Brake Upgrade Options

I've noticed the brakes on the Expedition are not as effective as my other vehicles and has what sometimes feels like slight brake fade during regular braking. I'm wondering if this is common and if there are any known upgrade options (big brake kit, pads, etc) that other owners have done? Searched but did not find anything.

hellohithere said:

I've noticed the brakes on the Expedition are not as effective as my other vehicles and has what sometimes feels like slight brake fade during regular braking. I'm wondering if this is common and if there are any known upgrade options (big brake kit, pads, etc) that other owners have done? Searched but did not find anything.

Click to expand...

Brembo. Powerstop. R1 concepts

hellohithere said:

I've noticed the brakes on the Expedition are not as effective as my other vehicles and has what sometimes feels like slight brake fade during regular braking. I'm wondering if this is common and if there are any known upgrade options (big brake kit, pads, etc) that other owners have done? Searched but did not find anything.

Click to expand...

During my research on the Expedition before buying our 2019, MANY reviews commented on the brakes and how they felt "sub par" for this vehicle. I knew going in that the brakes are on the list of poor performing features of the 4th Gens.
I say that to infer that you are not expecting to much but there's likely nothing wrong with your vehicle. Ford just didn't hit a homerun on everything here.
As Plati16 said, Brembo has an excellent upgrade available.
Aftermarket brake options abound and will likely provide some noticeable improvement. However, it could get very expensive if you're looking to upgrade calipers instead of just the discs and shoes.

Just put some upgraded performance pads on it that say they stop better and no brake fade.
You don't really need rotors too.
The tight pads will give a world of difference. I have no issues with factory brakes and think they are fine but If you want more...pads are the first easiest step.

I don’t think I’d say sub par by any means but I’m not 100% pleased when I’ve spent all day on a our local mountain forest service roads. I’ll probably be towing more soon on these roads soon so I may want to upgrade at that point. For paved roads I’m totally pleased. I do feel Ford should have a upgraded brake package available as an option... especially one that looks all nice and pretty.

Artie said:

I don’t think I’d say sub par by any means but I’m not 100% pleased when I’ve spent all day on a our local mountain forest service roads. I’ll probably be towing more soon on these roads soon so I may want to upgrade at that point. For paved roads I’m totally pleased. I do feel Ford should have a upgraded brake package available as an option... especially one that looks all nice and pretty.

Click to expand...

Curious what you are experiencing that leaves you not 100% pleased? Are you overheating, getting fade, etc? I haven't driven enough yet to experience anything that I would consider not great. I think the brakes so far have seemed extremely good. This weekend I will be coming down a steep twisty canyon road with my trailer in tow and that will give me a good idea. I did do that road without the trailer last weekend and had zero issues.

I did a brake upgrade on my jeep and they work way better but are also WAY dirtier/dustier. Without going to bigger rotors, calipers, and pads you won't see much improvement unless you go to a pad that is much dustier than the stock pads.

duneslider said:

Curious what you are experiencing that leaves you not 100% pleased? Are you overheating, getting fade, etc? I haven't driven enough yet to experience anything that I would consider not great. I think the brakes so far have seemed extremely good. This weekend I will be coming down a steep twisty canyon road with my trailer in tow and that will give me a good idea. I did do that road without the trailer last weekend and had zero issues.

I did a brake upgrade on my jeep and they work way better but are also WAY dirtier/dustier. Without going to bigger rotors, calipers, and pads you won't see much improvement unless you go to a pad that is much dustier than the stock pads.

Click to expand...

I've noticed brake fade during some medium to medium heavy braking with 5-6 passengers and without towing. I do think that the 95F Texas heat contributes to the issue somewhat but am not entirely sure how much. Rotors and calipers seem very pricey. What pads would be better? How much more dust should I expect?

EBC yellow stuff made a huge difference on my jeep but they coated the rims pretty quick and I didn't feel lasted very long. They aren't touted as lasting a long time though. I currently have the EBC green stuff on my jeep and they are less messy but still pretty dirty. They perform better than stock but not quite as good as the yellow. What is cool about the Yellow and Green is that they seem to grab better as they get warm.

They have an orange extra duty light truck/suv pad that I have heard is a great oem replacement and lasts long, so I assume is less messy too. I have not used these though so I have no personal experience with them. Of all the pads I have used the EBC have been the best. I like them better than Hawk but the Hawk pads are pretty nice too.

duneslider said:

Curious what you are experiencing that leaves you not 100% pleased? Are you overheating, getting fade, etc? I haven't driven enough yet to experience anything that I would consider not great. I think the brakes so far have seemed extremely good. This weekend I will be coming down a steep twisty canyon road with my trailer in tow and that will give me a good idea. I did do that road without the trailer last weekend and had zero issues.

I did a brake upgrade on my jeep and they work way better but are also WAY dirtier/dustier. Without going to bigger rotors, calipers, and pads you won't see much improvement unless you go to a pad that is much dustier than the stock pads.

Click to expand...

I’ve had some brake fade when doing lots of downhill either on paved mountain roads or forest service roads. It’s not bad but it’s enough for me to notice and there will be times in the future where I will be towing and carrying more gear so I can only assume it will be worse then. On the day to day I’ve never had an issue though.

There is no manual mode on the Navigator. I can use paddle shifters to downshift, but how do I get the vehicles to hold the downshifted gear?