Bad brake dust

[SgtT11B]

My other car is a BMW M2, the BS Badlands doesn't even dust compared to that car.

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[Bill G]

Yeah, how many race cars do you see with shiny, bright, wheels after a race?

 

[Mark S.]

My other car is a BMW M2, the BS Badlands doesn't even dust compared to that car.

Yeah, but I bet it stops real good!

 

[Foghorn]

One of the components in your brake system is a called a brake booster. It amplifies the hydraulic pressure in the lines so the brake calipers can really get a bite. When you lose the brake booster the amount of hydraulic pressure going to the calipers is greatly reduced, the pads don't squeeze as hard, and it takes more distance to stop the car. The NHTSA requires manufacturers to test cars with a failed brake booster, and sets a spec for stopping distance.

Despite meeting the spec before starting production, random testing during early production runs found that some Bronco Sports were not meeting NHTSA specs for stopping distance with a brake booster failure. Like you, I suspect supply chain disruptions. It's my speculation that some time into production the brake pads used during initial testing became unavailable, and Ford switched to another supplier. The replacement pads were not able to provide enough friction during a failed booster scenario and resulted in a failure to meet the spec. Ford had to find a higher-friction pad in order to continue production, and the highest friction pads tend to produce a great deal of brake dust.

You can almost certainly eliminate your brake dust issue by changing pads, but how that will affect your overall braking performance is anyone's guess. Do your homework...

One of the components in your brake system is a called a brake booster. It amplifies the hydraulic pressure in the lines so the brake calipers can really get a bite. When you lose the brake booster the amount of hydraulic pressure going to the calipers is greatly reduced, the pads don't squeeze as hard, and it takes more distance to stop the car. The NHTSA requires manufacturers to test cars with a failed brake booster, and sets a spec for stopping distance.

Despite meeting the spec before starting production, random testing during early production runs found that some Bronco Sports were not meeting NHTSA specs for stopping distance with a brake booster failure. Like you, I suspect supply chain disruptions. It's my speculation that some time into production the brake pads used during initial testing became unavailable, and Ford switched to another supplier. The replacement pads were not able to provide enough friction during a failed booster scenario and resulted in a failure to meet the spec. Ford had to find a higher-friction pad in order to continue production, and the highest friction pads tend to produce a great deal of brake dust.

You can almost certainly eliminate your brake dust issue by changing pads, but how that will affect your overall braking performance is anyone's guess. Do your homework...

OK Thanks. Let me see if I get this.
A certain range of BS were made without the brake vacuum booster sensor. If the booster fails, the stopping distance exceeds the spec. The fix was to install front brake pads with higher-friction pads. Hence more dust.
Was the sensor left off due to parts unavailability? Can it be installed. ? Does that do any good?
If there are BS without the sensor, they must always have the high-friction pads, or else lawyers will have a field day in the event of a crash. ( Redundant, I know )
The on-line parts book I have access to does not show different pads. I.E. with sensor on the booster and without. So if the only replacement pad available must meet the spec for non-sensor equipped cars, eventually everybody will have the brake dust issue, even if they don't currently because they have less aggressive pads, because their BS were built with a booster sensor, or the new EBB.
Question #1 Is there more than one part number for the front pads?
Question #2 Has anyone who did not have the excessive brake dust issue start to have the issue after new, Ford OEM front pads were installed?
Fog

 

[Mark S.]

A certain range of BS were made without the brake vacuum booster sensor.

Negative. It's not a sensor issue. Here's an article from Car & Driver about the recall.

I believe--and again, this is speculation on my part--the only thing that changed after production started was a switch to a different brake pad supplier due to supply chain disruptions. Note that the recall initially faulted the rear brake pads, so my assumption is the rear pads used during initial production became unavailable. When that happened, I believe Ford used whatever rear brake pads it could find just to keep production moving. Once the audit discovered that cars with those alternative rear pads couldn't meet the spec it looked for a higher friction rear brake pad. When it couldn't find one it chose to simply swap to a higher friction front pad, which allowed the vehicle was able to meet the spec. Higher friction pads

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