Brake Electric Antilock Problems of Subaru Impreza Wrx - part 1

Driving during very light rain in left lane about 30 mph, car in front (about 2-3 car-lengths ahead) starts braking. I pressed the brakes and abs came on without any reason, the car did not slow down almost at all, forcing me to switch the lane quickly to the right. While switching lanes, car started skidding and diving the nose to the right/tail to the left, I tried to correct the nose to the left, but that caused a more dangerous skid to the left, toward oncoming traffic. I turned the wheel right again, trying to regain control, but the car spun out and hit a tree on right side of road with the driver's door. I was taken to a hospital and stayed there overnight for observation, released next day. Nobody was injured, the tree had a few very small scratches. I am still waiting to find out if the car will be repairable or totaled.

See all problems of the 2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx 🔎.

In my 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx, on multiple occasions, when I hit a small bump in the road (could be an expansion joint in a bridge or a crack in the road surface that has been patched) while braking, the abs kicks in and does not allow me to brake. After about one second has passed, the abs turns off and I grind to a halt. I have larger-than-stock, high performance tires, and on dry pavement, the stock brakes are not capable of applying enough pressure to lock up the brakes. But if I hit a small hiccup in the road, the abs turns on and does not allow me to apply any significant amount of braking power. As soon as it disengages, the increase in braking power is quite significant. I have yet to be in an accident as a result of this defect, but I have learned to leave extra distance between myself and the car in front of me. Subaru is doing a "voluntary recall" to fix this problem after an investigation by your organization. I find it astounding that you were unable to replicate this problem. If this is the case, then I strongly urge you to revise the methods you use to develop an experiment. This is an obvious problem. It is relatively easy to replicate. If you are unable to replicate it, then you have not developed an experiment to effectively test for this defect.

See all problems of the 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx 🔎.

Traveling on a damp, bumpy asphalt road in seattle (tempurature was in the mid-40's). Light ahead turns red - I apply the brakes as usual, but the peddle suddenly sinks about an inch and I feel abs come on. It feels as if the brakes have no stopping power and are only working at about 10%. I let up on the brakes and tried again, and was able to stop before hitting the car in front of me. This has also happened once before, on some metal drawbridge grating. It seems as if the abs comes on in times when it should not, which causes the brakes to practically not work. If a car had been closer in front of me, I would have hit it.

While taking a right hand uphill turn over a bump, abs aparently activated and stopped braking functions. I was unable to slow down or stop and hit a curb, causing severe damage to car. I had previously had issues with abs activating when it was not supposed to in moderalty light rain, which was what the weather was like during this incident.

Today I sent the following email to Subaru of America concerning the investigation of abs defect in wrx vehicles. I have experienced the problem on numerous occasions, and on no occasion was I driving in an "aggressive" manner or "hard' braking. Nor was my previous complaint to NHTSA a "parroting" of someone else's problem from the impreza website, as Subaru has accused. The abs is overly sensitive to bumpy surfaces and is a safety risk, period. My email to Subaru of America: I have just reviewed soa's letter dated 9/10/04 to NHTSA re your investigation of alleged abs problems in wrx's. I am dismayed by soa's inability to document, and refusal to acknowledge, the abs problem. I am insulted that Subaru blames the problem on "aggressive driving patterns. " the problem regularly occurs at one point in my daily urban commute when I brake for a traffic light over a bumpy surface. I am using only 15% of the braking capability at 20 mph when the abs fault occurs-- hardly "aggressive" or "hard" braking, and hardly a situation that only aggressive performance drivers would encounter. When it occurs, there is a sudden, dramatic reduction in deceleration whichis no longer proportional to pedal pressure, and increased pressure is ineffective while the abs is "confused" by the bumpy surface. Several times I have had scary moments when the drop in deceleration has resulted in nearly rear-ending the vehicle in front of me. I am very puzzled why an event, that for me is so predictable and repeatable, has escaped your analysis. I further take offense to the claim in your letter that many of the complaints to the NHTSA were dishonest repetitions of problems a few had described on an owners website. Nice try, but I can attest to the validity of the problem in my car, having experienced it dozens of times. Discussion on the website has informed owners of the problem and may have prevented some accidents, something I cannot say for Subaru! charles f. Visser.

This complaint is in regards to a continuing problem with my 2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx wagon. While braking on uneven roads, especially when encountering potholes or other conditions where one or more tires momentarily lose traction, the abs will engage and remain engaged for a significant amount of time (after the momentary or instantaneous loss of traction). This causes the car to brake ineffectively or sometimes not at all. This has put me in uncomfortable and/or dangerous situations on numerous occasions when the car does not brake as expected. It is my understanding that this issue is currently under investigation by the NHTSA and Subaru, so I am awaiting the outcome of this investigation.

Abs goes off for no reason on slightly rough roads.

I was pulling in to a gas stations parking lot at about 15 mph and hit a pot hole with my passanger side front tire at the same time I applyed the brake heavly to slow down for the late seen hole when the brakes go completely hard. It felt as if I wasn't applying the brakes at all, it took a good 10 to 15 ft to come to a complete stop luckly I had enough room to stop. This isn't the first time I have had this happen I also try to slow down to fast once and ran over a parking cirb. The anti lock brakes don't feel like all other cars I have drove (pontiac Saturn Ford), they never pulse on like the other cars they are just hard.

Vehicle abs unnecessarily engages and increases the stopping distance when tires roll over bumps, wavy pavement or holes. It requires quick release of brake pedal and reengagement to deactivate abs and be able to stop adequately. Potential for accident if stopping distance is longer than required stopping distance. I can replicate the problem consistently when driving over rail crossings.

I own a 2003 Subaru wrx 5 speed wagon. I have been experiencing a distressing and repeatable loss of braking under certain circumstances. This problem has occurred more than once so the particular date doesn't seem that relevant, but I was forced to chose one below. The circumstances are as follows: under aggressive braking, a small bump in the road seems to cause the abs system to activate thereby decreasing brake system pressure and braking moment. I am certain that this is not a normal implementation of the abs system and am concerned that I may experience this in an emergency situation. I have driven many vehicles with and without abs and have never experienced this sort of failure or premature activation of the system before. I purchased the vehicle in April of 2003 and have experienced the problem multiple times during the year I have owned the vehicle. I cant be certain, but it may be the case that this only happens when the car is in gear with the clutch engaged and of course no pressure on the accelerator pedal. I have noticed that there is an investigation under way regarding this issue, and I am hopeful that my information will helpful in one way or another. I am available for further input and would welcome any information regarding progress related to this issue. Thank you in advance for your attention to this issue. Sincerely, michael pallotta.

The abs activates prematurely during threshold braking on rough or uneven dry paved surfaces (washboards especially), causing extended braking distance, loss of brake pedal pressure. Abs operates as expected on wet smooth surfaces without being noticed.

I was traveling on a street with some construction activities approaching an intersection. There was a small road irregularity on the road. This road irregularity spans across both of the front wheels. When I applied the brake (before I can feel the road irregularity), the car continued to leap forward for a moment and the braking distance was much greater then I anticipated and not the normal behavior of the car. Have there been a car I strongly believe that my car's abs braking system has a problem.

I seem to be having the same problem that is being investigated currently by you. The NHTSA # ea03024 I was involved in an accident in which my abs brakes of my 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx did not engage. I applied the brakes just like I normally do and the brake sank very quickly, and then supplied very little braking power. The performance of my brakes was very very poor compared to what they usually felt like. This happened while I was driving at a speed of aproximately 45mph. This resulted in an accident. I ran into the back of another person. This was of course deemed my fault. This accident happened in late January this year (2004). The car was repaired, but I have experienced the problem on two other occasions since then. Luckily I was able to steer around the cars in front of me and try applying the brakes again to make them work correctly.

Over rough surfaces (including potholes, railroad tracks, and ripples in the road ) my abs seems to kick in when it is not needed and causes the break pedal to go to the floor on occasions.

Complete failure of the braking system. During snowy conditions at approximately 15mph, I pressed the brake pedal very softly. The pedal was very stiff and didn't depress at all (no travel at all). The abs didn't activate and no braking occured, I pressed harder and still nothing. The car didn't slide at all, didn't slow and no braking occured at all. I let all pressure off the pedal and again gently pressed the pedal again. The car slowed to a stop like normal. It was -5 deg f. Outside at the time of the incident. It has never happened before or since this incident but in 17 years of driving I've never had a car do this. I would have gone right into the intersection if I hadn't been breaking very early due to the conditions. I stress that the initial application of the brake pedal was very gentle and no matter how hard I subsequently pushed the pedal didn't depress at all at any time untill I let up pressure and tried again.

I have had instances where my abs would not work when I hit a irregularity in the road surface, or when I go over a speedbump.

The vehicle failed to slow down and subsequent hard braking led to loss of control. The rear end swayed to the right and hit the right barrier, then turned around, front right hit the left barrier. The vehicle had history of not being able to stop on surfaces with the slightest bumps, as found on exit ramps and intersections. The vehicle was checked prior to the accident for the brakes by the dealer and had found no problem. Subaru declined to look at the vehicle after the accident for possible manufacturing defect regarding the abs. It is still in my garage for possible inspection.

I drive a 2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx sedan. The abs system is terrible on this vehicle and has numerous times failed to apply pressure to the brake system, regardless of pedal position. One time specifically this caused me to not be able to avoid hitting a deer, and doing 4000 dollars of damage to my vehicle. The dealership denies any problems, but I way more than enough stopping distance where any vehicle should have been able to stop. The surface was rough asphalt. I was going approximated 55 mph (speed limit), and was 200 ft away from the deer when I first applied pressure to the brake pedal.

Loss of braking at low speeds on rough surfaces. When braking on an uneven patch on the roadway at approx 15mph abs seemed to be activated hence reducing braking effectiveness. Also noticed the problem after running over a gentle speed bump at similar speed. This second instance caused what felt like a total loss of braking.

The abs on my 2002 Subaru wrx wagon engages in situations when it seems that it should not engage. It feels like there are no brakes sometimes.

I own a 2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx wagon, which comes standard with abs brakes. I'd heard through a variety of channels that there was an abs issue with the car, in that under specific circumstances the driver could momentarily lose all braking ability. I had my doubts, having owned the car for 2 years before my incident occurred, but it did finally happen to me. I was coming to a stop at a light that had turned red. There were no cars in front of me. I was traveling about 35-40 mph and began braking with a light-moderate pedal pressure. About 200 feet before the intersection, there is a seam in the pavement and the latter piece of roadway is about 1-2 inches below the part before it. In other words, it's a very small drop off. Upon hitting this drop off and maintaining pedal pressure, the abs briefly cycled (felt as a vibration in the brake pedal) and then the car stopped decelerating for about 2 seconds. It was as if I'd lifted completely off the brake pedal, yet I had not. Once I realized I wasn't going to stop, I released the pedal and reapplied it very quickly. Braking force was returned, as if there were no problem. This is the only time I've experienced the incident. I've driven many abs-equipped cars in the past, and am very familiar with what abs braking feels like. I'm ase certified in braking systems, and have raced both abs and non-abs equipped cars at an amateur level. What I felt was not normal abs operation, and had there been a car stopped at the intersection ahead of me I may well have run into it. I enjoy my car quite thoroughly, and like everything else about it. I'm not 'out to get' Subaru. But there is decidedly a flaw in the abs system that many others and now myself have experienced. I just don't want to be caught off guard again.

Abs system will engage over rough roads, bumps, railroad tracks, manhole covers or any uneven road situation even when abs is not needed. The system then takes several seconds to recover and allow normal braking. This results in greatly increased stopping distances and driver uneasiness. Generally, happens at low speeds (less than 40 mph) when approaching a stop sign, traffic signal, or stopped traffic.

Lack of braking force when abs cycles on. Occurs on bumpy or slippery surfaces.

My 2002 Subaru wrx sedan has displayed unreliable abs behavior. This has resulted in my first accident in 10 years of driving. The car appears to loose virtually all breaking power when encountering any road imperfections. While the abs system should engage in such an even, it should disengage as soon as it clears the problem. However, while driving, I have noticed the wrx continues to loose breaking power. While driving down a 35-mph road, I encountered a minor collision caused by a car being obstructed or cut off. Normally at this speed I would assume 5-6 car lengths to be sufficient to stop the car, but while breaking I encountered a small dip in the road surface. When the car passed over the dip, the abs engaged, after that point the car continued to loose breaking power until I collided with the car ahead of me. During the year I have owned the car, I have encountered this problem a number of times  non of which caused an accident. I initially attributed it to the brake and rotor wear, but after replacing the whole breaking system about a month before this accident, the problem re-occurred. It appears to be systemic to the abs design/programming.

Abs over sensitive - will often cause failure of braking power when going over bumps/potholes/road seams during normal braking. Will cause extended braking distances despite good road conditions and slow travel speed. Brake pedal goes to floor and car fails to stop.

This problem has occurred 3 times to date. This is the typical situation: I was driving at a low rate of speed, around 25, coming up to a stop sign. A second or so after I applied the brakes I went over some small bumps on dry pavement and it felt like abs was coming on, the pedal dropped, but then it went way down and it wasn't pulsing. No matter how hard I pressed, it didn't seem to help.

I just had the car in with 6600 miles for an oil change and they performed the 7500 mile check up and found nothing wrong with the car. That afternoon I first notice the brakes feel soft and not slow the car I shook it off thinking I felt it wrong. I noticed it 2 days later again and decided I should get it back to the dealer but before I could I lost the brakes as I was turning a corner and went over a curb through a sing before I got in control and turned out of the grass I was in. I had body work done and some front suspension components replaced but nothing done to brakes no one found anything wrong. My insurance company said they would have it inspected and I never heard anything from them. That was October of 2003 and the problem is happening again. I haven't had it back to dealer yet I am waiting til I can cause the problem consistently so they know there is a problem. After hearing others problems with dealers saying it's fine for them I want to make sure I can prove it for them.

Many incidents. I was driving at a low rate of speed, around 25, coming up to a stop sign and there was a car ahead of me. A second or so after I applied the brakes I went over some small bumps on dry pavement and it felt like abs was coming on, the pedal dropped, but then it went way down and it wasn't pulsing. Basically the car felt like it lost the majority of its braking power and did not return until I lifted up and pushed down again briefly. I've had this happen many times where a small amount of bumps in the road will cause the abs "overreact" for lack of a better term.

Subaru Impreza Wrx sedan, 2003. Anti-lock brake activation under minimal lift conditions (such as going over minor bumps in roads, parking ramps, etc. ) have had several episodes of anti-lock activation leading to loss of braking force and extended braking distances. Problem resolved with removal of abs fuse, but then I have no abs ever.

Coming around corner on a hill driver was in middle of road avoiding pothole I swerved and braked then swerved back. When I swerved back my brake pedal hit the floor and I proceded to drive onto someones front lawn. The abs shouldnt have done that.

The brakes on my 2002 Subaru wrx faded, and my foot went to the floor, and then the brakes after 3 to 5 seconds kicked in.

Abs brakes malfunctioned going over rail road tracks and/or the occasional metal expansion joint.

When I am braking on an uneven surface, such as a pothole, or sometimes on gravel, the abs will be triggered, causing a loss of braking pressure which causes the braking distance to be extended considerably. I have not gotten into an accident as a result of this, yet, but I am worried as I can't be monitoring pavement conditions everytime I apply my brakes.

When driving in pavement irregularities the car seems like it doesn't want to stop. (almost rear ended another car) so far I haven't had any accident, just trying to prevent one. I own a 2002 Subaru wrx. This has happen in several occasions but I can't remember a specific date.

I would like to add to your review of the abs issues with these cars. It is a known problem among all wrx owners that the abs system is faulty. I have been in several instances where I was trying to stop and would hit a pothole and the abs became overactive and I actually went partly through the light. It only takes a small bump to drastically hamper the braking performance. The most recent occurance was just last month.