2002 Subaru Outback

BRAKES BRIEFLY FAIL IN FREEZING COLD WEATHER CONDITIONS. 5 OR 10 HARD PUMPS HAVE USUALLY BROUGHT THEM BACK. VERY DANGEROUS IF YOU ARE NOT EXPECTING IT. I NEVER LEAVE MY DRIVEWAY OR PARKING SPACE WITHOUT REPEATED PUMPING TO GET THEM WORKING AGAIN. WE ARE SKI INSTRUCTORS (AND THIS CAR IS MARKETED FOR THAT) BUT ITS QUITE DANGEROUS IN FREEZING WEATHER. *TR

REPETITIVE FAILURE OF BOTH FRONT BRAKE ROTORS. ROTORS HAVE THICKNESS VARIATION WHICH CAUSES HEAVY BRAKE PULSATION AND STEERING WHEEL JUDDER FROM SIDE TO SIDE WHEN BRAKING FROM GREATER THAN 45 MPH. FIRST COMPLAINT 6/18/03 9971 MILES FRONT ROTORS WERE RESURFACED. SECOND COMPLAINT 5/3/04 16180 MILES RESURFACE FRONT ROTORS. THIRD COMPLAINT 4/7/05 23013 MILES RESURFACE FRONT ROTORS REPLACE FRONT BRAKE PADS. FOURTH COMPLAINT 5/20/08 42147 MILES REPLACE FRONT ROTORS AND FRONT BRAKE PADS. FIFTH COMPLAINT 3/17/09 49719 MILES RESURFACE FRONT ROTORS. SUBRAU DOES HAVE A CUSTOMER PAY UPGRADE IN THEIR TSB #: 06-33-04 DATE: 01/15/04 FOR 2001-2003 SUBARU VEHICLES TO MODIFY THE DISC BRAKE PAD. *TR

MY 2002 SUBARU OUTBACK HAD FRONT ROTOR FAILURE IN 2007-----THE FINS THAT HOLD THE ROTORS TOGETHER RUSTED AND BROKE. WHEN YOU CHECKED THE ROTOR THICKNESS WITH A MICROMETER IT WAS FINE BUT WHEN YOU APPLIED BRAKES THE PRESSURE SQUEEZED THE SURFACES TOGETHER AND MADE IT FEEL LIKE THE ROTORS WERE WARPED---ALSO UNDETECTABLE BY RUNOUT GAGE. *TR

OUR 2002 SUBARU OUTBACK EDDIE BAUER EDITION HAS EXPERIENCED A CONSISTENT BRAKE FAILURE THE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING ON DAYS WHERE THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE IS AT OR BELOW 45 DEG F. THE FAILURE IS REPEATABLE AS FOLLOWS: AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE WITH FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR INITIALLY SEEMS OKAY WITH NORMAL BRAKE PEDAL FEEL (SOFT BUT NOT STIFF) - IN ABOUT THE TIME IT TAKES TO PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE THE BRAKE PETAL STOPS RESPONDING AND BECOMES VERY STIFF. ALSO, BRAKE ASSIST DISAPPEARS AND IT BECOMES VERY DIFFICULT (ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE) TO STOP THE VEHICLE, EVEN ON THE SLIGHT DOWNGRADE OF OUR DRIVEWAY. - UNDER THE FORCE OF GRAVITY, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE CAR TO DRIFT BACKWARD INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAPPENS TO BE LOCATED BEHIND THE CAR SUCH AS PEDESTRIANS AND TRASHCANS, FOR EXAMPLE. NO ACCIDENTS OR NEAR-MISSES HAVE OCCURRED AS OF THE TIME OF THIS WRITING, BUT THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THEY COULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED UNDER NORMAL VEHICLE USE AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS IN OUR AREA. THE CAR USUALLY COMES TO REST WITHIN 2 TO 3 SECONDS AFTER WHICH THE BRAKES SEEMS TO RECOVER TO NORMAL FUNCTION. - GOOD FUNCTIONALITY SEEMS TO CONTINUE AS LONG AS THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN SITTING IN THE COLD AND/OR AS LONG AS THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT IS WARM. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP TO TWO LOCAL SUBARU DEALERS WHO BOTH INDICATED THEY HAVE NEVER SEE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. ALSO, ONE WAS ABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. GIVEN THEIR EXPERT COMMENTARY AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IT IS SUSPECTED THAT THE CAR'S BEHAVIOR MIGHT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGING SAFETY FLAW TO THE VEHICLE'S BRAKING SYSTEM. SYSTEM WILL BE REPAIRED BY CONSUMER. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED SUBARU CUSTOMER SUPPORT REGARDING THIS MATTER. THEY INDICATED THAT THIS WAS NOT AN OFFICIALLY KNOWN ISSUE PER THE LIST OF NHTSA RECALL ACTIONS; HENCE, THEY TOOK NO ACTION TO REMEDY/INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM. SEE SUBARU CASE #: 936244 FOR DETAILS. SEE ALSO NHTSB COMPLAINT #: 10106583. *NM

FRONT BRAKE ROTORS ON MY 2002 OUTBACK 3.0 WAGON HAVE WARPED CAUSING SEVERE SHIMMY WHEN BRAKING AT HIGH SPEED. THEY WERE REPLACED AT ABOUT 30,000, AND THIS HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. MY OPINION AS A SCIENTIST IS THAT THE ROTORS ARE UNDER-ENGINEERED FOR THE SIZE/WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE, AND THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE IS COMPRISED AT HIGH SPEED. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE ROTORS DISTORT WITH A NORMAL AMOUNT OF BRAKING HEAT, AND THEN RETURN FLAT WHEN COMPLETELY COOLED, INDICATING DEFECTIVE METALLURGY IN THEIR COMPOSITION. *JB

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. *NM

MY 2002 SUBARU OUTBACK SPORT (BASED ON THE IMPREZZA) DISPLAYS THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE ABS SYSTEM BEING INEFFECTIVE WHEN BRAKING OVER BUMPS AS THE 2002, 2003 WRXS CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED BY ODI (PE03-029). THIS PROBLEM IS NOT JUST LIMITED TO THE WRX VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM IS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED UNDER LIGHT TO MODERATE BRAKING EFFORT, IF THE VEHICLE ENCOUNTERS A SHARP BUMP (E.G. A RAISED PAVEMENT SECTION AT AN EXPANSION JOINT) WHILE THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED. NORMAL ABS FUNCTION WOULD MOMENTARILY EASE UP THE BRAKING PRESSURE ON THE FRONT WHEELS AS THEY BECOME UN-WEIGHTED ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE BUMP, SO THAT THEY DO NOT LOCK-UP. AFTER THE FRONT WHEELS ARE FULLY WEIGHTED AGAIN THE ABS SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW THE PREVIOUS BRAKING EFFORT TO BE RE-ESTABLISHED ALLOWING THE CAR TO STOP ALMOST NORMALLY. THUS THE BRAKING DISTANCE OF THE VEHICLE MIGHT BE EXTENDED BY THE LENGTH OF THE BUMP (PERHAPS 6 INCHES). THIS CORRECT BEHAVIOR IS EXHIBITED BY MY 1994 PROBE GT. IF I DRIVE MY SUBARU OVER THE SAME ROAD CONDITIONS, WHEN THE VEHICLE HITS A SHARP BUMP, THE ABS SYSTEM START FUNCTIONING AND CONTINUES FOR A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME, EVEN AFTER PASSING OVER THE BUMP. THIS, IN ITSELF, SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM, BUT DURING THIS TIME THE BRAKING EFFICIENCY IS DRASTICALLY REDUCED. THIS TYPICALLY EXTENDS THE STOPPING DISTANCE OF THE SUBARU BY 10-30 FEET (WHEN STOPPING FROM 30MPH) OVER WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED IF THE BUMP HAD NOT OCCURRED. IF I IMMEDIATELY RELEASE THE BRAKE PEDDLE, AND THEN FULLY APPLY THE BRAKES THE CAR DOES STOP. SO THIS PROBLEM IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TIRES ABILITY TO GRIP THE ROAD, OR THE BRAKES ABILITY TO STOP THE ROTOR/DRUM. I BELIEVE IT TO BE A PROGRAMMING ERROR IN THE ECU. THIS PROBLEM IS REPEATABLE AND FULLY DEMONSTRABLE. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SUPPLY FURTHER DETAILS TO HELP GET THIS ISSUE RESOLVED. *JB