First Gen's CHECK YOUR BRAKE LINES!
 

so i know a few people with first generation Escapes, one is a good friend with a 2004 4x4 V6 with now 119k miles on it and she has owned it for the last 30k miles.

almost 2 years ago her left front brake line blew on her way to work, she made it safely to work and then to my house so i could repair it. i could not believe the line just blew like it had.

since then two other people i know one with a 2005 with 70k on it and another with a 2003 with 130k both lost front brake lines...interesting seems there may be an issue here?!

well Sunday i got the call she lost her brakes again, this time it was the right front brake line that busted. after reading it seems this is a common issue and from what i understand the factory hoses are a tad too short and over time from stretching and flexing they prematurely break. i've personally never had a brake line blow even on stuff with 200k miles. rust is not an issue here as we dont use salt so i've never even lost a hard line before

anyway anyone that has or knows anyone with a first gen Escape please check the brake lines! luckily my friend knew what to do and did not loose control or get in a crash. also on my way home with it on Sunday i found out her E-Brake does NOT work either...nice time to figure out:(

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my old 2005 had an issue where they were actually internally collapsing causing the passenger front caliper to stay engaged. I could stop hard, then have to wait about 2-3 seconds before I'd start rolling forward.

changed calipers, master cylinder and nothing....replaced the hoses and was fine afterward.

so far I don't think I will have to worry about our new 2013 Escape. :)

I changed both of my front lines several years back when they started showing signs of cracking on the outside.

Probably a good time to mention that the Maintenance Guide that comes with these vehicle requires that the brake lines be inspected every 15,000 miles. Unfortunately, most of the "quick lube" type places won't look very closely at things like this and the numerous other checks that are required per the manufacturer. Owners think they are all set just because they changed their oil, but this is only a very small part of maintaining a vehicle.

I changed all 4 of mine a couple of years ago. They looked worn and cracked.

130k on a 04, it should have had at least one set of hoses on it.

This '04 has 119k on it another person i know had an '03 with 130k.

I've NEVER had to replace a brake line on anything i've owned, this includes my '02 excursion with 132k miles, 98 expedition with 97k, my '91 f-250 even! I've never had a brake line fail soft or hard i cant imagine why the hell these things are blowing other then a manufacturer defect. as i dig deeper into the problem the more people i find have had the issue. I've been told the hoses are too short from the factory and cause extra stress on them. Not to mention they should NOT be cracking at 10 years and 100k miles thats insane!

If you search long enough, everything on the internet is a common problem. It still does not excuse poor maintenance and inspection habits.

this has ABSOLUTLY nothing to do with either of those things! Brake lines should not be failing on a light duty SUV with less then 100k miles and less then 10 years old thats absolute BS. Hell they should not be failing even at 200k or 20 years old...i have and have had countless trucks with many more miles and much older with perfect rubber lines.

Not just searching online, finding people i know personally with these cars and they have all experienced the same thing. It is a flaw on fords part for wrong length and crappy material parts.

2001 165,000 Mine blew the rt. front.I changed them all out they where all showing cracks around the steel ends where the rubber meets.

Just to add, per Ford in the 2004 Scheduled Maintenance Guide, every 15k,

You may not use Salt in Alaska, but you have your fair share of humidity, and that is just as bad. I lived near a southern coast for most of my life, no salt but the heavy humidity would do a number.

Just saying it could have been caught before failure as a matter of proper care, whether there is a design flaw or not.

no, actually relatively low humidity climate. typically in summer highest you'll see is 50-70% winter is even lower.

every 15k is ridiculous, combine that with the number of failures that just i know about personally. there is an issue with these trucks and there brakes. no other car/truck I've ever dealt with or anyone i know has suffered a brake line failure like is common place in the first gen Escapes, you cant say there is not an issue.

whole point of the post was check them and replace them! thank god my friends have not been involved in a crash after loosing brake pressure.

Hi all, I see this isn't the only thread on this topic. Here's another: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-failure.html

My wife lost brake control on her '05 Escape w/ ~70K Miles a couple of days ago. Luckily, she was able to stop in a parking lot without any personal injury or vehicle damage. The failure was caused by cracks in the left front hose at the same places as mentioned above. Upon further inspection, the right side hose was cracked in the same places (shown below) and may have failed soon too. As an Ex-ASE and Ford master technician, who has serviced and owned many high-mileage vehicles, I'm well aware of the recommened maintenance schedule. However, I believe the crack-location commonality between both hoses leads to the thought of a engineering design or material oversight. Thinking there may be a recall on this problem; I took to Google and found myself here adding another story to this issue. I only hope folks inspect / replace thier hoses before it's too late. Stay safe!
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I took my 2007 Mariner Hybrid with 88,000 to the Ford dealer for The Works oil change, and they found the crack in the brake lines - same place as photo. I had all four replaced.