Seven problems related to brakes failed have been reported for the 2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Several times (about once a year on average) since I purchased my Subaru wrx in 2001 the brakes briefly fail. The description seems identical to that of the 2010 prius in that there is no braking for a brief time when going over bumps, railroad tracks or simply going downhill on a wet road. The most recent incident I would guess happened in the fall of 2009 when going down a hill with sudden braking required on a wet surface. Within the first year of ownership I alerted our Subaru dealer of the problem and they did "a firmware update". I don't think this made a difference but since it is a rare but scary occurrence I really could not tell.
I was driving my 02 Subaru wrx on the highway. I need to stop suddenly and the brakes failed. The brake pedal went to the floor, but the car didn't slow down. This cause me to rear end a Ford explorer. This cause approximately $3800 in damages.
Complete transient brake failure - Subaru 2002 wrx wagon. Just experienced this failure, thankfully not "driving" at the time. I was backing the car down off service ramps last night in my driveway. Not sure exactly what happened at the wheels, I may have run over a block of wood with a rear wheel at the same time, but anyhow just as I came down off the ramps under very light braking, the brake pedal literally sank to the floor under my foot, - it felt like it deflated. The pedal just remained limply where it was. Application / variation of pressure had no effect whatsoever, don't recall hearing the abs mech either after the initial sink. I was left rolling slowly backwards down my driveway with my foot firmly planted on the brake - there was not even enough braking force to stop the car from a walking pace roll. I used the e-brake to stop. Tried the brake pedal again afterwards, and pressure was back, like nothing happened. Very scary. Even though I'd read about this, still took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. This clearly could be fatal "on the road". . Read more...
Abs activates in unnecessary situations. When approaching a stop sign on my street, on clean dry asphalt, the abs activated when going over a small pothole. The brake pedal went to the floor and there was no braking power until I released and reapplied the brake. This exact situation has occurred at least 10-15 times at the same location. I have also experienced the unnecessary abs activation and brake failure in other locations where I have driven over bumps or pavement irregularities. The result is usually the activation of abs, then the loss of braking power, and the requirement that the brakes be released and reapplied. To the best of my knowledge, this is not the porper operation of an anti-lock braking system. This behavior has not yet caused an accident or any damage, but it is easy to see that if I were in closer proximity to other vehicles or objects, the result could be catastrophic.
I experience dbrake failure with my 2002 Subaru wrx during a moderate speed (about 35 mph) emergency panic stop, resulting in my sliding into a truck that cut me off and caused damage to my car and his truck. The date listed below may be incorrect because I don't have the date with me right now, but it is within a few months of the incident. The road surface was fairly dry and slightly bumpy and after stomping on the brakes they went all the way down with no pulsing and very little stopping. I felt like I was on ice with no abs. I commented to my insurance company during my initial call reporting the accident that I felt I had plenty of time to stop and that the brakes just "slid". I also reported it to my local Subaru dealership who checked it out after the accident after the body work was done and found no problems. I have experienced no other incidents like this since I don't drive that hard and avoid hard stops. I would really like this to be addressed to avoid potential future accidents. Thanks, craig hoffman.
Hydraulic anti-lock brakes cause brakes to fail while traversing bumpy surface.
Approaching a stop light at 30-35mph on rough, bumpy pavement, the brake pedal went down to the floor completely, and the car took 2 or 3 times the normal distance to come to a stop. There was no reason the abs should have activated. . Read more...