Brake Electric Antilock Problems of Subaru Impreza - part 1

Hello, I've been having extreme problems with the antilock brake system in my 2004 Subaru Impreza wrx. It'll kick in at unneeded times, where I will lose control of the car and the car will continue to lurch forward. This can be a frightening experience, especially if there's a car in front of me. In the winter, I have to pull the abs fuse, which believe it or not, actually helps my braking distance. If I leave the abs enabled and hit a patch of ice, I'll lose total control of the brakes and continue to glide. In my opinion, this is a huge safety concern, and one that many other Subaru owners have complained about to both Subaru and your organization. Subaru issued a voluntary recall for the abs system for models 2003 and under, but the problem is still there for the 2004 model as well. Subaru refuses to do anything to fix my problem. I appreciate any help you can give me in this matter. Sincerely, paul ahern.

See all problems of the 2004 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

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. ).

See all problems of the 2002 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

2004 Subaru Impreza wrx - during braking, if a bump or rough piece of road is encountered, the brake pedal goes limp, drops to the floor, and brakes cease to function until pedal is released and brakes reapplied. Re-application of the brakes resume full functionality.

I have had one accident and numerous issues with my abs brakes not working.

See all problems of the 2005 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

Driving south on south dixie highway traveling at 45 mph. Upon noticing the red light the brakes were applied. When the brakes were applied there was no response from them at all. I had to redirect the course of the car to avoid hitting other cars at a red light. As I turned to the right I came upon a curb and the front left tire as well as the left rear tire hit the curb. The front suspension of the car was damaged. The car was not driveable after the accident. It was towed to bird road Subaru in miami. I have been feeling fluttering in the brake pedal for 2 days prior to the episode.

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.

The brakes on my car have been worked on three times since I got my car a year ago and about to go again. They keep trying to fix them but I keep having to take it back. The date below is the first time I took it to the shop.

See all problems of the 2003 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

When I apply the brakes on rough dry roads or when the road is wet or snowy abs kicks in and my Subaru wrx take a very long time to come to a complete stop. It's almost like the brakes aren't even working. I have almost rear edned people because of this. Also, when the abs goes off once in the snow, it continues to go off every time I stop.

Abs turns on way to quick in snow. . .

The anti-lock brakes on my 2003 Subaru wrx sedan, seem to be malfunctioning. While braking over bumps / broken pavement the antilock brake system activates and seems to malfunction as there is a very acute loss of pedal pressure and a severe loss in backing power. This is not an isolated incident and happens on a semi regular basis whenever braking over a surface that has irregularities.

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.

Abs activates when driving over a semi-bumpy surface. Does not seem normal. Almost rear ended a car due to this incident. This happens regularly as the exit of the parking lot seems to cause this to happen.

After reading about investigations into the Subaru wrx abs problems, I now feel like the issue is broader than the NHTSA recall suggests. I did not know there was a site to file this type of complaint. I drive a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2. 5rs. The abs system seems to be incredibly sensitive to small bumps and undulations in the road. If the car hits a bump while the brake pedal is pressed, the abs system begins pumping the brake which causes, in my opinion, lengthened stopping distances and a feeling of lack of control over the car. This problem is easily duplicated.

See all problems of the 2001 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

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.

On my 2003 Subaru Impreza outback sport, the antilock brakes are dangerous. If you hit a bump while braking it will trigger the abs - and result in an almost complete loss of braking ability. I notice a bulletin is listed for the wrx only, but this is a major problem in my car as well.

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.

When traveling over rough or wet roadway and brakes are applied abs kicks in and vehicle will not stop, or slow down at all. You then have to release the brakes and then press the pedal again to get any braking action. This problem has happened numerous (aprox 10 or so) times since I have purchased the vehicle in Feb 2003. I have driven numerous other vehicles with abs and none of them have responded in the same manner.

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.

This failure has happened on several occasions. When stopping using a moderate braking force from average road speeds (25-45mph) I have experienced total inability to stop due to premature and prolonged engagement of my abs (anti-lock brake) system. This has happened on somewhat bumpy roads, during rain, over small amounts of loose gravel on roadways, and even on smooth dry roads during harder braking. I have not been in an accident due to this, but I have found myself in the middle of intersections multiple times. I have since disabled my abs system in order to feel safe while driving. I have the number of failures listed at 5, dating from the time I purchased my vehicle. There have easily been more incidents than 5 though, but I can clearly remember at least 5 of them when I feared an accident.

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!.