Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for ways to extend brake life that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on October 1st, 2021, published on February 18th, 2025, and assigned serial number 0336195.
The Ford Authority Take
In recent months, Ford has filed a few patents that explore various ways its future vehicles could do things like estimate the remaining life of various parts, as well as predict brake fade, wear, or even when tire tread is getting low on autonomous vehicles. Now, this newly published patent introduces us to an idea for ways the automaker may be able to extend brake life that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
As Ford points out in the patent filing, mechanical parking brake systems are designed apply braking force to the rear wheels when engaged, based on the position of the parking brake lever. Electric parking brakes do the same thing, but utilize actuators to mechanically engage the brake itself, which isn’t exactly ideal for extending brake life, either. Thus, it proposes this system, which would use two brakes on different wheels, a controller, sensors, and memory to activate one or both of those brakes only as needed.
The system would be able to determine just how much braking force is needed to prevent the vehicle from moving depending on that vehicle’s weight, as well as the angle of the road it’s parked on. If the wheels begin rotating after this happens, the system could also provide more stopping power as needed – a rather interesting idea, indeed, and one that could prove handy for those that use their parking brake on a regular basis.
“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”
Comments
It would be simpler to make brake rotors thick enough to be more resistant to warping.
The brakes on my 2011 Fusion were just replaced. They lasted 110,000 miles and 14 years. How much longer do you want them to last and at what cost???
This just seems to add additional cost and complexity at little added benefit.