NHTSA Complaint #11473150 — 2014 FORD ESCAPE

The mechanical brake booster is connected to the overhead cam on Fords Ecoboost engine. This part is a vacuum pump that is powered by the overhead cam shaft. Over time the vacuum pump begins to have issues and becomes increasingly harder for the cam to turn. As the vacuum pump slows, it causes the brakes to be less efficient and increases stopping distance. As the pump degrades, it eventually will fail and freeze up. When this happens, the internal connection to the overhead cam shaft shears off. This cause a complete loss of breaking power leaving only the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. It also drops the internal connectors from the vacuum pump into the motor which damages the motor to the point where the motor must be replaced at a very high cost (it exceeds $10,000). Fords warranty does not cover this design failure. Owners of these vehicles are forced to replace the motor at their own cost or to scrap the vehicle. I believe that ford was aware of the possibility of the mechanical vacuum pump failure when they tested the design on F150s. Ford made a design change on the F150s to an electric vacuum pump. This may have been due to the F150s use as work vehicle and as a towing vehicle which exasperated the issue. Please investigate this issue, I believe you will find many other people who have this same issue with the eco boost engine design.