Trailer brake not working

[NVanRVer]

This isn't related to the trailer brake problem so there's no need to prioritize. Its only displaying a code that isn't related to any problems.

Yep, I've let my Ford Canada rep who organized this diagnostic know. She if going to look into it further. We'll see I guess, I def am not interested in just sitting and waiting 5 months for a fix that likely won't do anything.

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[minirx7]

Thank you for reaching out to us. I'm glad someone was able to get in contact with you. We are always here to help.

Well, FMC - i had this happen to me on a very long RV trip with my ffamily in parts of canada that was unknown to us and very hilly. I did not even know i lost my trailer brakes SUDDENLY as i tested it before hand, and i for the life of me couldnt figure out WHY i almost blew through a red light because i lost my trailer brake (had to slam the trucks brakes to stop). Ever since that time i have been braking WAY further back, but would like to know, now that many people has been reporting this (and even on media outlets), what is Ford going to do?

What happens if there is a fatality due to this issue? I have seen recalls for less! This is not a minor issue, but a MAJOR one that could seriously hurt people (espeically as i am/was a newbie at the wheel of my truck and RV).

 

[rpeterslll]

Well, FMC - i had this happen to me on a very long RV trip with my ffamily in parts of canada that was unknown to us and very hilly. I did not even know i lost my trailer brakes SUDDENLY as i tested it before hand, and i for the life of me couldnt figure out WHY i almost blew through a red light because i lost my trailer brake (had to slam the trucks brakes to stop). Ever since that time i have been braking WAY further back, but would like to know, now that many people has been reporting this (and even on media outlets), what is Ford going to do?

What happens if there is a fatality due to this issue? I have seen recalls for less! This is not a minor issue, but a MAJOR one that could seriously hurt people (espeically as i am/was a newbie at the wheel of my truck and RV).

Welcome to the club! Be sure to file a complaint with the NHTSA regarding your problem as the more attention is placed on this, the more resources they are likely to put on determine the problem if they haven't already.

NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

 

[NVanRVer]

Welcome to the club! Be sure to file a complaint with the NHTSA regarding your problem as the more attention is placed on this, the more resources they are likely to put on determine the problem if they haven't already.

NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Transport Canada for us Canadians

 

[Tambow]

Update.

An amazing dealer in Iowa City replaced my brake module. The is the third time Deery Brothers has done all they could to help with various warrantee issues with this truck.

Unfortunately this didn’t work. The brakes failed today in Idaho. Like in the past we pulled over at a truck stop and had lunch. The truck rebooted and the brakes worked again.

At least we know how to fix it. The problem is I never know when the brakes are going to fail.

 

[NVanRVer]

Transport Canada for us Canadians

Had a nice chat with a guy from Transport Canada, he was very thorough. He said the more people that report this, the easier it is they have a case to be made for a recall. So Canadians on here, please call them or use the online defect reporting site!

He even had me scan and send him my service order from when I had the TBM replaced. Just so it could go into the record as not having done anything.

 

[Moosehunter]

I

I tried both of these testers on my 2018 F-150 and received the same results. Once the display ‘trailer connected’ appeared, I pressed in the brake and the truck showed ‘trailer disconnected.’ When I released the brake the display ‘trailer connected’ came back on. I also noticed when either units are plugged in, the brake light on both units would have a dim light flicker. I then went into my trailer settings and selected my trailer. I had the same results.

 

[wayne b]

Had an experience this past week (first towing with the new f150 PB) similar to many on the thread. Thanks to everyone who has shared on this thread - it’s very helpful when you are sitting there wondering WTF whether or not it’s just you having this issue.

Leaving on a week-long trip: Got to the storage lot and testing in the lot had the “no trailer” warning with the brakes not working. As with the experiences on this thread, trailer lights worked fine. Did some searching on the forum to find this thread. Per advice, turned off everything opened/closed the door and sat in the car till it was “really off.” Turned it back on and everything worked fine, drove 110 miles with no issue. Stopped once with truck off. A few days later towed another 100 miles with no issue (no warnings). Because of the stories on the thread about the brakes disappearing while in motion, we regularly were squeezing the brake controller to see that they were working, and it worked every time.

Yesterday, 50 miles. My wife was towing and we went down a bit of a grade and she was using the trailer brakes (working). A few miles later we were getting off at an exit and there’s a sharp curve 55mph to 15mph and she said she didn’t feel the trailer brakes. We manually tested the dash brake controller at this point and started getting Gain 4.0/no trailer with no trailer braking at this point.

Although we were close to home, we wanted to see if we could get one of the “fixes” to work to give us some confidence for all the times that we're not close to home. We pulled over. We did the reboot 3x (unplugged, car completely off, etc.) and weren’t able to get it back. Trailer turn signal lights worked fine every time. Travelled back slowly on surface streets.

Regarding the “lights on” advice on this thread - on our problem-free outbound trip lights were in “auto” mode, so presumably not on during the day. We used the inverter for camping and turned the lights off (so the taillight would go off) and they were in off mode the next day when we had the incident. Didn’t try to turn them on to see if that would fix it. Obviously, there’s still a very serious issue even if there’s a hidden combination of things that need to be in place for the brakes to work.

Very disappointing to discover this vehicle is unreliable and unsafe for towing, as we got the truck specifically for towing and paid extra for “max tow package.” For the people on the thread that have brought it to the dealer, what has been your experience? Do I print the 17 page thread?

Question: If we have the Curt Echo wireless as backup for this situation - is there an issue with two brake controllers competing? I know this was mentioned a few pages back, but wondering if anyone has used it as a temporary fix.

Is there a permanent fix for this or any communication from Ford that we’re missing? Thanks to everyone who has weighed in here. Scary stuff.

 

[rpeterslll]

The dealer can’t do much because the truck will test fine and is to spec. Unless ford has released the service bulletin already, but it’s still good to take it to them to document the problem. Best to file a report with the NHTSA online so it’s added to the other reports I was told that Ford was releasing. Software update to the brake controller in November that light address the issue but I haven’t heard of it being released yet.

 

[UGADawg96]

Had an experience this past week (first towing with the new f150 PB) similar to many on the thread. Thanks to everyone who has shared on this thread - it’s very helpful when you are sitting there wondering WTF whether or not it’s just you having this issue.

Leaving on a week-long trip: Got to the storage lot and testing in the lot had the “no trailer” warning with the brakes not working. As with the experiences on this thread, trailer lights worked fine. Did some searching on the forum to find this thread. Per advice, turned off everything opened/closed the door and sat in the car till it was “really off.” Turned it back on and everything worked fine, drove 110 miles with no issue. Stopped once with truck off. A few days later towed another 100 miles with no issue (no warnings). Because of the stories on the thread about the brakes disappearing while in motion, we regularly were squeezing the brake controller to see that they were working, and it worked every time.

Yesterday, 50 miles. My wife was towing and we went down a bit of a grade and she was using the trailer brakes (working). A few miles later we were getting off at an exit and there’s a sharp curve 55mph to 15mph and she said she didn’t feel the trailer brakes. We manually tested the dash brake controller at this point and started getting Gain 4.0/no trailer with no trailer braking at this point.

Although we were close to home, we wanted to see if we could get one of the “fixes” to work to give us some confidence for all the times that we're not close to home. We pulled over. We did the reboot 3x (unplugged, car completely off, etc.) and weren’t able to get it back. Trailer turn signal lights worked fine every time. Travelled back slowly on surface streets.

Regarding the “lights on” advice on this thread - on our problem-free outbound trip lights were in “auto” mode, so presumably not on during the day. We used the inverter for camping and turned the lights off (so the taillight would go off) and they were in off mode the next day when we had the incident. Didn’t try to turn them on to see if that would fix it. Obviously, there’s still a very serious issue even if there’s a hidden combination of things that need to be in place for the brakes to work.

Very disappointing to discover this vehicle is unreliable and unsafe for towing, as we got the truck specifically for towing and paid extra for “max tow package.” For the people on the thread that have brought it to the dealer, what has been your experience? Do I print the 17 page thread?

Question: If we have the Curt Echo wireless as backup for this situation - is there an issue with two brake controllers competing? I know this was mentioned a few pages back, but wondering if anyone has used it as a temporary fix.

Is there a permanent fix for this or any communication from Ford that we’re missing? Thanks to everyone who has weighed in here. Scary stuff.

This is one of my biggest concerns once our PB delivers. If we experience this, it'll get reported to the NHTSA.

 

[wayne b]

This is one of my biggest concerns once our PB delivers. If we experience this, it'll get reported to the NHTSA.

Yeah, good point. Should I do this? btw, as with the OP on the thread, this was towing a 2020 Airstream (which had no issue towing with another vehicle).

 

[UGADawg96]

Yeah, good point. Should I do this? btw, as with the OP on the thread, this was towing a 2020 Airstream (which had no issue towing with another vehicle).

I haven't documented every poster in this thread, but I don't think everyone has an Airstream. We have a Grand Design Imagine.

 

[Ed21]

My reason for buying the truck was also for towing. Lets all report this and try and get it resolved before there's fatalities.

 

[Wild Pig]

Had an experience this past week (first towing with the new f150 PB) similar to many on the thread. Thanks to everyone who has shared on this thread - it’s very helpful when you are sitting there wondering WTF whether or not it’s just you having this issue.

Leaving on a week-long trip: Got to the storage lot and testing in the lot had the “no trailer” warning with the brakes not working. As with the experiences on this thread, trailer lights worked fine. Did some searching on the forum to find this thread. Per advice, turned off everything opened/closed the door and sat in the car till it was “really off.” Turned it back on and everything worked fine, drove 110 miles with no issue. Stopped once with truck off. A few days later towed another 100 miles with no issue (no warnings). Because of the stories on the thread about the brakes disappearing while in motion, we regularly were squeezing the brake controller to see that they were working, and it worked every time.

Yesterday, 50 miles. My wife was towing and we went down a bit of a grade and she was using the trailer brakes (working). A few miles later we were getting off at an exit and there’s a sharp curve 55mph to 15mph and she said she didn’t feel the trailer brakes. We manually tested the dash brake controller at this point and started getting Gain 4.0/no trailer with no trailer braking at this point.

Although we were close to home, we wanted to see if we could get one of the “fixes” to work to give us some confidence for all the times that we're not close to home. We pulled over. We did the reboot 3x (unplugged, car completely off, etc.) and weren’t able to get it back. Trailer turn signal lights worked fine every time. Travelled back slowly on surface streets.

Regarding the “lights on” advice on this thread - on our problem-free outbound trip lights were in “auto” mode, so presumably not on during the day. We used the inverter for camping and turned the lights off (so the taillight would go off) and they were in off mode the next day when we had the incident. Didn’t try to turn them on to see if that would fix it. Obviously, there’s still a very serious issue even if there’s a hidden combination of things that need to be in place for the brakes to work.

Very disappointing to discover this vehicle is unreliable and unsafe for towing, as we got the truck specifically for towing and paid extra for “max tow package.” For the people on the thread that have brought it to the dealer, what has been your experience? Do I print the 17 page thread?

Question: If we have the Curt Echo wireless as backup for this situation - is there an issue with two brake controllers competing? I know this was mentioned a few pages back, but wondering if anyone has used it as a temporary fix.

Is there a permanent fix for this or any communication from Ford that we’re missing? Thanks to everyone who has weighed in here. Scary stuff.

Knock on wood, I haven't had this problem towing, but I carry a Curt Echo as a peace of mind emergency back up. The info from Curt says it works fine with installed OEM controllers, giving priority to the Curt when it is installed. As I understand it, the plug just dead heads the input from the truck controller and takes over.

 

[rpeterslll]

Thanks for the tip. Have you tested the echo on the trailer brake hookup and confirmed that it works good over the factory brake controller?

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