How to service your 2024 Mustang brakes

Since Ford couldn't resist putting an electronic parking brake onto the 2024 Mustang, there are new steps to doing brake services. Not doing this could lead to damaging the parking brake motors or even having the parking brake caliper push it's own piston out, both of those, or having the vehicle unable to be put in service mode in the future (because Ford!).

How to enable service mode

• turn on accessory mode (start button without pressing the brake)
• press the brakes and release the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally release it then release
• release the brakes
• press the accelerator and press the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally release it and hold both
• turn the vehicle off, then within 5 seconds turn it on to accessory mode again, all while still holding the accelerator and parking brake
• turn the vehicle off and release the accelerator and parking brake
• you should now have a message on the dash saying something about the brakes being in service mode, and in this mode brake performance will be much weaker

How to disable service mode

• turn on accessory mode (start button without pressing the brake)
• press and hold the accelerator
• pull the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally apply it and hold it, while still holding the accelerator
• "firmly" press the brake pedal for at least one second, then release it, all while still holding the accelerator down and parking brake up
• turn the vehicle off, then within 5 seconds turn it on to accessory mode again, then release the accelerator and parking brake

Didn't know you needed to work at NASA to engage service mode

unfairslide said:

Didn't know you needed to work at NASA to engage service mode

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it's pretty complicated, yeah
it reminds me of a story
there was a new-ish helper tech at the dealer i work at, and he was doing brakes on an Expedition waiter. he forgot to put it in service mode and apparently broke the caliper by having it push the piston out entirely. we had to take a new Expedition off the front line and put it's caliper on the customer vehicle because they were backordered.
for the record, that tech is a really nice and cool guy, he just made a mistake (and was made into a lot attendant for a while)

At least it doesn't require some 300 dollar scanner

This is standard procedures on many manufactures for years including Ford, any vehicle with electronic parking brakes.

Euro cars require a "scanner" Ford is ahead of the game with the built in "service mode"

I wasn't aware of some makers and the possible need for a scanner-type tool to enter this mode. So there's that. The steps from Ford, while appreciated, could be frustrating to simple-minded people like myself. As commented above, I'm not trying to launch the Space Shuttle.

All this wizbang tech. Why not put it on the screens? "Would you like to enter service mode? (Yes/No). Brake service mode? (Yes/No). Confirm." Then let the car do it.

So it's fairly similar (if not the same) as servicing the brakes on a newer F150. There are probably plenty of "average Joes" taking care of the brakes on their own trucks. I do.

Inconsequential and not newsworthy

complexity for complexity sake. There are ramifications for "tech" intruding where it doesn't belong. This song and dance is just another example.

shogun32 said:

complexity for complexity sake. There are ramifications for "tech" intruding where it doesn't belong. This song and dance is just another example.

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This isn't a user facing feature so complexity in this case can be good.

This is absolutely ridiculous. I'd rather replace the drift brake with a cable and a lever.

I don't see the issue with this. Tedious yes, unnecessarily complicated no. For as many people that know how to work on their own car there are ten times as many that do not. This acts as a failsafe and as a way to protect against someone screwing up their own car and getting Ford to cover it.

Skye said:

All this wizbang tech. Why not put it on the screens? "Would you like to enter service mode? (Yes/No). Brake service mode? (Yes/No). Confirm." Then let the car do it.

Click to expand...

If they made it this easy to enter service mode someone could easily enable it by accident, which given that brake performance is severely hampered with this enabled, could have disastrous consequences. Other failsafes to prevent such consequences (ex: limited revs/speed in service mode) would only irritate the idiot driver in question because if they didn't know they enabled it, they likely wouldn't know how to disable it let alone understand what it is. The discussion would then be "Why did Ford make it so easy to enter service mode?" Either way, it's going to look bad on their part.

We're living in a world where technology rules over almost everything, and not many people fully understand even a fraction of what can be done with it. If Ford is to keep with the times they'll need to implement things like this to protect their customers as well as themselves. Yes it's an irritating process, but there's a reason for it IMO. Even a penny is worthless if there isn't another side to that coin.

roket said:

Since Ford couldn't resist putting an electronic parking brake onto the 2024 Mustang, there are new steps to doing brake services. Not doing this could lead to damaging the parking brake motors or even having the parking brake caliper push it's own piston out, both of those, or having the vehicle unable to be put in service mode in the future (because Ford!).

How to enable service mode

• turn on accessory mode (start button without pressing the brake)
• press the brakes and release the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally release it then release
• release the brakes
• press the accelerator and press the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally release it and hold both
• turn the vehicle off, then within 5 seconds turn it on to accessory mode again, all while still holding the accelerator and parking brake
• turn the vehicle off and release the accelerator and parking brake
• you should now have a message on the dash saying something about the brakes being in service mode, and in this mode brake performance will be much weaker

How to disable service mode

• turn on accessory mode (start button without pressing the brake)
• press and hold the accelerator
• pull the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally apply it and hold it, while still holding the accelerator
• "firmly" press the brake pedal for at least one second, then release it, all while still holding the accelerator down and parking brake up
• turn the vehicle off, then within 5 seconds turn it on to accessory mode again, then release the accelerator and parking brake

Click to expand...

I'ma just take the easy (albeit expensive) route, and pay someone else to fix them....

dfwford said:

I'ma just take the easy (albeit expensive) route, and pay someone else to fix....

Click to expand...

there is one upside, the 4 piston, 6 piston, and parking brake calipers are really easy to take the pads out of, just take the clip off and slide them out, no removing the caliper

roket said:

Since Ford couldn't resist putting an electronic parking brake onto the 2024 Mustang, there are new steps to doing brake services. Not doing this could lead to damaging the parking brake motors or even having the parking brake caliper push it's own piston out, both of those, or having the vehicle unable to be put in service mode in the future (because Ford!).

How to enable service mode

• turn on accessory mode (start button without pressing the brake)
• press the brakes and release the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally release it then release
• release the brakes
• press the accelerator and press the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally release it and hold both
• turn the vehicle off, then within 5 seconds turn it on to accessory mode again, all while still holding the accelerator and parking brake
• turn the vehicle off and release the accelerator and parking brake
• you should now have a message on the dash saying something about the brakes being in service mode, and in this mode brake performance will be much weaker

How to disable service mode

• turn on accessory mode (start button without pressing the brake)
• press and hold the accelerator
• pull the electronic parking brake in the direction that would normally apply it and hold it, while still holding the accelerator
• "firmly" press the brake pedal for at least one second, then release it, all while still holding the accelerator down and parking brake up
• turn the vehicle off, then within 5 seconds turn it on to accessory mode again, then release the accelerator and parking brake

Click to expand...

Alternatively, Place your left finger in your right ear while turning to the left with your right foot extended. After 6 seconds, place your right foot back on the floor and remove finger from right ear. That’ll do it. They call it the Hokey Pokey fix. It’s in Mitchell’s manual. He’s a friend of mine.