Brake Light Switch (near pedal) Failure

[GT Pony]

Aaaaaaaaaagggghhhhhhhhh! I took my car to Discount Tire today for new shoes and on the drive back I couldn't go over 35 (power would cut out). I had replaced the broken pad with the Toyota part awhile back but something had happened to it at DT. When I got home I found it in the floor board so I guess it fell out. I had to refresh my memory on how to contort myself to get it back in. I guess perhaps I didn't get it seated well enough the first time and something they did in the process of moving my car in and out of the bay must have made it pop out. Anyway it's firmly seated now but I am kind of worried it might do it again. Just a warning to those that used the Toyota part to be absolutely sure it's completely seated.

When I installed the Toyota brake switch pad I did notice that the diameter of the part that goes into the hole on the brake pedal seemed a little larger. I have a spare Toyota pad and the original one I took out of my GT. I just measured the diameter of the stalk with a dial caliper and got the following:

OEM = 0.195 inch
Toyota = 0.223 inch.

There is a slit on the stalk so when the pad is installed into the brake pedal hole it will compress and fit tight. The length from the pad to the end of the stalk flare that prevents it from coming back out is basically the same on both pads at 0.105 inch.

Yours probably wasn't full seated is my guess on why it popped out.

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[Cobra Jet]

Apparently there has been a NHTSA Recall issued for the brake pedal pad and clutch pedal pad as of January 13, 2022.

The recall is only mentioning 2015 Mustangs for certain US Regions, but from posts on here, it seems other model years have been affected regardless of US region.

NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V011000
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Components SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
Potential Number of Units Affected 199,085

Summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fusion, Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 Mustang vehicles originally sold or ever registered, in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Hawaii. Exposure to certain environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, high humidity, and salt air can cause the brake pedal bumper to corrode and separate from the brake pedal.

Remedy
Dealers will replace the brake pedal bumpers and clutch pedal bumpers, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to mailed March 3, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S02.

Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

All of the NHTSA docs are attached.

 

[GT Pony]

This is a quote from one of the PDFs shown in the post above. They fail to mention that if the brake lights are always on, that the engine power will be drastically cut back when the gas pedal is pushed, which could also pose to be a safety issue while driving around.

"Consequence:
A separated brake pedal bumper can cause the brake lights to illuminate continuously, causing confusion to other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash. On automatic transmission vehicles, a missing brake pedal bumper can allow the driver to shift the vehicle out of the "PARK" position without depressing the brake, allowing the vehicle to rollaway, increasing the risk of injury. "

 

[Redeemer]

This is a quote from one of the PDFs shown in the post above. They fail to mention that if the brake lights are always on, that the engine power will be drastically cut back when the gas pedal is pushed, which could also pose to be a safety issue while driving around.

"Consequence:
A separated brake pedal bumper can cause the brake lights to illuminate continuously, causing confusion to other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash. On automatic transmission vehicles, a missing brake pedal bumper can allow the driver to shift the vehicle out of the "PARK" position without depressing the brake, allowing the vehicle to rollaway, increasing the risk of injury. "

This is what happened to me and I used the magnet fix. That worked like a champ although it was a tight space to have to play contortionist in. A few weeks later I saw another Mustang that appeared to be breaking while going up a hill near my house. They pulled over and I pulled over to assist. I asked if they lost power and they said yes. I said to look for a small piece of white nylon or plastic near their floor mats, and we found them. I had 2 extra magnets in my glove box and said I could fix it for them in the emergency lane and they would be good to go. They said they would feel safer towing it to a dealer so a professional could fix it. Is it wrong that I hope they enjoy their $550 pedal assembly + labor that the stealership charged them?

 

[GT Pony]

^^^
Nice of you to pull over and help out ... good timing. Yeah, I'm sure if they went to the dealership they probably had a heart attack when quoted a huge bill because Ford doesn't even list the little pad as a separate part (another stupid Ford move).

Sounds like Ford's recall fix will be just replacing the pads only, like many members here (Including me - read post #94 and beyond) have done. Thing is though, the Ford recall is only being targeted for certain areas of the country, which I think is wrong because Ford doesn't know how these defective pads will fair with more time, and who knows where a car might end up over time after being traded in or sold.

 

[Cobra Jet]

^^^
Nice of you to pull over and help out ... good timing. Yeah, I'm sure if they went to the dealership they probably had a heart attack when quoted a huge bill because Ford doesn't even list the little pad as a separate part (another stupid Ford move).

Sounds like Ford's recall fix will be just replacing the pads only, like many members here (Including me - read post #94 and beyond) have done. Thing is though, the Ford recall is only being targeted for certain areas of the country, which I think is wrong because Ford doesn't know how these defective pads will fair with more time, and who knows where a car might end up over time after being traded in or sold.

I completely agree with how the recall had "lines drawn" for specific regions of defect - when it should encompass ALL S550's by model year, not a specific region in the US.

 

[cocamo85]

Hey guys, glad that the magnet fix has been working so well. Just got a recall notice today from ford and guess what for? Lmao

 

[GT Pony]

Hey guys, glad that the magnet fix has been working so well. Just got a recall notice today from ford and guess what for? Lmao

Does the recall notice say what the fix is? If they were smart, they would just replace the little pad and not replace the whole pedal assembly. The little pad is not a separate available part from Ford, that's why many people here posted their fixes in this thread.

 

[GT Pony]

Found the Ford recall letter on the NHTSA website. For those who don't know, the recall only effects the model years effected in certain regions of the country. I didn't get the recall because I don't live in a hot and humid climate. I did replace the bumpers myself as posted earlier in this thread. The original bumpers in my 2015 looked like new, showed no signs of being brittle or cracking.

Looks like they are just replacing the bumpers. Snip it below from the recall letter that's attached (PDF file).

 

[ToddUGA]

Had a problem the other morning where mine wouldn't start even though the clutch was pressed all the way in. This turned out to be the culprit. I bought a box of new stoppers off of Amazon and it worked like a champ. I was going to replace all of them while I was under there but can't figure out how to replace the upper clutch one. Anybody got any advice?

 

[GT Pony]

Found the Ford recall letter on the NHTSA website. For those who don't know, the recall only effects the model years effected in certain regions of the country. I didn't get the recall because I don't live in a hot and humid climate. I did replace the bumpers myself as posted earlier in this thread. The original bumpers in my 2015 looked like new, showed no signs of being brittle or cracking.

Looks like they are just replacing the bumpers. Snip it below from the recall letter that's attached (PDF file).

Wanted to give an update on this. My car was not originally included in the recall because of the region, but I did get a recall letter on this a few weeks ago ... so apparently Ford is expanding the effected cars. Might just be all effected year/models now regardless of region.

 

[ToddUGA]

Took mine to the dealer to let them swap out the last one. While there they wanted to do a check for the rear camera recall. When I left I noticed that hill assist was throwing up a message on the dash and that cruise doesn't shut off when I hit the brake like it used to. I swear I hate dealerships.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Apparently there has been a NHTSA Recall issued for the brake pedal pad and clutch pedal pad as of January 13, 2022.

The recall is only mentioning 2015 Mustangs for certain US Regions, but from posts on here, it seems other model years have been affected regardless of US region.

NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V011000
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Components SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
Potential Number of Units Affected 199,085

Summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fusion, Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 Mustang vehicles originally sold or ever registered, in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Hawaii. Exposure to certain environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, high humidity, and salt air can cause the brake pedal bumper to corrode and separate from the brake pedal.

Remedy
Dealers will replace the brake pedal bumpers and clutch pedal bumpers, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to mailed March 3, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S02.

Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

All of the NHTSA docs are attached.

Official Recall Repair info/procedure for brake pedal bumper pad attached.

 

[MagneticMan]

This happened to me today, drove to the beach about 35 miles away, no issues. On way home noticed some crap and sand on driver's floor mat and just chucked it along with the sand, not knowing later it was pieces of the bumper stop. Figured it was just debris of some sort that blew in, part of having a convertible.

Was able to gently accelerate in each gear but while cruising and hitting the gas pedal no response. Then after trying a few times I would get full engine power for about 4 or 5 seconds. Shifting gears seemed to make it more derivable.

At this point sort of panicking but analyzed the situation:

1. the car drives like crap but it'll make it home, I hope
2. could be the clutch slipping but doesn't explain where it doesn't off and on
3. could be bad gas?
4. time to change plugs?
5. not noticing hesitation like bucking if there's a misfire.
6. while at a stop light I got that no hill start message

While driving gauges looked normal, no check engine light.

I was totally mystified and made it home.

Started to unpack the 'stang and 10 minutes later came for another load and noticed brake lights were still on. Odd.

No way to turn them off so I pulled the negative battery cable. Then I went to vacuum the now dead car and found two of those little plastic pieces that must have fell out after I unknowing dumped the first batch, right there on the driver's floor mat.

BAM! that explains everything. I drove 35 miles,. about 1/2 of that on interstate with my brake lights on! **&^%. I'd still be at a total loss if I didn't find those two remaining pieces


Then I searched and found this thread and calmed down mustang6g rocks!

I'll do the magnet trick tomorrow just to get the car up and running again and then drive later in week to dealer to get the pad replaced. Here's the kickers I did have it replaced under recall in December and have the receipts.

So I think they maybe didn't actually replace it.

 

[GT Pony]

I'll do the magnet trick tomorrow just to get the car up and running again and then drive later in week to dealer to get the pad replaced. Here's the kickers I did have it replaced under recall in December and have the receipts.

No way the pad would fail that fast if they actually did the recall with the new parts.

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