Why did your Ford Taurus lurch forward when you applied the brakes?

Answer 1

When we apply the brakes in the Ford Tauras lurch forward because inertia of the car remain in the state of motion even though it has come to rest. The above answer is pretty incomprehensible. If the car is already at rest, it doesn't have inertia, so applying the brakes won't make it lurch forward. The question that was asked, implies that the car was still in motion when the brakes were applied. This happened to me a few days ago, after I drove my Taurus up along a ridge, then came back down into town, applying the brakes much of the way down. The brakes became less and less responsive as they heated up, and finally, when I was back down the ridge and in town, and braking as I approached an intersection, the car actually accelerated a little as I applied the brakes. The reason may be that the brakes may have become overheated, from doing a lot of braking; when brakes are too hot, they can fail to grip well, so that when you apply the brakes, the car doesn't stop, and since the transmission is still in a gear that makes it propel the car forward, there's a "fight" between the brakes and the transmission, and the transmission wins. When this happened to me, I thought fast (there was a car right in front of me), and pulled the car to the right, and immediately pushed the gearshift lever to Park. The car stopped. I let it sit for about ten minutes to let the brakes cool, and they worked well enough after that to let me drive home. Worn brake parts can cause them to overheat when doing a lot of braking. Replace all brake pads with high-quality ones, and check the thickness of the rotors (discs)--if they're close to their minimal allowed thickness, replace them, and if they're thick enough to keep, but shiny (almost like chrome), have them machined to remove the shininess. If you replace the rotors, buy a set of high quality, performance rotors, slotted to allow greater heat dissipation, and if you can find ones that are larger diameter than the originals, get those, since more mass in the rotors will allow them to absorb heat better. When you replace a rotor, it's best to replace the rotors on both sides of the car at the same time (both front wheels, or both rear wheels) so braking on both wheels is as similar as possible, to avoid pulling in one direction. Also check whether the piston calipers on all four wheels are doing their job--make sure they're not stuck, leaking brake fluid, etc. If they aren't in good shape, replace them. Also check whether the brake lines have air in them--bleed the brakes (instructions can be found here on WikiAnswers). Here's what the www.alldata.com website has to say about some causes for "pedal fade", in which pressing down on the brake pedal becomes less and less effective: * Severe or prolonged braking. During repeated braking, the amount of pedal effort/travel required to slow the vehicle increases as the ability of the brakes to dissipate heat decreases. * Heat build up in brake linings [they mean brake pads]. As the linings heat up, their "coefficient of friction" is reduced (they become slicker). As the coefficient of friction is reduced, more hydraulic pressure is required to stop the vehicle. More hydraulic pressure results in more heat which then results in more pedal fade. * Glazed brake linings (overheated) [they mean brake pads]. Brake linings which have been severely overheated (cracked, shiny, charcoal like appearance) have a greatly reduced stopping ability and are highly prone to "pedal fade". * Worn brake components. As the brake linings, rotors, and drums begin to wear, their ability to absorb and release heat is reduced significantly. This makes worn brakes more prone to "pedal fade".