| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 006084598 | Incident Date: Nov, 06 2006 |
| Consumer's City: FISHERS | Consumer's State: IN |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO | Manufacturers Name: Subaru of America, Inc. |
| Model Name: OUTBACK | Model Year: 2002 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Service brakes, hydraulic |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 4S3BH806427 | Date added to File: May, 23 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Nov, 06 2006 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Jan, 31 2002 |
| Was Original Owner: Yes | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: Our 2002 subaru outback eddie bauer edition has experienced a consistent brake failure the first thing in the morning on days where the outside temperature is at or below 45 deg f. the failure is repeatable as follows: after starting the vehicle with foot on the brake, the car initially seems okay with normal brake pedal feel (soft but not stiff) - in about the time it takes to put the car into reverse the brake petal stops responding and becomes very stiff. also, brake assist disappears and it becomes very difficult (almost impossible) to stop the vehicle, even on the slight downgrade of our driveway. - under the force of gravity, it is possible for the car to drift backward into oncoming traffic, or anything else that happens to be located behind the car such as pedestrians and trashcans, for example. no accidents or near-misses have occurred as of the time of this writing, but this is not to say that they could not have occurred under normal vehicle use and traffic conditions in our area. the car usually comes to rest within 2 to 3 seconds after which the brakes seems to recover to normal function. - good functionality seems to continue as long as the car has not been sitting in the cold and/or as long as the engine compartment is warm. this problem has been brought up to two local subaru dealers who both indicated they have never see this problem before. also, one was able to replicate the problem. given their expert commentary and physical evidence it is suspected that the car's behavior might constitute an emerging safety flaw to the vehicle's braking system. system will be repaired by consumer. consumer has contacted subaru customer support regarding this matter. they indicated that this was not an officially known issue per the list of nhtsa recall actions; hence, they took no action to remedy/investigate the problem. see subaru case #: 936244 for details. see also nhtsb complaint #: 10106583. *nm |
