Service Brakes Problems of Subaru Legacy - part 1

Incident ~ 5:40 pm, geneva NY weather ~ 10 f, not snowing. Background. On or shortly after being started, the vehicle had exhibited prior incidents of extremely rapid engine acceleration not initiated by the operator. Most recently the day before. The incident: I was in the process of very slowly parking the vehicle in a narrow laneway, and positioning the vehicle behind and in line of one other, both parallel to the laneway, in a small area that had been cleared of snow, leaving the laneway open. First, I stopped the vehicle opposite of the parked vehicle's driver side door. Second, I reversed and backed up and positioned the vehicle behind that vehicle. This involved firmly stepping on the brake to stop the vehicle once well behind the parked vehicle. Third, while keeping my foot firmly pressed on the brake pedal, I moved the shift from reverse to forward. At that time, the front wheels were still fully turned to the left. Immediately on completing the shift to forward, my vehicle made a very rapid acceleration. My foot had remained firmly on the brake and had not touched the accelerator pedal. Despite my foot being firmly pressed on the brake pedal, my car surged forward, retracing the path that I had followed while backing up. I could hear the noise of the accelerated engine, and feel the fighting of the brake as the car surged uncontrolled for about four feet and then finally stopped. My foot had been fully depressed as hard as possible on the brake the entire time and did not touch the gas pedal at all. The owner of the parked vehicle observed the incident and expressed concern since the surge was dramatic, and stopped with the right corner of the front bumper of my car within a couple of inches of the left corner of the parked vehicle. The driver's car mat was in the correct position and did not interfere in any way with the operation of the vehicle. I did not inadvertently step on the accelerator. No warning lamps or messages. Cause unknown.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Brakes malfunctioned and car spun out and hit deer.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

I drove into the parking lot of walgreens, then drove around and pulled into a parking spot facing the south side of the building and put my foot on the brake to stop and park. Instead of stopping, the car suddenly lurched forward violently and slammed into the brick wall of the building. My wife called 911 since I told her my chest really hurt. When the police came, I told them my foot must have slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator, since I had no idea what else might have caused the car to accelerate like that. My wife drove the car home and then drove to the er where the emts had taken me. A CT scan showed that I had a fractured sternum, since my chest hit the steering wheel full force after the air bags failed to deploy. I was in excruciating pain for a few weeks, and after I felt better, we submitted a claim to our insurance company. We then took our 2017 Subaru Legacy to a certified Subaru collision repair center. We were shocked to find that the car was totaled, since it was still drivable. Something kept bothering us about the crash, since eyesight should have applied the brakes if I had accidentally accelerated and it detected a brick wall in front of our car. After some research, we stumbled on the information about the class-action lawsuit that was just settled by Subaru for reports of sudden unintended acceleration (sua). The description of what happens with sua was exactly what I experienced, but this was the first we had heard of it. We were never notified about the lawsuit, even though our VIN number shows our car was involved. Our Subaru dealership had all our contact information since we bought our Legacy from them and they have done all the maintenance work on it. Unfortunately, we released our car to copart as part of our insurance settlement, so there’s no way to check the edr data. Please let others know about this major safety issue before anyone else is seriously injured!.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

My wife experienced an unintended acceleration in her 2018 Subaru Legacy. My wife had begun to slowly back out of a parking space in a school parking lot when her 2018 Legacy went into an unintended rapid acceleration in reverse. The car took off in reverse and did not respond to her applying the brakes. Somehow she managed to steer the car which was rapidly acceleration in reverse, virtually uncontrollable, and guide the car down a row of parked cars until she clipped the front of another car at the end of the row and her car came to a stop. Thank god there were no students in the parking lot at the time! the floor mats in our Legacy are Subaru mats that lie flat and in no way would affect the accelerator pedal. As the car was accelerating in reverse, and she had removed her foot from the accelerator onto the brake, the brakes did not slow the car. There is considerable damage to the right rear of the car and trunk. After the accident, when the car was restarted, the accelerator and brakes worked fine and she was able to drive it home from the scene. Thank god students were not in the parking lot! [xxx] [xxx] (cell) [xxx] nashua, nh 03062 (may-oct), ponte vedra, FL (Nov-April) information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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I front passenger window stop working and does not roll up and down. I had this issue and reported the issue since I bought it brand new from the lot. I main main audio console has been replacement 2 times already from defectives. My tires tmps is flashing now but my tire pressure are fine. My incline break button comes on by itself from time to time and does not allow for me to move the car.

I own a 2025 Subaru Legacy. On at least two occasions during rainy weather, while driving at low speeds (20-30 mph), the brake pedal suddenly became soft and sank to the floor with little braking response. I had to mash the pedal to stop the car to stop the car and there was a "grinding" sensation, possibly from abs activation. On July 26, I was trying to stop at a stop sign. Fortunately, there was no car in front of me, otherwise I could have rear-ended them. This created a dangerous situation where I wasn't able to stop the vehicle properly.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Parking brake harness is defaulty.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Slowing to pull into parking spot and car accelerates and hits what is in front of vehicle. Has happened at least four times. Last time 11/5/2024.

The mirror drivers side mirror wiggles. I. The even of a battery failure the electrical brake may fail.

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Legacy. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14v311000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the dealer refused to perform the recall. The contact stated that the dealer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, while braking for a traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The contact was able to stop the vehicle and had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the rear passenger side brake line had corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired by the dealer since the dealer stated the vehicle was not registered in the listed states on the recall notification. The failure mileage was 229,126. Parts distribution disconnect.

See all problems of the 2005 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Under Subaru campaign wqk47, which supersedes an earlier campaign, 05-09 Legacy/outback and other models are known to undergo accelerated brake line corrosion due to sub-par materials and design. Subaru of America's "fix" for this issue is to inspect the lines: if the lines are compromised, they replace them. If the lines are corroded but not yet compromised, the lines are coated with an anti-corrosion wax. This wax washes off the car and is ineffective. Subaru performed this recall work insufficiently on my vehicle, failing to identify the severity of the corrosion. They coated the lines, called it "fixed", and the brake lines later ruptured under normal driving conditions. This caused a highway near-miss at speed that could have impacted everyone on the road. Multiple Subaru dealerships in connecticut have refused to re-inspect and repair the vehicle under the recall campaign, despite it being a known critical safety concern, and despite knowledge that the original parts and anti-corrosion application are sub-par. They insist that because the ineffective recall campaign was already "completed", they bear no further responsibility for the design compromises and sub-par materials that are the root cause of this issue. Additionally: under Subaru bulletin 12-197-16r the dashboard of 05-09 Subaru Legacy/outback models is known to become sticky and melt. While this might initially be considered a cosmetic issue, the melted surface is dramatically reflective. The hump over the gauge cluster melts first, causing a huge, intense sun glare reflection in the windscreen directly ahead of the driver. I own two 05-09 Subaru legacies; this issue is present in both. Subaru of America has rejected my replacement claims on both cars because the cutoff date for their open recall has expired. This is a major and constantly worsening safety issue that severely limits driver visibility. Because it developed slowly, it was not a safety concern until after closure of the recall.

See all problems of the 2009 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The brake lines of my vehicle were corroded and started leaking brake fluid. The brakes no longer work and started failing when I was driving up a hill. Luckily there was no accident, however, not having functioning breaks is an obvious safety concern. An independent service center initially looked at the damage and suggested that the corrosion is unacceptable for the life of the vehicle. They provided me with the recall information I include below and instructed me to take the vehicle to a Subaru dealership. The dealership confirmed the issue and offered a quote of $5,000 for the repair. There is a recall for the same exact issue for similar vehicles (Subaru recall campaign wqk47: brake line corrosion). The recall includes 2005?2009 model year Subaru Legacy and outback vehicles, 2008?2014 model year Subaru impreza wrx and sti vehicles, and others. However, it neglects to include 2012 model year Subaru Legacy vehicles. The issue is clearly the same.

After shifting my car into reverse, I slowly started removing my foot from the brake pedal. At this time, the car started rapidly accelerating backwards so I put pressure back on the brake pedal to stop the car. When doing so, the abs light came on my dashboard, I heard a griding sound like the car was still trying to accelerate, and there was a loud constant beep. I was able to shift the car into neutral and then into park to stop the car and then turned the car off. I contacted the dealership about the issue, but have not yet been able to further investigate or bring it into the dealership.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Vehicle is equipped with Subaru eyesight driver assist which includes reverse automatic braking. Vehicle was reversing towards a parked vehicle on the street and the rab feature failed to apply the brakes and the vehicle collided with the parked vehicle. I am extremely disappointed that the safety system in this car failed to work as advertised/expected resulting in damages to both cars.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Na.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Brake line failed unexpectedly and catastrophically while driving 2007 Subaru Legacy. Vehicle would have been covered per recall 14v-311; however, it was registered in virginia so was not 'included' in the recall despite being exposed to comparable levels of snow and road salt in a rural southwestern part of virginia less than 50 miles from the original recall region. Car was purchased new from a dealership in west virginia (part of the recall region) and frequently operated in that region. Failing to include parts of virginia that receive just as much, if not more, snow and corrosive road treatment in recall 14v-311 was an error that resulted in a major safety hazard. The brake line failed at the exact location described in recall 14v-311, at the 4-way connector block under the fuel-tank protector. The location of the failure is not visible during normal brake service, leading to corrosion in that location going unnoticed and unrepaired. Other substantial portions of the brake line system are polymer-coated to prevent corrosion; however, the small section at the 4-way connector block is not, permitting hazardous corrosion to the point of failure in this case. The recall notice 14v-311 should be extended to include additional regions where roads are treated with corrosive salt anti-ice products so owners of these vehicles can have them inspected and/or repaired prior to an unexpected catastrophic failure as I experienced. The design of the braking system with substantial portions of polymer coated lines leads owners and repair staff to believe there is no problem with corrosion of the brake lines and no need for additional inspection or repair, and removal of the fuel-tank protector to expose the portion of the non-coated and corrosion-prone brake line system in the recall is not included as part of the standard maintenance program per the manufacturer.

See all problems of the 2007 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact opened and closed the trunk, triggering the alarm system. The alarm system failed to deactivate immediately. The vehicle then failed to restart as needed, and the "shift to park" message was displayed while the transmission was in park(p). The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the brake fuse was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact replaced the brake fuse for a second time, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, where an unknown repair was performed. The contact later sold the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.

The vehicles brake lines have corroded and started to leak, resulting in the stopping distance increasing and the vehicle not being safe to drive. When getting the airbag recall performed at the Subaru dealership 3 years ago I mentioned the brake line recall. They stated they inspected the lines, and no issue was present. There is now an obvious issue with the brake line corroding and failing. Subaru is telling me there is no active recall.

Vehicle was using the self driving feature of the Subaru eyesight system. With the system engaged, the vehicle is supposed to accelerate and apply brakes accordingly as to keep a distance from the vehicle in front. Today, that system failed. The vehicle, with the eyesight system engaged, accelerated right into the vehicle in front. There was no warning. The vehicle will be go for repair on 12/5/23. I have used the eyesight system since purchasing the vehicle in 2019 with no issues, except for today. Luckily, I was driving at a very low speed but this safety concern can cause catastrophic injuries if it is not fixed.

The contact owns a 2009 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The vehicle failed to stop immediately. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact activated the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The contact was able to drive to the residence. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the brake line was corroded and leaking brake fluid. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired at the dealer under NHTSA campaign number: 14v311000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the failure recurred. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

Brakes failed due to a rusty brake line. Rear passenger side where theres a 4 way block 2 lines in 2 lines out. All 4 lines are rusted where they connect, one of the lines broke to cause a significant leak. This caused me to have very little brakes as the vehicle ran out of brake fluid. I can see brake fluid on the ground and diagnosed the issue myself. It seems as it is a common issue. The brake light did come on when the brake fluid was low enough, but at that point there was little to no brakes anyway because the leak was so consistent .

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Right front wheel started to wobble a bit when braking, as if a rotor started to warp. I purchased a new rotors and pads from Subaru to change the rotor when convenient. I had to stop driving the vehicle because the shaking got so violent when breaking that I thought it was going to damage the vehicle. The rotor had split into pieces along all of the fins. I ended up removing two rings of casting.

I noticed a small puddle of fluid by the right rear wheel and immediately brought the vehicle over to premier Subaru of fremont, CA for an inspection. Premier Subaru diagnosed the problem as the right rear hard brake line failure and leak due to excessive corrosion. Premier Subaru provided a repair estimate of $3,997. 17; stating that this issue needs immediate attention. Back in 2014, there was a service campaign to address this issue; #14v311000 and my car received this service. I've contacted Subaru of America (soa), customer advocacy, about this issue and they are not willing to provide any assistance to address this current issue, even though it is directly related to the 2014 campaign. I am the second owner of this car purchasing it in 2011. The car is in excellent mechanical condition having only 135,000 miles (averaging ~7,100 miles/year) and has spent the last 7 years in the san francisco, CA area. Pictures of the undercarriage of the car are available should you need them.

The issue occurred on a 08 Subaru Legacy gt limited while the driver was driving the car with their family on a local street around 35-40mph. Initially, while the car was stopped at a traffic light, the driver noticed that the brake pedal seems off where it seems to be depressed much deeper than usual. While coming up on a second red traffic light, the driver noticed that the pedal has to be depressed all the way down to the floor before bringing the car close to a stop while using the emergency brake to complete the stop. The driver knows that this is a major issue given the symptoms and drove to a safe spot to stop the car and inspect the issue. At this time, the brake light has also came on in the dashboard. Upon the driver's preliminary inspection, there was brake fluid leakage coming from the rear passenger wheel area and the brake fluid in the reservoir has reached the minimum line which would confirm why the brake light came on. Given the situation, the vehicle was then brought to the Subaru official dealer immediately to be dropped off for a diagnostic on the next Monday since the dealer was closed when the driver arrived. After the diagnostic by the Subaru mechanic, they confirmed with the driver's suspicious where the brake line has been broken due to corrosion to a bare metal area of the rear brake line that was supposed to be addressed by the brake line corrosion recall, wqk-047. The line was broken at one of the clip point where the brake line has no sleeve over it to protect the line from corrosion. Subaru issued a recall on this area as they know that this was a design flaw where salt used on the road from the winter might get in accelerating the corrosion of the line causing it to leak or break. This is an serious issue since the car could have crashed if the brake fails completely without any brake fluid anymore. Nhtsa should intervene on this as many owners have this issue and soa, who boast about safety, did not address the issue with the recall.

See all problems of the 2008 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The car had been going on several local stops. Car was in the middle of a main thoroughfare ready to turn on to interstate ramp when the car completely stopped functioning. Battery light came on briefly before the vehicle became completely non-responsive. Among other things non-functioning, emergency lights would not work, electric park brake would not engage. Could not get out of car to flee danger as car would freely roll and no way to stop except to hold brake with foot pressed. Ultimately car was chocked and jumped by aaa tow truck. Technician said battery was dead but alternator was working when he started it up. After 3 days of diagnostics, Subaru dealer cannot find a fault which let the new auto battery simply drain to nothing state and thus make the car non-responsive. Thank the good lord this did not happen after turning on to the interstate.

As I pulled up behind a car that was stopped at a stop sign, I took my foot off the gas pedal, and put it on the brake pedal. The moment I put my foot on the brake pedal, my car surged forward. I had a moment to think, and I confirmed that my foot was on the brake pedal, I had felt the brakes trying to resist the surge. I put the car into neutral, and it jerked to a stop. No one was hurt, I stopped the car in time, but I wondered if this had happened in other settings, what danger it would have posed. This has previously occurred rarely and intermittently when, starting out on some cold mornings, I shifted from reverse to neutral to drive, when backing out of my driveway in the morning. The car surged forward and I had to be quick on pressing the brake pedal hard to get it to stop before hitting a mailbox post. No warning lights went on, in any of these incidents. I called a Subaru dealer, who said there had been no recall history re this uninitiated surge behavior.

I had the recall done in 2017 and I was recently driving on the highway when my brakes had no pressure, I nearly crashed my car. Pulled over and realized my brake lines were leaking from where they said it had been fixed during the recall. I called the Subaru stealership that did the recall and they informed me when I brought the vehicle in “it showed no signs of leakage” so they sprayed “anti corrosion” on the lines. I called Subaru of America and they want me to pay $200 to diagnose the issue and pay for the repair since the lines busted from “wear and tear”. Spraying anti-corrosion does nothing when the rust has already ruined the integrity of the brake line. Subaru is trying to pull a fast one and scam their customers by spraying anti-corrosion when the lines need to be replaced instead.

2021 Subaru Legacy touring. Consumer writes in regard to issues with the rear automatic braking system (rab).

To whom it may concern: I am an owner of the Subaru 2011 Legacy awd, VIN # 4s3bmcc69b3231379, elena gorsuch at 7202619308, parker, colorado, reaching out to you about a well-known and recognized toque converter issue described in the 2011 Subaru Legacy f4-2. 5 l sohc, vehicle - technical service bulletin applicability :2010-2012 my Legacy models equipped with cvt transmission. I purchased my car after its previous owner with a salvage title due to an accident, however it turns out it has a torque converter issue which makes a car die every time I use a break when coming to a stop, described in the above Subaru technical service bulletin. The Subaru of north America has a customer satisfaction program which allows me and similarly situated Subaru Legacy 2010-2012 owners to have this issue without Subaru qualifying it as a safety recall issue. Should this been qualified as a safety recall, my salvage title would be eligible for a free repair from the Subaru of north America, however since this is a frequently reported issue Subaru manufacturer is responsible for creating in the 2010-2012 Subaru Legacy f4-2. 5 l vehicles, it allowed the Subaru of north America to use it as a basis for their refusal to repair my vehicle for free provided that the torque converter issue is their responsibility. I'd appreciate you reaching out to me with a possible options which may exist for me as an owner of the vehicle. Lenaklets@hotmail. Com.

Passenger rear brake line corroded and burst causing loss of brake fluid. Due to the loss of brake fluid, I lost 95% of brake pressure making it very difficult to stop. Only reason I say 95% is because the brake system is designed to still function in limp mode, but still terrifying while driving. The problem was discovered by myself as I was a certified technician for over 10 years for this brand. The vehicle hasn’t been looked at by anyone but myself. The brake lamp indicator did come on shortly before the line burst.

Vehicle proceeded from a stop at intersection when it unexpectedly decelerated and holding the brakes down seem to do nothing, tried turning corner at next stop sign to maybe slow it down and hit utility pole and parked car in driveway. A resident that was outside on porch by stop sign said they heard it just loud exceleration. This was a short street block in a residential area. No warnings, vehicle undrivable and waiting on insurance. Police accident report filed. There were no skid marks, although there was wet pavement. 12/6/2022.

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that the hydraulic brake lines were leaking. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that there was rust covering the subframe of the vehicle and fuel tank. The dealer declined to complete a recall repair under NHTSA campaign number: 14v311000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

I been having issues with my brake when I’m driving out of know where my whole brake goes all the way down and it takes a minute to actually brake. As well when that happens my eyesight goes off. This is a big risk I’m taking when im driving. I took my car to the Subaru dealership and they couldn’t find the reason why my car is doing it.

Driving 55 on a major highway, my car displayed a warning sign “electronic parking brake” and the “brake” light started to blink. It came out of nowhere so I pulled over and tried to figure out what the issue was. Nothing seemed wrong so I drove home. Later that night, the parking brake was fully engaged and did so by itself. I did not engage and it would not disengage. Apparently, this happens to many other Subaru drivers on the internet. This is a major issue.

The rear brakes on the above referenced vehicle failed due to environmental corrosion. This is aligned with recall wqk47-2 which was open for the effected vehicle. The vehicle was transported to suburban Subaru of vernon CT for recall resolution. The dealership service department was not willing to complete the repair for different reasons. The vehicle was returned to me, with the rear brakes inoperable, but upon review of NHTSA. Gov and Subaru's recall lookup, the recall was marked as completed. The service writer communication with me and the provided service invoice from suburban Subaru of vernon CT clearly state that the recall was not completed. This is in direct conflict with the reporting to Subaru and NHTSA with regards to recall compliance. I reached out to Subaru customer advocacy for resolution of this documentation compliance but there was no direct path to re-open the recall and rectify the situation.