This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
2002 Subaru Outback, ll bean edition. Brakes have failed to work on several different occasions when outside temperature is less than approx. 28 deg F. this is usually first thing in the morning when leaving for work. Car is parked on driveway with a slight downgrade to the street, and car has drifted into driveway across the street before coming to a stop. Brakes are usually fine after several minutes of driving.
I have reported the problem to dealer, been to Subaru dealer 3 times who can't duplicate the problem, however the problem keeps recurring to me. Feel it is either master cylinder or ABS, given low mileagea and age of car. Poor brake design if computer cannot pick up this fault.
This is the second time in 2 months that the brakes have failed while driving at low speed on a wet, but totally ice-free paved road. Have taken car to be repaired at Subaru dealer (2 different ones) but both times was stated hunter's invoice that they could not duplicate the customer's (me) concern, so no action was taken to fix the brakes. Brakes definitely feel spongy when braking while driving forward, but brakes feel good and solid when going in reverse. Last Friday, I took my car to prestige, on Feb 8th to address the second time the brakes have failed. Service manager, dave lindsey said he couldn't duplicate the brakes failing again and so was not going to do anything to fix my brakes. I voiced my concerned that I was very afraid for my safety with these weird brakes and he emphatically told me he wouldn't fix the brakes until the brakes failed again!!! when I went into prestige's salesroom to get a 800 number to contact Subaru to let them know my brakes had indeed failed again, dave lindsey marched into sales room of prestige Subaru and demanded I leave the Subaru prestige premises at once. He never even gave me the work order/invoice showing that he had even looked at my car for the failed brakes!!! I think that prestige Subaru needs to be investigate. There is a very steep hill you have to go down in order to exit the prestige Subaru premises and I was very concerned about traveling down it, after having no work done on my brakes following my brake failure on February 7th, 2002.
Consumer was traveling on highway, and while approaching a stop sign she applied brakes, but pedal went all the way down to the floor, and vehicle slid.
When my vehicles brakes are depressed with uneven surface traction on the left or right side of the wheels, the ABS system delays and does not engage the brakes for 1 to 3 seconds. This happened today on a smooth Suburban street with water contacting only the right side wheels. When I went to brake for an upcoming stop sign, the brakes did not engage at all for approximately 2 seconds. It was extremely frightening. I am reporting this because it seems it is an unacknowledged problem with a lot of the model year 2002 Subaru imprezza WRX cars. There is a discussion on this issue on an owners club bulliten board called the I-club (www.I-club.com). I did not believe in this problem until it happened to me today first hand.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Catonsville, MD, USA