Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 72000 | ||
| Brakes are very weak for the first couple of stops after the car has been sitting for a while (about eight hours or more). brakes work fine after warming up. this is very dangerous when first backing out of driving; would not be able to stop fast enough if a child or person was suddenly in the way and you needed to stop. this is the case with oem brake pads and after-market pads. | |||
| 09/30/2008 | |||
| Tl*the contact owned a 2005 subaru outback. the contact stated that the brakes failed to engage and the vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire. the air bags did not deploy. three people were injured and police and fire reports were filed. a month prior to the accident, the vehicle was inspected and no failures were found. the vehicle was inspected after the crash and it was discovered that the tumbler system was defective. the vin was unavailable at the time of the complaint. the current and failure mileages were unknown. | |||
| 08/17/2007 | 18000 | 1 | 05/13/2005 |
| Component: service brakes, brake pads, details: the brake pads on my 2005 subaru have warped (all 4) at 18,000 miles producing an uneven sensation as one is braking. it also increases the distance required to stop. after taking my subaru in for a brake inspection (at 20,000 miles) i was told that all 4 wheels needed new brake pads, (even though my front brakes have 60% braking efficiency & 70% on the rear brakes). my partner, who is a professional driver, is the sole driver of our subaru and is very rarely in stop-and-go traffic. on the few occasions when she is in heavy traffic she maintains extra distance between her vehicle and the vehicle in front of her to avoid having to use her brakes more then is absolutely necessary. neither one of us have ever had to replace the brake pads on a vehicle with mileage as low as 20,000 miles and both of us have lived in large cities all of our lives. i had a similar problem on a 2000 subaru forester. this is a definite safety issue. subaru, overall, makes reliable, responsive and safe vehicles but this issue needs to be dealt with before someone is seriously injured or killed. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 02/12/2006 | 1 | 09/23/2004 | |
| The abs on my 2005 subaru outback 2.5i limited is too sensitive. it is dangerous driving in the snow because the abs kicks in too easily and it takes way too long to stop. i have recently gotten new tires with an excellent rating and that didn't help. bumps in the road also set off the abs too easily leading to scary situations. i drive other vehicles with abs and this does not occur. i am not confident driving this vehicle in the snow, which is ironic because it is an awd subaru (which is supposed to have an excellent reputation). abs is supposed to benefit the driver, not help create a collision. *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 01/14/2008 | 14000 | 2 | 03/03/2005 |
| At around 14,000 miles the dealer told me the rotors had warped and needed to be turned. again at about 22,000 i was told the rotors had warped and needed to be turned. i was told this was due to heavy braking, stop and go traffic or riding the brakes. i have another car with over 100,000 miles on it and the rotors have never needed to be turned, my driving habits not the cause of this problem. subaru has not gotten back to me in over 2 months about this problem. i think this could be a very dangerous problem with this car. *tr | |||
| 10/20/2005 | 2450 | 3 | 12/15/2004 |
| Re odi 10133280 similar problem at low speeds and varying road conditions, eg flat road, bumpy road etc. *nm | |||
| 07/01/2005 | 14000 | 1 | 07/10/2004 |
| The brake rotors on my 2005 subaru have warped (all 4) at 14,000 miles producing a violent pulsating pedal and inefficient braking. this alone could cause some drivers to allow for insufficient braking distances causing a crash. it is now my understanding, after some investigation, that this is a common problem with this manufacturer for many years. the subaru dealer cut the rotors under warranty but this should never have occurred at 14,000 miles. *jb | |||