Did the “Park Brake Maintenance Mode” message on your F150’s dashboard confuse you? In this article, I’ll tell you what this mode is for and provide step-by-step instructions on how to activate and deactivate it.
What is the F150 Park Brake Maintenance Mode?
Park Brake Service Mode In F150 temporarily turns off the whole electronic parking brake system (including its passive components) so you can safely do tasks like changing brake pads or working on the calipers.
You must put your F150 into parking brake service mode whenever you do a brake job. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending as much as or even more than what you’d spend at a mechanic.
How To Put Your F150 In Brake Service Mode?
To put your F150 in park brake service mode, follow these steps:
- Turn the key to the “On” position without starting the engine.
- Press and hold the gas pedal all the way down.
- Push down on the emergency parking brake button.
- Turn the key to the “Off” position.
- Within five seconds, turn the key back to the “On” position.
Once done, listen for the motors in the back to actuate, indicating the parking brake is in maintenance mode. You should also see that the dashboard has a new indicator on it.
How To Get Your F150 Out Of Park Brake Maintenance Mode?
To get the F150 out of park brake maintenance mode, turn the key to “On” without starting the engine. Hold the gas pedal down and pull up on the emergency parking brake button. Turn the key to “Off,” then quickly turn it back to “On” within five seconds. You should hear a sound from the actuator, which means the parking brake is no longer in maintenance mode.
What Happens When You Don’t Use Maintenance Mode?
Not using maintenance mode can cause serious problems for you and your truck.
If you skip it during brake service, the parking brake might suddenly engage, making it hard to release and possibly causing random braking while driving. This can put your safety at risk and increase the chance of accidents.
Also, the parking brake operating lever could break, so you’d end up with the common Ford F150 parking brake won’t release issue.
In addition, new parts might not be recognized correctly without maintenance mode, showing Ford F150 parking brake malfunction error.
When that happens, your EPB could stop working entirely – or the wrong adjustments could wear out brake parts faster, decrease braking efficiency and harm the actuator.
FAQs
Do I need to use Parking Brake Maintenance Mode if I have an older F150?
It depends on how old you’re talking about. Not all Ford F-150s have electronic parking brakes. Older F-150s usually have a foot-operated parking brake. Newer models, especially from 2016 onwards, often come with electronic parking brakes in certain trims. Check the specific model year and trim to see if you have EPBs.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, entering and exiting the Parking Brake Maintenance Mode is quick and easy—you won’t even need to get special tools.
So whenever you’re working on your f150’s brakes, turn it on. This even applies to regular brake jobs.
Better safe than sorry, right? Anyway, that’s all for this post. Good luck with keeping your brakes in tip-top shape.
