2002 Subaru WRX: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Dec 8, 2010 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 subaru wrx. While driving approximately 30 MPH the contact attempted to apply the brakes and the ABS activated. He was unable to bring the vehicle to a rapid stop. He stated that it was luck that the vehicle in-front turned left; and he was able to avoid a crash. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that they would not assist with the repair, because the ABS failure warranty expired at 36,000 miles. The failure mileage was 119,000 and the current mileage was 120,000. Updated 02/09/11*lj updated 02/28/11

Filed Mar 18, 2007 · Brakes · 44,000 miles · MD

On my 2002 subaru impreza wrx sedan whenever I go over a bump or imperfection in the road (no matter how big or small) the ABS kicks in and if I hit the brakes directly afterwards the pedal goes to the floor and I have severely weak breaks for 2-3 seconds then they come back. Ive replaced the brake rotors, pads, and brake fluid and the issue still happens. Subaru of america claims it is not a problem but have never had this issue with any other car with ABS. Im very familiar with ABS and know how it works the problem is after it engages if you brake again 2-3 seconds after it engaged the pedal goes to the floor as if theres only 20% brakeing force. Ive almost been in several accidents due to this one time I was pulling into a parking spot going 5mph and this happened and I almost drifted into a parked car. Please look into this. Please view this website http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102893 many 2002 and up subaru owners are experienceing this. The ABS isnt the problem again its the loss of brakeing after the ABS was engaged maybe the ABS computer isnt working correctly/fast enough? Thank you

Filed Oct 11, 2005 · Brakes · 40,000 miles · IL · crash

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.

Filed Jul 26, 2005 · Brakes · 39,000 miles · MA · crash

If I try to brake over rough or slippery pavement in my 2002 subaru impreza wrx, the ABS system shuts off the brakes. Potholes, manhole covers, frost heaves, icy patches, any of these cause this behavior. Also, in november 2004, while driving downhill at about 30 to 35 MPH on dry and mostly clean pavement, a truck driving in front of me braked gradually. I hit my brakes to maintain a distance, but it was a section of rippled pavement and the ABS system shut off the brakes so completely for about 10 seconds. My car was actually picking up speed due to the downhill. I am sure than in any other car I've had, I wouldn't have had any trouble slowing down. I avoided rear-ending the truck by slowing the car with aggressive engine braking. I also steered towards the other side of the road, where there was no traffic at that moment and the pavement was cleaner, so I could slow down. Another time I rear-ended a vehicle that stopped in front of a pothole, although damage was minor. I've also had a large number of scary near - misses with rear-ending other vehicles, and on a few occasions slid out into intersections with frost heaves leading up to a stop sign or stop light, because my braking space estimate was far less than I actually needed. I recently replaced all brake pads and discs. The rear pads fit in the calipers so tightly I had to pound them out with a hammer and punch. Both pads and rotors were worn very unevenly. Replacement rear pads fit in the same way. Then I realized something was wrong with the fit, so I ground down the tabs to get a good snug fit rather than an interference fit and jamming, so they slipped into place normally. After making this change to my brakes, they work very well. I nearly sold the car due to this issue, but instead drove it for a while with the ABS system disabled. My local subaru dealer told me this is how ABS systems are supposed to work, even though there is clearly a big problem.

Filed May 16, 2005 · Brakes · 60 miles · CA · crash

While driving on a residential street, well within acceptable speeds, approaching a right hand turn with no traffic I slightly moved left on the road (over the bump strip, but not into the other lane) to get a smoother angle into the turn.upon braking, the drivers front tire squealed/slid, no ABS pulse and brake pedal was far closer to the floor than normal.I let off and downsifted to no avail.I hit the curb (only, thankfully) but did extensive damage to my car rendering it undrivable.I now have no faith in my once cherished car and once it is repaired am contemplating replacing it.why havent they fixed this???????!?!?!?

Filed Dec 14, 2004 · Brakes, Electrical · 35,500 miles · WA

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.

Filed Sep 30, 2004 · Brakes · 66,975 miles · CO

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 the federal safety agency 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 the federal safety agency 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. *ak I further take offense to the claim in your letter that many of the complaints to the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Aug 10, 2004 · Brakes · MA

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 federal safety agency and subaru, so I am awaiting the outcome of this investigation.

Filed Aug 9, 2004 · Brakes · 38,000 miles · CT

I was recently riding with what suburban subaru in vernon/manchester, ct say was 50% life left on my break pads in my 2002 wrx sedan. When stopping for a fast yellow to red light change from about 50 miles an hour their was no response on the break pedal. I quickly took my foot off and pressed again, even harder this time, which engaged the ABS and left me coming to a banging ABS stop in the middle of the intersection of route 5. Luckily all the cars at the intersection noticed what had happened and there was no accident. I just want to make sure this problem with the brakes not responding at all gets recognized and looked into further. However, I can plainly say that after that incident, I do not trust the breaks on my 02 wrx. I plan on keeping this car, but I demand reliable braking like all other drivers.

Filed Aug 4, 2004 · Brakes · 34,000 miles · VA · crash

Antilock braking system engages on dry pavement when it encounters bumps, pedal goes almost to the floor and braking force is severely reduced. I have driven many cars with ABS and nothing like this has ever happened to me. I have sort of learned to "drive around" the problem, but on a couple of occasions where emergency braking was called for it has nearly caused me to get into an accident - once forcing me to drive up onto and over a curb and into a ditch. Destroying one of my wheels in the process. Someone ran a red light and I couldnt stop from 30 MPH in what would have been plenty of room with a normal braking system. Problem has been there since car was new, when I inquired about it with my dealer I was informed that "all wrxs do that, its normal" but after talking with several other owners of the same car I can tell you that although we all might experience it, its not normal at all and quite scary. As an experiment I found a parking lot with some bumps on it that would cause the ABS to go nutty, I then pulled the ABS fuse and went over the same part of the parking lot at the same speed and I could get tons more braking force without locking up the wheels than I could with the ABS on, something is definitely screwy here.

Filed Jul 31, 2004 · Brakes · 33,479 miles · MO

No warning. Brakes locked up fully on interstate 44 going 70 MPH. Abs light came on and I tapped the brakes and they locked up and came to a complete stop on the highway when I was not using the brake.

Filed Jun 23, 2004 · Brakes · 10,057 miles · MI

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.