Brakes completely failed while driving on a city street, slowing to let a pedestrian cross in a crosswalk. The vehicle had a 100% brake failure. The brake pedal went to the floor. There seemed to be a malfunction in the dual braking system. Front brakes and rear brakes were serviced at a subaru dealership at different times. The bolts holding the passenger side rear caliper separated from the car. The bolts had backed out. The lower one was missing. The other caliper bolt had backed out of the threads but was loosely held in place by the brake hose. The driver side rear caliper did not appear to be leaking.
2014 Subaru Outback brakes complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 22 of 22, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Failure of emergency brake. Failure occurred at 13800 mile and again at 13900 miles while being driven home from dealership. Vehicle diagnosed with failed epb module. Emergency brake will not engage when module is in failed condition.
I was attempting to pull my subaru outback into my garage and was heading toward the garage door opening when I thought I had put my right foot on the foot brake to stop the car, however, it continued to proceed forward because my foot was under the brake pedal. Consequently, I hit the corner of the garage with minor damage to my front bumper. Upon further checking the brake and gas pedals , I confirmed the brake pedal was significantly higher than the gas pedal and my foot could fit under the brake pedal after moving it sideways from the gas pedal. In addition, on two other occasions, I had moved my right foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal and when pressing down on the brake pedal my right foot was also pressing on the gas pedal and the car continued forward (at low speed) until I placed the gear shift in park. I've owned this car for one year and I thought I was competent in it's driving techniques requirements, but now I'm beginning to wonder. I have a wide foot, is there a minimum required sideways spacing or similar pedal heights between gas and brake pedals which prevents these occurrences? I never experienced these incidents in my previous car ( 2004 buick lesabre) or other cars I have owned.
Right rear brake began to clatter, then scrape. The rotor was badly scored. The dealer claimed that this was due to road salt and not covered by the extended warranty. That is, called in "normal" wear. There's nothing normal about one rear brake failing that early ... And with little wear showing on the other breaks. The caliper was sticking and that's a design/construction flaw.
On 3/22/15 while approaching a stop sign the electric parking brake locked on at 10 MPH. After pulling off to the side of the road and releasing and applying the parking brake several times it finally released while the check engine and flashing brake light remained on. After shutting the vehicle off for 10 minutes the system reset to normal. The system remained normal until arriving at a subaru dealer on 3/24/15 when the same problem occurred. The dealer took control, identified and replaced a relay and several sensors. The car performed normal until 4/1/15 when the same problem occurred while traveling 25 MPH. After stopping and releasing and applying the parking brake several times the system reset but the check engine, brake and cruise control lights remained steady or flashing. After letting the vehicle set for a period of time the system reset itself. Another appointment has been made at the dealer for 4/6/15. The concern is that if the parking brake locks at high speed or in heavy traffic it could cause a serious accident.
Having warmed up the car in the driveway for five minutes and having driven for approximately 10 minutes, braking several times, driver approached the stop sign at the top of the hill where the road intersects with a busy highway. She tried to depress the brakes and nothing happened. To stop the car, she threw the car into park. "check engine @ oil temp" light or something similar came on. She turned off the car, waited a short while and restarted car, shifted into drive and car wouldn't do anything. Turned off car. A short while later she stared again; after pushing gas hard, car started to slowly move forward. Put car in p and waited for assistance, leaving heat on. When assistance came 10-15 min later, car was able to be driven to a safe roadside spot around the corner. Condition: low temps. No ice on roads.
Car stops without warning. A clicking sound is heard and then the front display panels become blank. There is no steering or brakes. This has happened 10 times. There is no way to predict when this might happen and there is no precipitating factors. Have had the car to the dealership twice, but the problem cannot be found and am still driving this unsafe car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 suburu outback. The contact stated while driving various speeds, when the brake pedal was depressed, the pedal goes all the way down to the floor. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test and the mechanic stated that the brake pedal was normal and were unable to locate a problem. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the approximate failure mileage was 1,600.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 subaru outback. The contact stated that while traveling 40 MPH, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard. The brake pedal required several pumps in order to stop the vehicle on a hill. The failure occurred on many occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 1,666. Updated 08/11/14*lj updated 8/30/2017
This is an update: dealer called us to have [xxx] drive the car with a service technician present ( tech named [xxx]) car was driven aprox 5-6 miles without incident ...system did not fault. Dealer told us they have been on the phone with subaru tech center & completed all the test procedures but have not been able to duplicate any of the brake-check/ engine faults experienced 3 on 5/22 or 1 on 5/23/2014. [xxx] service coordinator is not certain what else can be done at the dealership. We asked if the vehicle was safe once the system faulted & the electronic stabilization & traction control system are shut down ( as a result of the fault). I asked them not to guess when they answered this question. Dealership has decided to keep the car an additional day for additional testing. They are trying to get the system to fault while under test procedure. The dealership appears to have exhausted all the standard procedures to determine root cause. It seems subaru factory must get involved with this vehicle beyond the dealership telephone calls. Our concern is a vehicle will be returned to us in an condition which may prove to be unsafe...since they have done all they can on the telephone. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
This is the second incident where the electric parking brake light indicates the brake has been set & not released. The car was towed into dealership yesterday (5/22/2014) for same reason. Dealer stated they spoke with subaru & were unable to find any reason for the fault. They stated computer indicated the brakes were not engaged but that this same system does disable the electronic stability control when this fault occurs. We are very concerned the vehicle is safe to drive despite the assurances of the service manager ( [xxx]) that the vehicle is safe (no worries). The instrument light on the panel also flashes "check engine light at the same time light flashes indicating parking brake has been set & not released. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The electronic parking brake engages while the vehicle is underway. When the fault is cleared and driving resumes the electronic parking brake again engages. The mfg ( subaru) provides a small tool & instructions how to crawl under the car, use the tool to mechanically release the electric parking brake. If a tool is provided along with instructions in the owner manual how to release a faulty electronic parking brake ( which may engage while the vehicle is under way ) this is a clear warning of a possible unsafe operating condition. The car had to be towed to the dealership for repair. The dealership tells us ( this parking brake problem has never happened) the tow truck operator tells us towing vehicles to dealerships because of faulty electronic parking brakes is a major part of his business.
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