It doesn't really matter... I live on a relatively slight incline, and the brake won't hold the truck. They have been deemed to be in perfect working order by the dealer. What good are parking brakes that won't even hold the truck on a slight hill? I can't imagine trying to stop the truck in an emergency. I wonder how long the parking pawl will last.

 

If you haven't used them on a daily basis thus far, its very possible the cams have rusted together already. I use mine every single time I park, and mine did. At this point if you don't have parking brake vibration, your ebrakes aren't hanging up and that's a good thing. The reason I had to fix mine was because the rusted cams caused the ebrakes to hang producing a very pronounced vibration on the highway. I mean bad enough that the wipers were bouncing off the windshield and I had to pull over to get it to stop. The down side is that you probably shouldn't use you ebrakes now until you get them checked out.

 

You should use your e-brakes every single time you park. Just because they might possibly fail is no reason not to use them. Depending on your transmission to keep the truck in place solely is not a good idea.

as a side note, the e-brake is a self-adjusting mechanism. if you don't use it, the adjustment will go out as the brake pads wear. your best bet is to manually tighten them and the start using it.

My e-brakes will hold the truck at a pretty steep angle. Granted, they aren't as strong as my 94 F-150 e-brake is. the e-brake on my 94 will stop the truck cold at any speed.

 

Take the owners manual out, you see anything in the maintenance section that points to E brake maintenance. Ask this crook what exactly he means by maintenance on the ebrake? Sorry this dealer is full of it! Write a letter to Ford and copy the dealer! Try another dealer, I wouldn't trust him with a 10 foot pole! The only things not covered by warranty are typical wear items, plugs etc.. Yet they are usually covered in the first 12K miles! This dealer is just trying to make a fast buck by charging you more $$ then what the warranty claim pays!

 

The brakes didn't hold the truck the day I bought it. I always use the brakes, but it is the parking pawl that holds the truck, not the brakes. Like I said, the dealer says it is normal - that's the way these work, and there is nothing they can do to fix it. I also have four Crown Victorias, and a Volvo XC90. None of those have a problem with the driveway. Nor did my F250, or my E250.

 

I was told the same thing. I've had mine in multiple times, they say its fixed. I say bull s#%t.

 

have you guys checked the tension of the e-brake cable? check the tension while e-brake is off and check it again while it is on. there should be a noticeable difference.

the Dealership techs are only going to verify that the e-brake cable is acting properly (tightening and releasing) and will hold tension.

 

As noted by Ford9C the issue about the e-brakes isn't really that they not holding the truck/failing but rather that they're not releasing - causing the dread vibration issue noted by lots of owners - me included. Took a long time for Ford/dealership to figure it out...even ended up with a new driveshaft. Only problem now is having to remind them to lube the mechanism at each service...seems like a problem for them to log it into their records.

 

I had the problem on my 04 and thay replaced everything from shoes rotors ro backer plates...all under warrenty