Brake Electric Antilock problems of the 2002 Subaru Impreza - part 1

Raw fuel smell in cold weather. Had to replace cd player. Seals on windows fell off. Brakes pump when hitting the brake when debris on road. (rocks,etc. ).

Abs intermittently kicks in on dry, smooth road at low speeds, with light pedal pressure. Dealer checked and said all is normal. Problem is not readily reproducible, but very disconcerting when it happens, causing prolonged stopping distances. None of my other vehicles with abs ever acts this way.

Abs premature engagement. Happened 11/18/03 and about 10 times since 6/02. Under light to moderate braking, around 35 mph, the abs will engage and drastically reduce braking deceleration over minor pavement irregularities. Today it happened when going over botts dots, but it also happens on bumps, washboard pavement, etc. The pedal becomes light and the car basically stops braking for 0. 5 to 1. 0 seconds. Very scary and dangerous. I am a mechanical engineer, master's degree, with experience in vehicle dynamics, hydraulics, and electronic feedback control. There is something drastically wrong with the abs tuning on this car. I am going to disable the abs system until Subaru fixes this. Ps I have never used the spare tire.

My car's abs engages when going over bumpy/uneven surfaces resulting in nearly complete braking loss. The pedal goes almost all the way to the floor and doesn't want to stop at all. This can be very scary, especially if you aren't aware that the road is uneven. I've had to get used to this happening and adjust my driving techniques as a result!!! I am very disappointed is this! this has happened many times since I have owned the car.

I have an 02 Subaru Impreza wrx. The abs system activates prematurely and overly-agressively in a variety of conditions. Most often it happens when attempting to stop and driving over bumpy roads. Something as minor as a 1/2 inch dip in the pavement can set off the abs. Once the system activates the pedal goes to the floor and there is momentarily a complete loss of braking ability. It can extend the braking distance by 1 or 2 full car lengths as compared to without abs and has caused me to nearly crash into other cars several times.

Going over a big expansion joint exiting from the outer loop of I-495 near washington, DC to I-95 south, I saw that I needed to brake because of suddenly stopping traffic. I did not get any braking help in my 2002 Subaru Impreza wrx wagon as my brakes suddenly seemed gone, only to grip a moment later. Very scary for a short time.

Problems with abs activation - right conditions (brake activation followed by bump on smooth surface) results in significantly reduced braking effort - abs acts like it is confused and brake pedal drops to floor. Reproducible at a particular intersection with both our wrx's. Multiple events with different tires on vehicle.

Problems with abs activation - right conditions ( brake activation followed by bump on smooth surface) results in significantly reduced braking effort - abs acts like it is confused and brake pedal drops to floor. Reproducible at a particular intersection with both our wrx's. Multiple events with different tires on vehicle.

Travelling at a low speed (under25) and braking while driving over small bumps in the road: pedal drops nearly to the floor, no typical abs pulsing, car feels as if it's just rolling straight ahead with no brake control, and no matter how much pressure is applied, it doesn't feel as if it is stopping any faster.

While coming to a stop at about 30-35 mph, the brakes stopped working for about 1-2 seconds. At the same time, the feel of the brake pedal seemed to indicate that the abs system had been activated. Can't recall if this was over a bumpy road as mentioned in earlier complaints. Has occurred at least twice - very scary and dangerous.

Abs activating for no reason on rough surface (gravel covered roadway) causing braking distance to increase significantly. . . Not the first time either. Not hard braking, just one on an uneven surface.

No description given. Nlm.

Randomly while moderately braking on dry normal textured pavement abs system will engage, this causes a major and dangerous loss of braking power and pedal pressure. In order to restore some braking power the brake pedal must be disengaged completely and then have pressure reapplied. This will result in about 3/4 of the normal braking power. If the abs engages again the process must be repeated. This entire process causes braking distance to substantially increase from the expected amount.

Traveling along a straight, dry, paved road. Speed approx 50mph. Encountered a situation requiring aggressive braking (approx 75-80%). While braking, car crossed a small bump, abs engaged for an extended time and braking power was almost completely lost. Several car lengths later (road free from imperfections now), abs was still modulating and there was still virtually no braking power. Distance required to stop was *much* longer than it should have been. Problem has also occured x2 at low speed, nearing a stop sign, hit a pothole. . . . Lost braking until absolute last second, barely stopped in time. Seems as though abs unit is confused, as if the wheels with traction are being modulated while the tire that hit the bump and has poor traction (possibly airborne momentarily?) is getting braking power, thus rendering the car with little stopping ability at all. Very dangerous, I was lucky it was not an animal/child/car that I was trying to avoid. Definitely dangerous, and not normal abs operation.

Nhtsa action number : pe03029, component : service brakes, hydraulic:antilock I have had this happen to me several times. The date included is not accurate, but I had to give one. I noticed on these 8 (or more) occassions that if I brake hard (abs not on) that the car is fine. But, if I hit a surface were the front tire(s) lose traction or hit a bump the brake release and then the abs will kick in for a very short distance. The surfaces include, potholes, uneven surface manhole covers, painted traffic lines, road cracks. I did notice that on one ocassion when the brakes release the brake pedal went to the floor. This was while braking going down hill my front right tire went over a recessed manhole cover. I came within 3 feet of hitting a car in front of me. I can name the city and street where this happened. And, I can repeat the occurrence with almost 90% accurancy at this spot if need be.

I was going to olympus gym in springfield, va, pulling into the far end of the parking lot (the lot is empty). The lot was clean, dry asphalt with a couple of rocks scattered on it (clue?). I pull in quick to the lot (a right turn from the street 90 degrees) don't know how fast but not worrisome. Then pull a 180 degree left turn to come into the parking space braking fairly hard as I go. Keeping on the brakes I think I'll come to a stop, but, the abs activates with 7 feet left in the spot. Stays released all the way to the end where I bump into the pole at the end of the spot marking my bumper badly. I did not even try to come off the brakes and back on to reset (I should have). I just held the brake praying they would come back. When the abs activated, my head jerked back into the head rest and stayed there (at least half a second) until I hit the pole. The abs released the brakes (all four) and left them released.

I pulled into a driveway to make a u-turn. There was a slight bump (about half the height of a speed bump) at the start of the driveway. I guess the bump activated the abs because after I came to a full stop the pedal went half way to the floor. This has happened twice before, driving at 20 mph and about 40 mph and moderately braking on bumpy surfaces. The abs kick in and it feel like the car isn't slowing at all. I have to release the brake and apply it again to stop. All incidents were on dry roads.

Vehicle's abs controller went bad, abs was getting activated ever in a dry non slip condition, contacted dealer, and they replaced the abs controller. Reported problem about engine vibration at idle speed, dealer refuses to accept it, compared with a new vehicle at dealer's stock and the vibration in my vehicle was distinguishable. Still dealer refuses to accept it. Contacted 1-800-subaru3 and they said that they woul dget in touch with the dealership and see whats going on.

The abs engages prematurely on rough pavent, expansion joints, etc. Once it engages, the brake pedal drops to the floor and the car loses all braking power for several seconds.

When braking hard, if a small bump is encountered abs will often activate and fail causing loss of stopping power. Releasing the brake and re-applying will restore stopping power but not before giving the driver a good scare. I have not hit anything yet but I have had several close calls, even taking to the grass to avoid a collision. Dealer could not replicate. ****dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis****761464.

When applying the brakes on bumpy roads, the abs gets triggered and the brake system loses all hydraulic pressure and brake power is completely lost.

When braking over bumps or potholes, abs system "fails" causing near-zero braking ability and much longer stopping distances. Repeatable and dangerous!.

While approaching a stop light that was turning yellow, road was slightly bumpy, consumer felt abs pulsating. As this happened, brake pedal went to floor and pulsating stopped, however vehicle did not slow down. This has happened about 4 times. Consumer was concerned because dealer could not duplicate problem.

When applying brakes while going over a bump at 25 mph or less consumer can tell abs system kicks in, but brake pedal goes to the floor, no braking ability for a few sconds. This happens intermittently. Dealer stated there was nothing he could do.

I have experienced multiple occurrences of abs problems. If a wheels hits a bump when the brakes are applied the brakes let go completely for 2-3 seconds. It's as if the system is sensing a loss of grip at whatever wheel has hit the bump and instead of releasing pressure on that wheel for a fraction of a second it releases pressure on all four brakes for 2-3 seconds. This can occur not only under hard braking but also when slowing down gradually from a low speed. This is at best discomforting and at worst dangerous. . Read more...

Brakes did not respond to full pressure applied to the brake pedal after getting in the exit lane of northbound interstate 75 and the I-675 south exchange. Brakes did not slow the car and the car proceeded to swerve off the road, resulting in a rollover of multiple revolutions. Exact number of turns is not known. It was noticed that the brakes had been grinding the day before. Also, the brake pedal had started to feel soft the day of the accident. Air bags, neither front nor side impact bags, did not deploy.

While in motion insured approached stop sign. Vehicle 2 stopped and proceeded as insured was already accelerating and was unable to stop, therefore hitting the rear of vehicle 2. May be a possible problem with the abs system.

While in motion insured approached stop sign. Vehicle 2 stopped and proceeded as insured was already accelerating and was unable to stop, therefore hitting the rear of vehicle 2. May be a possible problem with the abs system.

Vehicle stopping distance in snow increases by a factor of 10 when abs system is enabled (tested by removing abs fuse - disables abs).

The abs system does not adaquately brake over a bumpy road surface. I have almost crashed into other cars as a result of the abs system not allowing the car to brake anything like as fast as it should.

I was slowing to make a right turn, the brake pedal went almost to the floor and the car was not stopping. I pulled abs fuse shortly thereafter.

The braking system often fails when the brakes are applied while travelling over a rough or bumpy surface, regardless of speed (I have had it occur several times, from 5 to 35 mph). In these cases the abs is wrongfully triggered under mild braking, then the vast majority of braking power is lost and the car barely stops at all. This braking is completely different in feel and performance from the abs functioning properly ( I. E. Very hard braking on a smooth surface. The brakes work fine in these cases. ). This is a common problem that I am hearing about from other 2002 Impreza/wrx owners.

Failure was an extreme increase in stopping distance for no apparent reason on dry pavement. Brake pedal went nearly to floor , no pedal pulsing, but only about 30% of normal brake force available inspite of extreme pressure on pedal. Narrowly avoided head on with cars in oncoming lanes while attempting left turn. Lack of brake effort resulted in excessive speed for safe left turn.

The brakes that come standard on this vehicle are nowhere near sufficient for a vehicle with this level of performance. My brakes are scored, have grooves, and have chips and burrs. During my hour commute to work I experience brake fade and brake shudder in the steering wheel. The dealer tells me these problems are "normal. " well, if you're going to sell me a car that accellerates and handles like a race car, it should be able to stop like one as well. Or at least stop at all! this vehicle requires larger, more performance oriented brakes right from the factory. I hope Subaru handles this quickly.

With previous reports by consumers on NHTSA concerning this issue. Until Subaru addresses this design flaw, it is an awareness issue that owners must recognize and adjust their driving habits accordingly to compensate for. I have taken my vehicle into an empty parking lot on the weekend and tested the brake performance fully, and therefore the abs, both in a straight line and while turning very slightly. Abs performance is as expected in both wet and dry provided that the road surface was perfectly smooth. However, even minor bumps, ripples or irregularities in the pavement reduced the braking power by at least 50%, in my estimation, and the brake pedal itself depresses an additional 1-2 inches further than experienced under normal driving conditions. Again, this is consistent in both wet and dry conditions. My vehicle is entirely stock and has not been raced off road, rallied or autocrossed, all of which incur greater wear and tear on the vehicle. Also, I have not taken the vehicle in to a dealer because I believed it to be a design flaw, which has only been confirmed by similar reports I have read on the NHTSA website. In the northeast, where the roads are frequently in poor condition due to frost heaves and other effects of harsh weather, I have altered my driving habits on the local roads to avoid the streets that have pavement irregularities near or in the braking areas. Given Subaru's impressive focus on safety, hopefully they can and will resolve this issue before any fatalities result. Dt.