have used AAA for over 30 years and even they might tell you 9 minutes or 90 minutes.

Was with a friend when he broke down on the road in a rural area. AAA was not 9 or 90 minutes - it was over 2 hours.

I don't have AAA but do have Road Hazard on my auto insurance. You don't have to wait for AAA, just google nearby wrecker services and go with one that can get there the fastest.
Keep the receipt and get reimbursed later.
Much cheaper than AAA, too.

 

[ZABSMAV]

I stopped the car at the light, the car shut off from the auto start / stop. Pressed the gas, then got a message about a parking brake fault and nothing worked. No power to anything, couldn't get it into neutral, nothing.

So I used the Ford app and requested roadside assistance. I indicated that I was blocking traffic and needed assistance ASAP. They came back with 60 - 90 minutes. What a joke. Police officer pulled up, said he needed to get the car out of the road (I agreed), he called a tow truck, they charged me $135 cash only. Officer was nice enough to drive me to an ATM and the dealership. In my frustration I forgot to get a receipt from the tow truck driver.

Checking into the Ford dealership service, they asked how many miles are on the car, I say somewhere between 36k and 37k. They tell me that since it's past 36k miles I will likely be on the hook for repairs.

I'm going to refrain from using language which I really REALLY want to use, but suffice it to say that I am done with Ford, and done with all this modern technology BS in vehicles. I'm sure I just sound like an angry boomer, but being stranded with literally no way to move my vehicle off the road is one of the worst feelings there is. I know enough about cars that I can service everything in, say, a 1975 pickup. So that's going to be my next move. I'll gladly sacrifice some gas mileage in exchange for being able to quickly diagnose and fix (or at least temporarily address) a problem.

And Ford roadside assistance is useless. Guess I'll be getting AAA.

Rant over.

Didn't purchase an extended warranty? Small price to pay for assurance that you'd only be on the hook for an $100 deductible..

 

[HeyBales]

I had seen the recall on the app last year but the status was "remedy not yet available" (on either that recall or a different one) so I was waiting on that, guess I lost track. But reading the recall notice it does sound like a very possible culprit. I do like how the remedy for the battery recall is "not yet available."

So you must have gotten prior recall then that involved the BMS system.
They made a software change to that to catch an issue before it got to the problem state.
Involved any battery.

Maybe they did away with that when they discovered it was only catching FLA batteries, and they all had physical issues.

 

[Bob zimmerman]

To the OP. Man I’m sorry to hear about this.
I work in an IT dept. and technology is my job. And I agree, technology is killing us. So we are on the same page.
We have no choice but to embrace technology, it’s moving exponentially and not being driven by older people lol.

Your warranty was up. Sorry man,
You forgot your receipt. That’s on you man.

I say all this with a gentle heart. After your anger has subsided you will see that it wasn’t all as bad as it could have been. We cannot plan for every disaster in our lives. And sure, looking back, we could have always done something different.

Take care,
Bob

 

[olderthanyourdirt]

I stopped the car at the light, the car shut off from the auto start / stop. Pressed the gas, then got a message about a parking brake fault and nothing worked. No power to anything, couldn't get it into neutral, nothing.

So I used the Ford app and requested roadside assistance. I indicated that I was blocking traffic and needed assistance ASAP. They came back with 60 - 90 minutes. What a joke. Police officer pulled up, said he needed to get the car out of the road (I agreed), he called a tow truck, they charged me $135 cash only. Officer was nice enough to drive me to an ATM and the dealership. In my frustration I forgot to get a receipt from the tow truck driver.

Checking into the Ford dealership service, they asked how many miles are on the car, I say somewhere between 36k and 37k. They tell me that since it's past 36k miles I will likely be on the hook for repairs.

I'm going to refrain from using language which I really REALLY want to use, but suffice it to say that I am done with Ford, and done with all this modern technology BS in vehicles. I'm sure I just sound like an angry boomer, but being stranded with literally no way to move my vehicle off the road is one of the worst feelings there is. I know enough about cars that I can service everything in, say, a 1975 pickup. So that's going to be my next move. I'll gladly sacrifice some gas mileage in exchange for being able to quickly diagnose and fix (or at least temporarily address) a problem.

And Ford roadside assistance is useless. Guess I'll be getting AAA.

Rant over.

AAA, Ford, GM,et al, use the same tow companies. Had a problem out of state and AAA passed me to the office in that state after 40 mins on the phone,I walked to nearest off ramp and found towing and repair facility in 20 minutes. Some times your lucky,

 

[Scott Asheville]

We have no choice but to embrace technology, it’s moving exponentially and not being driven by older people lol.

I was a top tier R&D software analyst in the Fortune 50 at age 68. I only stopped because I got bored after 50 years of making the software world turn.

I've had the joyful experience of having more than one smug Fortune 50 data storage millennial telling grandpa how some bit of software tech works. Then I get to gently explain, "Actually I wrote that. Here's how it really works.".

 

[AZ-Mike]

I stopped the car at the light, the car shut off from the auto start / stop. Pressed the gas, then got a message about a parking brake fault and nothing worked. No power to anything, couldn't get it into neutral, nothing.

I've got a new 2025 Mav XL AWD Non-Hybrid with 420 miles on it and this nearly happened to me twice now. Same scenario as yours, as I hit the gas to go I seen the "Parking Brake On" (not fault) message pop up. I instantly pressed the parking brake button and was able to continue on my way.

I would think its more of an issue with the auto brake hold than the auto start/stop feature.

I'm going to take the wait and see approach. If it happens more frequently or lets me sit locked up on the road I'll be going back to the dealer.

Hopefully its a programming issue that can be fixed easliy and remotely.

 

[MavChris]

Just curious, do you use the auto hold feature as well as the auto start/stop for the engine?? I believe auto hold uses the parking brake to hold the car until you let up off the brake and press the gas. Makes more sense to me to get that error if the auto hold was engaged and had an error when unengaging.

 

[AZ-Mike]

Just curious, do you use the auto hold feature as well as the auto start/stop for the engine?? I believe auto hold uses the parking brake to hold the car until you let up off the brake and press the gas. Makes more sense to me to get that error if the auto hold was engaged and had an error when unengaging.

Yes, I use both the auto hold and auto start/stop. I'm considering changing this, but both features were definitely enabled when I experienced the issue.

The auto hold feature engages when coming to a complete stop and allows me to take my foot off the brake pedal. It releases the hold when I press the gas. I agree it must use the parking brake for this feature, but it does not indicate the parking brake is engaged, just the little hand icon goes green when it is engaged.

 

[HeyBales]

Yes, I use both the auto hold and auto start/stop. I'm considering changing this, but both features were definitely enabled when I experienced the issue.

The auto hold feature engages when coming to a complete stop and allows me to take my foot off the brake pedal. It releases the hold when I press the gas. I agree it must use the parking brake for this feature, but it does not indicate the parking brake is engaged, just the little hand icon goes green when it is engaged.

You can test this on a hill if it's really the parking brake.
Should shift one direction or the other the same way as using the parking brake.

I'm thinking it's not the parking brake, because the hill assist doesn't use it.
I don't use the auto-hold, but the auto-hill assist is used when I leave my neighborhood street pointing up, and it never sinks back for the seconds it's holding as I go to the Go pedal, but the parking brake usage on the slightest uphill shifts all that forward weight back.

I'll have to test the down aspect of auto-hill assist better to see if it feels like just the front brakes, since that's the only ones getting power for me.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

... I have used AAA for over 30 years and even they might tell you 9 minutes or 90 minutes...

That's exactly why I do not have AAA. I have road hazard on my car insurance. If I need assistance, tow, etc., I call a local guy or google the nearest wrecker service, if away from home. If they can't get to me in a timely manner, I ask them for suggestions. If no help, I call another wrecker to see if they can get there sooner. I keep the receipt and just file w/ insurance later.

Wait for AAA? Been dere - done dat. Never again. Not in this rural area. And Road Hazard w/ insurance is quite a bit cheaper than AAA.

Sponsored