Lack of braking force when ABS cycles on. Occurs on bumpy or slippery surfaces.
2002 Subaru WRX brakes complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 80, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Antilock brake failure caused accident. A vechicle in front of me stopped quickly so I applied the brakes with moderate to heavy pressure. Although I was going only 30-35 MPH and had several car lengths to stop, the brakes locked and the pedal went soft and I was unable to control the car causing me to rear-end the vechicle in front of me. I have had similar incidents in the past with the wrx where the ABS would trigger when going over a bump with moderate brake pressure and the pedal would go soft (rather than the kickback I expect with ABS), but it was never in a situation that would cause an accident. The accident occured on dry pavement, at the posted speed limit, and I do not recall whether I hit a bump during the incident triggering the brake problem. Given the distance and the speed, I should have been able to stop well before hitting the car in front of me. In my past experience with ABS brakes on other cars, there is strong feedback to the driver during ABS operation, not the soft, ineffective pedal that occurs on the wrx.
2002 subaru wrx ABS failure. When decellerating on bumpy surfaces, the ABS on my 2002 wrx will engage, significantly increasing stopping distance.n extremely slick surfaces, like slush, the ABS will activate and disengage the brakes completely, resulting in no stopping at all. In january of 2003, my car rolled through a red light at a busy intersection because the brakes failed to work. The wheels were not locked or sliding, the ABS engaged and failed to stop the car. I was able to stop the vehicle with the emergency brake, but I was already well into the intersection.
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.
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.
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 failed to resume braking after being activated by bumps in road on clean, dry asphalt.
Hydraulic anti-lock brakes cause brakes to fail while traversing bumpy surface.
Subaru wrx antilock braking system periodically and unprdictably inhibits stopping power.
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.
My 2002 subaru wrx has a defective ABS system. When braking moderate to hard and the car hits a bump, the ABS "kicks in" and reduces brake pressure, but after the road has settled the brake pressure doesn't return. You can press the brake pedal to the floor but brake pressure doesn't increase. Only if you lift your foot completely off the brake pedal and then reapply, does braking power return. This is dangerous and could cause an accident if you have to panic stop and there is an imperfection in the road. My car has done this since I took delivery march 13th, 2001
Abs activates on bumpy roads.
Abs brakes malfunctioned going over rail road tracks and/or the occasional metal expansion joint.
When braking on uneven or rough surfaces, the ABS brakes fail and the brake pedal goes to the floor. I have to get off ABS and get back on quickly; this is the opposite of the proper way to use ABS brakes.
2002 subaru impreza wrx loss of brake power during braking application as the vehicle travels over dry and uneven or bumpy road surfaces... Must disengage from the brake application and reapply the brakes to begin slowing down the vehicle... Repeatable occurrences.
Bumpy roads cause anti-lock brakes to engage. When this happens, brake pressure decreases and vehicle does not decellerate.
Abs kicks in and does not return to normal braking even after regaining contact with the road. Attempted to replicate the problem on my own but could never do so consistently. Seems to happen over bumpy roads, the ABS kicks in, wheel(s) appear to lose traction, but when traction should be regained, the brake pedal practically goes to the floor, the car does not slow down at an acceptable rate, and only after "pumping" the brake pedal does the car then go back to normal (hard) ABS braking. While it has never caused an accident, I am concerned about this behavior were it to ever happen in a panic situaiton.
My model year 2002 subaru impreza wrx wagon has had a slight reoccuring problem with what seems to be a faulty ABS braking sensor. *ak the car suffers from a drop in pressure of brake pedal feel and brake performance over uneven or bumpy roads. When braking under normal driving conditions if a bumpy or uneven surface is encountered while braking the ABS kicks in and there is a loss in control via the brake pedal of the braking force. This condition happens every time the conditions are present as described, and can be quite disconcerting. It is obvious that under panic situations, coupled with less than ideal road surfaces, this condition could prove very dangerous, as the braking distance of the car increases dramatically during this action.
Loss of brake power on uneven terrain. When road is not smooth, brakes seem to lose power and car does not slow.
On multiple occasions I have had the problem where the ABS system on my 2002 subaru wrx acts in an unpredicatable manner. The problem occurs when braking on a uneven surface. Basically it feels like the ABS engages to prevent wheel lock-up going over the bumps, yet pedal pressure decreases and the stopping distance increases. Luckily I am from the time before ABS and my instict when the brakes aren't reacting properly is to release and then reapply the brakes. Without this instinct I would have likely been involved in an accident by now. I believe there is a flaw in the ABS on this vehicle because I have never had this type of experience on any other ABS equipped vehicles I have driven.
I own a 2002 subaru wrx and wanted to add to the list of ABS complaints. I have had several instances that when the brakes are applied at the same time a bump is hit the brakes fail to respond regardless of speed. I almost hit a pedestrian in a sidewalk once traveling 20 MPH where I just happened to hit a bump at the same time I tried to stop. I had to let go of the brakes and reapply to get them to work. This has happened on several occasions, the exact dates are unknown.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When braking on uneven surfaces, brakes will momentarily stop working.
Over rough surfaces (potholes in pavement, rough pavement, railroad crossings, uneven pavement) the ABS will kick on at a low speed and it seems, if only for a few moments, that the car is not braking. This happens regularly and I need to drive the vehicle in such a way as to avoid braking on these types of roads by braking early and rolling through the rough areas without the brake pedal depressed.
While returning to las vegas from a camping trip on ventura freeway near the tarzana exit our 2003 wrx experienced a loss of braking at approximately 25 MPH in stop and go traffic on clear, dry, rain grooved highway. My wife was driving the wrx at the time and she reported that the ABS kicked in and then "let go" causing her car to roll into mine (pulling our camp trailer), she struck the trailer doing about 5 to 7 MPH. Damage to her wrx was in excess of $5k, damage to trailer and my car was cosmetic only. A similar incident occurred while I was driving the wrx on the way to camping site, same symptoms but no traffic to avoid...I assumed that road condition was probable fault. My wife noticed that the ABS seemed too sensitive shortly after purchase of vehicle. After about a month it went away. Problem returned after warranty work was performed to replace clutch system components last month. Vehicle is presently being repaired and then will be sent to dealer service (in van nuys) to inspect brakes and ABS prior to our taking possession after repair. Insurance and dealership has been informed that we believe that this accident was caused by ABS failure.
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.
I own a 2002 subaru wrx. The ABS on this car is extremely sensitive. It's so sensitive that it actually is instrusive. It comes in way to early and sometimes even where there shouldn't be any problem braking. During routine braking, the ABS will engage resulting in a loss of brake power and thus a longer braking distance. I have driven many cars with ABS and this car's system is not normal. I believe this is a "normal" problem with wrxs and the problem needs to be fixed.
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