Brake Disc Caliper Problems of Ford Flex

Both right and left front brake calipers stuck simultaneously. The vehicle was in motion, going down a residential road, when there was a thump from the drivers side (front) wheel. It sounded like the brake pads wanted to fall out. There were no obstructions, debris, potholes and I was not braking at the time. Took the vehicle in for evaluation, where the mechanics advised both calipers were bad. I had to have both the right and left front brake calipers, rotors and pads replaced. Vehicle only has 30,000 miles on it. It is not driven hard or through harsh conditions. Similar event occurred almost a year ago on the rear brake assembly. That "event" also required replacement of rotors, calipers and pads.

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The contact owns a 2009 Ford Flex. While driving 35 mph, the front of the vehicle began to vibrate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the front axle had an indentation and the rear brake caliper had bolts that detached. As a result, the axle and caliper needed to be replaced. In addition, the technician stated that the torque converter and transmission seal were leaking oil and the drive line and torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 101,946. The VIN was unavailable.

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My Ford Flex has a total of 82000 miles on it. I live in upstate new york. I have had three instances where the rear brake calipers stick and severely require both pad and rotor replacement. At 60 years old I can't hear the high pitched squealing but on two occasions my son has notice and upon stopping to check for the noise, the rear wheel is too hot to even touch. In one instance the pad was completely worn to the metal no doubt resulting in lose of braking power. The frequency of this problem is disturbing. The only documentation I have is the receipts for the parts and labor.

While driving at highway speed there was a sudden metal on metal sound. Shortly after this noise started there was a burning smell and then visible smoke from the wheel. I pulled over to evaluate the noise and smoke. The radiant heat from the wheel caused the fiberglass panel on the side of the car to heat up. This heat caused a 3rd degree burn to the tip of a finger. The vehicle went to the dealership. The dealership evaluated it and stated the drivers side rear caliper froze. The day after the Flex was returned "fixed", the passenger side caliper froze. It did the same thing as the drivers side (made the sudden metal on metal sound, smoked and heated up). The Flex was towed back to the dealership, where the other caliper was replaced. The Flex was returned later that day "fixed". Upon driving home, both the right and left rear caliper re-froze. After multiple visits to the dealership, I decided to take my Flex to a trusted brake shop for a second opinion. The shop stated both right and left rear calipers were seized. They advised the parts were incorrectly installed. They were able to make the necessary repairs and corrections to fix the right and left rear caliper. I have had no issues since the shop did the repairs.

Persistent brake squealing even though brakes were regularly serviced. On further inspection, it was discovered that a front brake caliper was cracked and leaking. Had to be replaced. Replaced both front calipers and associated parts for safety reasons, parts and labor totaled over $1000. No one had ever heard of a caliper failing on a car with so few miles. Squealing has been resolved since this repair.

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The caliper broke on the rear passenger side, leaving my brake engaged. Had to get new calipers, brake pads, and rotors. The calipers were on back order from Ford for 2 weeks.

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Took car to tire merchant to replace tires. They reported to me a problem with right rear brake. Piston is fully retracted out, and brake pads have abnormal wear relative to others on car. Suggested that I contact dealer for replacement of brake caliper. Also reported that they contacted napa, and were told that napa had received many reports of right rear brake caliper issues on 2009 Flex, and in fact, napa has part on indefinite back order. Part also on back order at Ford (only for right rear brake, apparently defect isolated to this brake), although placed order for part today. Told that there was no recall although there was a service bulletin so I would be responsible for all costs of replacing defective part since my car recently went out of warranty.

Intermittent no start of vehicle. Towed to dealer after 5 previous incidents. Delivered to dealership in same no start behavior. Upon initial attempt a relay was replaced as the pcm (main engine computer) was not receiving power. Service advisor calls to indicate vehicle is ready and starts up after repair. At the dealership, picking up the vehicle, car starts up, however, dash lights light up, warning "check awd, check this, check that. . . " service engine light on as well (the wrench). Shut the car down, try to restart, will not restart. Tech is with me and observes behavior and tries as well. No start again. Tech attempts to download error codes. Mentions rfi interference. Will be doing another diagnostic. Previously, car was towed to dealership for stalling at freeway speeds (65+). Ended up being a soaked pcm (main engine computer). This took two trips (towed both times). This is now four times to repair the same non-running / no start defect. The rear brakes were also repaired due to dragging calipers as per TSB 10-7-2.

Potential braking failure. Dealer acknowledged after second visit that a factory defect caused the front calipers to become loose from the respected backing plates and have enlarged the mounting holes. The front calipers, rotors, and backing plates must be replaced. Vehicle is under warranty.

Heard noise from front brakes, like something was loose when braking. Told that the bolts for the calipers were not correct and this was a known issue. Waited for parts to come in and had replaced. No other issues with front brakes. Just had front replaced at 75,000 miles. Rear brakes I have had in at least every six months to have evaluated or worked on. Heard squealing noise from rear passenger brakes and rotor would get hot. I thought the caliper was freezing. I kept taking it in and was told that it was the metallic pads until finally I stopped in and showed the red hot rotor. Replaced both rear rotors, calipers and pads. Had to replace again after 6 months and then 1 year later. I again thought the calipers were not functioning properly. They "cleaned" my sliders and turned my rotors. Less than 2 months later, I took to my tire dealer for tire rotation and they stated my back passenger caliper was frozen and uneven wear on my pads were noticed. I took to dealer and they denied the calipers were bad. Changed pads and turned rotors again. Pads on each rear wheel had one pad that look like it came brand new out of the box and the other was down to metal. They told me the sliders need to be cleaned on a regular basis as part of the maintenance on the car. I stated where in my owners manual is this and didn't you just do that a month and a half ago? also had to have front passenger wheel bearing replaced twice when calipers were replaced and I hear the noise again with this last issue but they are calling it "tire noise" which is what they told me the other times. Driver side back wheel bearing had to be changed with a caliper issue - they tried to tell me after having the car for a week that it was tire noise. I took to an independent repair shop and they diagnosed immediately the bad bearing. Took back to dealer and they admitted it was the bearing and replaced.