general problems of the 2014 Ford Taurus

Foot pedal parking brake stopped holding it's position. Pedal will move up and down, and parking brake light remains illuminated, but the system is not actually holding pressure on the parking brakes. Failure is caused by a small plastic piece that is used against metal components in the parking brake assembly and eventually breaks. This can cause the vehicle to roll unintentionally and increase the risk of an accident. This issue has already been reported for the same vehicle as mine under NHTSA campaign number: 11113016 and I suspect it has been reported under additional models and years as well since it is a commonly reported issue on internet forums, yet no investigation or recall has been performed. The only remedy is to purchase a new parking brake assembly from Ford for more than $300, plus labor. Ford will continue to profit from the issue which is why the NHTSA needs to assist before (more) deaths and property damage occur.

When placing the car in park, the brakes do not engage fully or right away. The vehicle rolls before coming to an abrupt and rough stop. When shifting the car out of park, the brakes make a loud noise. This causes a potential collision, or unintentionally hitting a pedestrian. Vehicle has not been inspected due to cost related issues to the vehicle owner.

Driving down cr 230 in wyoming, the situation started if I have to estimate, 7 miles west of woods landing, I heard a metal on metal grinding noise from the engine bay, and a loss of power on the throttle. I look at my rpm gauge and notice it is a zero. No check engine light, all electronics working as normal along with the brakes, and I slow the vehicle down to 30 mph. Shortly after noticing, I get a "check brake system" flash on my instrument panel cluster, also the light which illuminates for my parking brake turns on, and I lose power brakes, the brake pedal turned extremely stiff. I immediately look for a pull off zone, but because I had lost brakes I did not want to risk keeping the vehicle moving. I get the vehicle stopped on the side of the road, and instantly put it in park along with the parking brake and shut the vehicle off. The vehicle would not start or crank, just a flash across all of the electronics, the lights go dark, then illuminate again as if normal. This is an extremely dangerous situation, the vehicle had not notified me that the motor had stopped turning; not a check engine light or ring at all, and shortly after that the power brakes stop working. This is very dangerous for motorists because of the lack of notification from the vehicle, and the incredibly weak breaking ability. If the vehicle had been moving at highway speeds, any sort of traffic, I could've ended up injured or dead, and even worse, killed another driver. The vehicle was towed to the nearest town where it would be inspected by a dealership; they reported to have found coolant in the oil and that the vehicle needed a new motor. No other details have been confirmed, and the problem has not been reproduced by the dealership. It is unknown if the dealership inspected the braking system.

When I stopped at a rest area I noticed smoke coming from the right rear wheel area. The brake locked up. I am concerned about a fire hazard, or failure of the brakes to function properly.

Was driving down the road at 60mph and my vehicle shut off. Couldn't hardly push the brake in or move my steering wheel. Had to quickly put in park to start vehicle back up. Popped up on dash. "vehicle not in park".