2001 Subaru Outback Brakes Problems

“Outside temperature was 25 degrees f. I was leaving from the parking lot at work. As I approached the intersection the brakes became so hard that I couldn't press them any farther. I sis some research and apparently lots of other Subaru owners have experienced this problem. It appears that the check valve on the brake booster line freezes up. If I had been moving any faster I would have went into the intersection possibly causing an accident or worse.”

“I have a 2001 Subaru Outback vdc. Since purchase I have had repeated problems with warping of the front brake rotors. The rotors have been turned twice, then replaced by Subaru in april 2003. The rotors have now warped again and are no longer under warrantly. This condition leads to uncontrollable wheel and front end shaking when braking at high speeds. There have been numerous other complaints for this vehicle.”

“My 4 yr old son went into this car which was in park in our driveway. The keys were not in the car. He bumped into the shift mechanism which subsequently allowed the car to drift backwards from the slight grade. Fortunately, there was no injury, but there was considerable damage and under different conditions, it could have been tragic. The car was returned to suburu who verified that the safety interlock was not operating as designed. …”

“While parked in neutral, with the emergency brake on, and no occupants, our standard transmission vehicle rolled backwards out of our driveway, across the street & into the yard across the street. Our driveway has only a very slight grade (less than 5%), so I'm alrarmed with the ease with which this happened. There were about 8 children playing around the street & yards. My neighbor & I both confirmed that the emergency brake was in the upright position, which I always engage before exiting the car. …”

“Within 4 years, my Subaru Outback vcd needed 3 sets of brakes and 4 sets of rotors (not including the resurfacing to extend the rotors). Everytime when I brought the car to the dealership, they attribute the problems to my driving pattern. But I owned three other cars before (all were less expensive), and never needed to replace brakes nor rotors. As posted in this website, there are 13 other complains, with virtually identical problems. I strongly recommend NHTSA engineers to analyze the 2001 Subaru Outback brakes and rotors. …”