Brake Electric Antilock Problems of Subaru Impreza Wrx - part 2

2003 Subaru wrx sedan - when stopping on slightly bumpy surfaces the abs brake system becomes ineffective. The driver must let off the brakes and reapply in order to get any effective braking. This is dangerous. I can repeat it at known places on my drive to work everyday. I compensate. If I had known I would not have bought the car. This needs to be "fixed. ".

See all problems of the 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx 🔎.

When braking on uneven surfaces, brakes will momentarily stop working.

See all problems of the 2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx 🔎.

Whenever I brake over uneven (jiggly) terrain, the abs on my 2002 wrx "kicks in" and braking is reduced and braking distance is lengthened. No other car that I have owned with abs over the past 15 years has had this problem. No accidents or injuries, but numerous scary moments when braking was diminished while going over bumps.

Subaru wrx antilock braking system periodically and unprdictably inhibits stopping power.

During a rather low speed stop on a high friction surface, I applied the brakes coming to a stop sign. There was a small amount of sand and some potholes at the intersection. I felt the abs brakes engage and begin pulsing. . . And all braking power went away, I did not continue to slow down and literally coasted out into the intersection. My foot was fully depressed and dropped to the floor. The car is a 2002 Subaru wrx with less than 13k miles on it. The brakes are in excellent. Shape. I have heard this is a common problem, the abs removing all braking action under conditions where full lockup is not occurring.

Overly sensitive abs and prolong abs intervention. Loss of stopping power. Small bumps in road causing abs to activate and stay pulsing too long.

This has happened several times over the last two years (date is the first incident I recall). On surfaces that are wet, snowy or icy, I cannot brake into a turn. The car does not turn or stop, but merely slides in a straight line and eventually stops after it goes 3 feet or more, depending on my speed when I attempted to take the turn. This happens at all speeds, even when I am going very slowly (less than 5 mph, for example, as to make a 90-degree turn into a parking lot). In order to take two turns on my daily commute, I must come to a complete stop, turn the wheel, and then accelerate into the turn. Amazingly, I have not had an accident due to this problem, though I have had some very close calls. One thing Ive found that helps is turning the steering wheel sharply so the front tires are perpendicular to the cars path. I couldnt think of anything else to try, and this seems to make the car stop more quickly while in a slide. The mechanics at my local dealership ran diagnostics and pronounced my brakes fine. I tried to suggest something else to check during a 20-minute phone call with the mechanic, but his only suggestion was that it could be my tires (which are standard and just 2 years old). I have driven other makes of cars with anti-lock brakes and have not had this problem, even on icy, snowy, rain-drenched roads.

Abs brake performance - the abs over reacts to uneven or slick surfaces and fully engages reducing braking effectiveness. This can be caused by rippled or uneven pavement or a manhole cover and can happen under any braking condition from moderate to heavy braking. The only way to regain braking is to let off and then reapply the brakes, the exact opposite of what I've been taught about abs. This condition eventually resulted in a crash and $7000 damage to my vehicle in a braking situation where I don't feel abs action was warranted.

Subaru wrx wagon, 2003. While attempting to slow for a corner on a well groomed, dry, gravel road the abs system of the car initiated a mode that would not allow the cars brakes to function at all. During the episode (which has been and can be recreated) pedal pressure and pedal height was maintained as during normal braking operations. The brakes would not work despite the fact that I was standing with both feet on the brake pedal. I am in the process of disconnecting my abs and Subaru na claims that I'm nuts.

When braking over rough surfaces on dry pavement the vehicle engaged the anti-lock braking system causing sudden loss of braking that was not restored until the brake pedal was released and re-applied. This happened without a large amount of braking force being called for.

The braking system in the vehicle malfunctions under the following conditions. When the vehicle is crossing over a sharp transition (break in pavement, train tracks or choppy rough pavement) in the road and undergoing light to moderate braking, the vehicle stops decelerating for about 1/2 to 1 second and the brake pedal drops very close to the firewall. This is very difficult to reproduce, but does happen about once every couple of weeks. When it happens, it scares the hell out of the driver. The amount of time that braking force goes to zero varies. On one occasion, I came very close to rear ending a car in front of me because of the problem. I also drive a non abs equipped vehicle (87 Ford mustang) over the same roads. The wrx stopping distance over this part of roadway, where the failure occurs at 25 mph, is at least one car length greater than the mustang over the same part of road. On smooth roads, the wrx will easily stop in less distance than the mustang. There are two things that make this behavior so dangerous. 1) that it scares the driver so badly when it happens. 2) that the braking capability of the car varies unpredictably. Apparently NHTSA has already closed their investigation into this issue. I found it on your website under ea03024. There is only a brief description on your website of the outcome, but basically it looks like "no problem found". This problem may be difficult to reproduce, but I assure you that it is very real. Drivers are not imagining the problem. The Subaru dealership and soa (Subaru of America) have denied that there is any problem. One of the mechanics at the dealership commented to me that wrxs have this problem, but since the dealership doesn't have any control over the abs system they are forced to deny that there is a problem. Since Subaru won't admit to the problem, the only solution to it has been to disable the abs by removing its power fuse in the car. At least now I know what the car is going to do.

I was driving along in my 2002 Subaru wrx wagon on some local roads and I was coming up to a stop on some rough pavement , giving myself plenty of room to stop when the abs kicked in and then my pedal dropped to the floor and the car wasn't stopping. It finally bounced a few times and the car came to a stop- far beyond where it was supposed to have. I have encountered this issue many times and I feel, as others do, the abs on this model vehicle is simply an accident waiting to happen- and many have been involved in such as a result.

Abs engages when braking on surfaces with good traction if tire(s) goes over a bump for a brief moment. Does not disengage when tire returns to good traction surface. Causes loss of braking power. Brake pedal must be released then reapplied in order to regain braking power. Abs is completely ineffective on loose surfaces, such as gravel.

The abs on this car has activated 3 times on 100% dry roads at low to moderate speed. The activation seems to be caused by bumps or expansion joints in the pavement. This results in loss of most or all braking power. 2 of these occasions would have caused accidents had there been anyone in front of us. *** dims 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis***758325.

When braking on bumps (wet or dry), car does not stop safely.

Ongoing / intermittent problem with brake pedal going to the floor whenever vehicle runs over a bump, and causes a none stopping vehicle. Vehicle been to dealer on two occasions, and unable to locate cause.

My 2002 supra Impreza Wrx sedan has produced inconsistent and unsafe brake operation over rough/washboard type roads. On a number of occasions while braking in a rough road surface my brake pedal went to the floor and my car kept going. Upon encountering rough road and the resulting actions by the break system I have experienced increased stopping distance. I sent an e-mail to Subaru of America and the the response was to the effect that they were unaware of any such problem. I had the dealer inspect my break system and I was told they were unable to duplicate problem.

During braking on rough surfaces, the abs system significantly reduces pressure to the brakes, resulting in near total loss of braking action. When this occurs, the brake pedal drops significantly and there is no pulsing action. I have experienced this three times. The first incident was approaching an intersection. I was traveling approximately 35 mph, and when I applied the brakes, the pedal dropped several inches and there was little, if any braking action. Luckily, I had a green light and I was able to negotiate the turn without incident. The second time I was traveling on a gravel road. I was traveling approximately 15-20 mph, and as I came around a corner I encountered a truck that was driving in the middle of the road. Again, I applied the brakes without any effect. I was forced to take evasive action and go into the ditch to avoid an accident. After that, I took the car to a dealer. I was able to reproduce the behavior once with a technician in the car. We were driving approximately 15-20 mph and I applied the brakes on a rough section of pavement. The abs pulsed several times, then it stopped pulsing for 2-3 seconds, and then it started pulsing again. During the period when it stopped pulsing, the brake pedal was soft and dropped 1-2 inches. The technician tried to replicate it without success. The technician inspected the system, including checking for diagnostic codes, but could not find a problem.