2008 Subaru WRX: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Jun 2, 2018 · Body · 94,600 miles · NJ

Creaking clutch pedal really is the firewall pedal mounting bracket that is factory spot welded onto the drivers side dash section of the firewall under the dash board has its weak factory spot welds broken. I had replaced the clutch on my car as it was weak and thought replacing it would make the creaking sound go away. Replacing the clutch made the squeaking noise louder and now my brake pedal moves right into the path of the clutch when it is pressed and back to its place when depressed. This is a safety concern as I am a father and cannot guarantee this car is safe to drive at all. I spent $1,200 on the installation as I provided the parts to the subaru dealer. After receiving my car back, the car became inoperable as the clutch is difficult to engage safely into any gear. I contacted subaru of america as per the dealers advice and was denied any compensation for structural repairs to my vehicle.

Filed May 10, 2017 · 72,000 miles · WI

Clutch bracket spot welds let go of fire wall. Making the clutch and brake pedal move and squeak when clutch is engaged.

Filed Mar 5, 2017 · Body · 130,000 miles · CA

I bought the car used with the clutch pedal squeaking. Ignored it because I thought it just needed grease. I was driving home last night when the clutch pedal got stuck pressed all the way down. I started researching and found many posts of people with the same problem. The squeaking was caused by the clutch pedal mounting bracket separating from the fire wall. I crawled under the dashboard to look, and sure enough it is broken.

Filed May 27, 2016 · Body, Brakes · 140,000 miles · CA

I had an issue previously with the welds for the clutch pedal assembly cracking on the firewall. It got so bad that the whole pedal assembly with the brake and gas pedal shifted left every time I depressed the clutch. It eventually caused the clutch to not disengage entirely and burn out. Subaru of america fixed the problem by sending it to a body shop to re-weld the pedal assembly to the firewall but now, just a few years later, the pedal is squeaking again just like it did last time the welds broke. I haven't taken it in yet but it is an unmistakable sound.

Filed May 4, 2016 · Acceleration, Brakes · 92,000 miles · LA

The clutch pedal on my 2008 wrx makes a squeaking noise every time it's engaged. When I investigated the noise, I noticed that the clutch pedal bracket assembly (forward firewall) shifts approx 1/4 inch every time the clutch pedal is engaged. I found that the three spot welds holding the clutch pedal bracket to the forward firewall were broken. From the outside of the firewall, just under the windshield wipers, the spot welds are separating away from the firewall every time the clutch pedal is engaged. This allows the entire clutch pedal bracket assembly to move,making that squeaking noise. If the bracket completely separates from the firewall, the clutch will not work. This is super super dangerous while driving.

Filed Jun 9, 2015 · 80,000 miles · CA

Many people with subaru wrx and sti model cars have been having problems with the spot welds that hold the clutch pedal assembly. These spot welds have a tendency to brake off and leave the car inopperable because once those spot welds brake off you cant push in the clutch pedal to put it in gear. One of the early symptoms I had in my car was a squeaky clutch pedal. Many people in the subaru community have had this problem and theres evidence of this on youtube and many subaru forums like nasioc.com . We need help getting this fix, subaru of america has known for years about this defect but they have been doing nothing about it. Many people have had to pay 1000-2000 dollars out of pocket to get this problem fixed because subaru doesnt want to take responsibility.

Filed Mar 16, 2015 · Body, Transmission · 84,000 miles · OR

The welds supporting the clutch pedal and brake pedal assembly have broken. The result is a prominent squeaking sound and a noticeable lateral movement of the pedal assembly to the left. This is a reoccurring issue as it had previously been addressed and repaired back in june of 2014. At the time subaru of america agreed to pay for half of the repairs as the vehicle was outside of warranty coverage. The new issue are from broken welds in another area that was not inspected or did not appear to need repair at the time. Mileage at time of repair was 74,839, current mileage is 84,420 (3/16/2015). However, further research on this issue indicate that it is a widespread issue that has affected many other subaru impreza owners with model years 2008 through 20012. This is not the result of owner neglect, misuse, or improper maintenance. My safety concern is that this does appear to have an impact on the functionality of clutch pedal and brakes under all normal conditions of use. Full breakage of the assembly could result in loss of control, injury, and or death. Original claim to soa was #[xxx], represented by rich. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Mar 6, 2015 · Body, Transmission · 117,000 miles · OR

The part of the steel body under the dash that supports the clutch pedal shaft assembly fractures into two pieces due to flex forces over time. This results in the clutch master cylinder flexing at its mounting point on the firewall when clutch pedal is depressed. Severed squeaking and noise is heard every time the clutch is depressed as a result. Welding is not feasible as it is located un the dash (above the accelerator pedal) and would cause fire around flammable materials. This can be seen on youtube videos submitted by subaru wrx owners and affects 2008-2014 wrx impreza vehicles. Should firewall fracture due to this flex over time, ability to disengage the clutch by pressing the pedal would result and present a very high probability of crash or accident as a lack of vehicle control and ability to stop vehicle. For one video of this, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr6umgz5utc.

Filed Mar 2, 2015 · Transmission · 42,525 miles · TX

I own a 2008 subaru impreza wrx with a stock clutch. For approximately 2 years I have been hearing creaking and/or clicking noises when engaging the clutch pedal. Began to look online for a solution and found that there are spot welds that break between the firewall and the mounting bracket the clutch pedal assembly is attached to (https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=wrx+spot+welds). I removed the necessary items to inspect the welds and they did unfortunately fail. List of references regarding ongoing issue: http://www.faqs.org/car/subaru-impreza-2009/power-train/#b http://carproblemzoo.com/subaru/impreza/service-brakes-problems.php http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/84-drivetrain-transmission-gear-box/21478-firewall-weld-break-information-needed.html http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/37-car/8781-clutch-pedal-squeak-not-clutch-tob-linkage-45.html http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/84-drivetrain-transmission-gear-box/20639-popping-clutch-broken-firewall-fix.html http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/37-car/13265-help-please-cracked-firewall-noisy-clutch-cracked-pedal-assembly-issue.html http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/84-drivetrain-transmission-gear-box/22130-my-clutch-squeak-broken-welds-story-2.html http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/84-drivetrain-transmission-gear-box/11134-another-08-clutch-pedal-firewall-problem.html http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2128617.

Filed Dec 23, 2014 · Brakes, Transmission · 65,000 miles · MA

Loud clicking/cracking noise started about a year ago when the clutch is let out. Did not think too much about it. In november of 2014, the clicking stopped and was left with an eerie squeaking sound. This is when I started to investigate what it is. Turns out, the firewall is too thin to handle the pressure from the brake/clutch mechanism. The pins that go through the firewall get worn away from the thin firewall causing the spot welds to fail. The car is currently at a subaru dealership and they have acknowledged that it is the spot welds. I am waiting to hear more from subaru of america to see if they will acknowledge that this is in fact a manufactures defect and not something that is caused by normal wear and tear. If that was the case there would not be this many complaints about this issue. There should be a recall issued on this manufacturing defect. If there are this many complaints here, how many cars are out there with drivers that are oblivious to this defect that are still driving with brakes/clutch that could fail at any time?

Filed Aug 17, 2014 · Body, Brakes · 90,100 miles · NH

Had a clutch pedal squeak noise for a little while, then while driving, went to push in the clutch, heard a pop noise. Then the brake pedal and clutch pedal began to move in erratic directions when depressed. The piece of sheet metal that the pedal assembly bolts to broke away from the firewall. All the welds broke do to flexing in the firewall sheetmetal.

Filed May 12, 2014 · Brakes, Transmission · 42,000 miles · CA

I recognized a squeaking sound every time I depressed my clutch to shift the car. Having had an oil change, I wasn't scheduled for car maintenance for 3 months or 3,000 miles. When I took my car to my mechanic for service, I asked them to check the squeaking sound. The technician found a that the structure of the firewall at the clutch and brake pedal assembly was failing - the spot welds were shattered. The technician removed the wiper blade assembly and found that the pedal assembly flexes to the point of moving the firewall out at the clutch master and that the firewall is cracked at the clutch cylinder. After researching the issue, the technician learned the problem is inherent in this particular year and model, as well as in the 2009 model. The technician recommends removing the dashboard, brake booster, master cylinder, and clutch cylinder in order to identify and weld the broken pieces of the bracket that should be holding the clutch pedal assembly in place. This requires only welding and replacing the clutch pedal assembly, as well as flushing the brake and clutch fluid. The overall concern with this structural failure is that the degradation of the firewall and clutch assembly will create an issue where my safety is at risk when I lose the ability to drive the vehicle because shifting will fail. In a low or high speed situation, I would need to down or up shift my car to help avoid collision or lessen the impact of a collision. Without this ability, I put my life, my passenger's life and other drivers' lives in danger. Given that this is a widespread issue with the make, model and year, I believe subaru should issue a recall. I am especially concerned to find that my particular car is on the pull down menu with the ntsb, and until my car started to fail, I heard nothing from the ntsb, subaru or the dealerships regarding this issue. Response expected.