DETROIT -- U.S. regulators have opened an investigation into a petition concerning a 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid compact pickup that experienced intermittent loss of braking.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the probe on whether to grant or deny the petition filed on July 7. Granting the petition ultimately could result in NHTSA ordering Ford Motor Co. to file a recall. The petition alleged that recurrent loss of antilock and regenerative braking associated with certain fault codes led to a crash.

"I applied the brakes to avoid a vehicle crossing my path and the vehicle did not stoр, resulting in a collision," wrote petitioner Darwin Lewellyn Pitts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, regarding the Sept. 25, 2025, incident. "An unexpected loss of stopping capability is an unreasonable risk of crashes, injury, and death."

The Detroit News reached out to Pitts and Ford for comment but did not receive immediate responses. Pitts also is suing the Dearborn automaker in federal court. The lawsuit states Pitts sustained bodily injury, including to chest muscles that required medical treatment, and damage to his vehicle's front end.

Pitts' complaint said the issue persisted through four repair attempts and a combined more than 50 days out of service. Brake pedal pulsation, shuddering and inadequate stopping began in January 2025 after he acquired the vehicle in November 2024, according to Pitts' lawsuit. Two of the repair visits were prior to the collision.

Additionally, the filing with NHTSA stated the 2024 model year was excluded from related Ford brake-control software recalls.

Ford has faced scrutiny in recent years for its quality and recalls. That prompted a transformation of its quality processes, which the automaker says is yielding results as shown in its top mass-market ranking in JD Power's Initial Quality Study. Still, Ford has issued more than double the recalls this year of any other automaker after breaking a record in 2025 for the number of recalls issued in a year. Ford also remains under an independent federal monitor to oversee its recall processes, data analytics and compliance.

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