2009 Subaru Forester Brakes Problems
10 owner-reported brakes complaints from NHTSA data
Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.
Brakes Recalls (2)
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Outback and Legacy, 2008-2011 Impreza and 2008-2014 Impreza WRX/STI, and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, currently, or formerly, registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. Salt water could splash on the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector, resulting in excessive corrosion of the brake lines. Note that affected vehicles not currently, or formerly registered, in the salt belt states identified above are eligible for repair, at no cost to the customer, upon request.
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will test the brake system by depressing the brake pedal and inspecting for brake fluid leaks. If no brake fluid seepage is observed, the affected areas will be rustproofed with anti-corrosion wax. If brake fluid seepage is observed, the brake lines will be replaced followed by rustproofing with anti-corrosion wax. These services will be performed free of charge. The recall began July 2014 and second notifications will run through November 2014. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's recall campaign number is WQK-47. Note: This recall supersedes recall 13V-110 which applied to certain 2005-2009 Legacy/Outback vehicles. Vehicles that were remedied under the previous campaign still need additional areas rust-proofed.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Impreza, 2008-2014 WRX and STI, and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, currently, or formerly, registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia that were remedied under recall 14V-311 prior to December 23, 2014. The brake lines may experience brake line corrosion due to salt water splashing on the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector.
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will apply an anti-corrosion wax to the four-way joint connector area of the brake line system, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQQ-52. Notes: This recall is specific to affected Forester, Impreza, WRX, and STI customers who had their car remedied under NHTSA recall no. 14V-311 prior to December 23, 2014. Subaru has determined that this remedy was inadequate due to incomplete repair instructions provided to dealers. Affected Forester, Impreza, WRX, and STI vehicles that were not repaired under NHTSA recall no. 14V-311 prior to December 23, 2014 will continue to be processed under NHTSA recall no. 14V-311. Affected vehicles not currently, or formerly, registered in the salt belt states identified in this recall are eligible for repair, at no cost to the customer, upon request.
Owner Complaints (10)
Your brake pedal may fail suddenly, sinking to the floor without warning, making your brakes stop working. This happened to the owner while going downhill in reverse, and they had to use the hand brake to stop. An independent mechanic found that the brake lines had failed, possibly due to lack of rust prevention treatment on the lines.
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BOUGHT USED WITH 46K MILES ON IT. BRAKES HAVE BEEN WEAK EVER SINCE I GOT IT. HAS NEVER CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, BUT IT SURE HAS HAD ME WORRIED ABOUT GETTING STOPPED NUMEROUS TIMES. DEALERS BLOW ME OFF WHEN I ASK ABOUT FIXING IT. MAYBE PREMIUM PADS? I THINK IT'S THE HYDRAULICS THAT ARE WEAK, DON'T KNOW IF PADS WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THIS IS STRAIGHT STOPS FROM ALL SPEEDS.
THE BRAKE LINE AND BRAKE CALIPER RUSTED, CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED AND CHECKED REGULARLY, WHILE DRIVING WE LOST REAR BRAKES, ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, SPENT AT LEAST 900.00 IN REPAIR, SUBARU REFUSED TO REFUND MONEY, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS A RECALL FOR BRAKES LINES.PLEASE HELP.
CAR HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH OIL SINCE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER RECALL WAS DONE IN FALL OF 2013. FIRST NOTICED AROUND FEBRUARY OF 2014 WHEN OIL LIGHT CAME ON AND NO OIL IN ENGINE. I COMPLAINED TO DEALER AND THEY FOUND NOTHING. I KEPT COMPLAINING ON MY OIL CHANGE OR OTHER APPOINTMENTS BUT THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. THE CAR WAS GOING THROUGH 2-3 COURTS EVERY 2-3 MONTHS, WITH "BURN" TIME GETTING CLOSER TOGETHER - EVENTUALLY CHECKED OIL EVERY 3 WEEKS BY SUMMER AND EVERY WEEK BY OCTOBER. WHEN THE CAR WOULD NOT RUN I EVENTUALLY BYPASSED THE DEALER AFTER NO SOLUTION AND COMPLAINED TO SUBARU. I HAD A DIFFICULT TIME FINDING A DEALER WILLING TO TAKE THE CAR (SO DID SUBARU). FEELING IT WAS A DEALER WORKMANSHIP ISSUE I PAID FOR THE WORK AND SUBARU REIMBURSED ME TO REPLACED THE HEAD GASKETS IN DECEMBER 2014 - STATING IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTTEE SO THAT IS HOW IT HAS TO BE DONE. THE OTHER DAY (FEBRUARY 6, 2015) ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN AND NO OIL WAS IN THE ENGINE - THIS IS 2 MONTHS AFTER WORK DONE. THIS CAR HAS HAD ISSUES SINCE THE BEGINNING AND I FEEL AS A FIRST YEAR REDESIGNED MODEL IT IS A SUBARU DEFECT. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE BRAKES 3 TIMES IN A SHORT SPAN - FEW YEARS (3 MAYBE). IT HAS NEVER HAD GOOD PICK-UP AND SINCE CATALYTIC CONVERTER RECALL WAS DONE THE GAS MILEAGE DROPPED - WAS 22/28 NOW 19/23. THE DEALER WHO REPLACED HEAD GASKETS MADE A NOTATION ON MY BILL (WITHOUT TELLING ME DIRECTLY) THAT THE SWAY BARS NEED ATTENTION. MY BROTHER HAS A 2007 FORESTER AND HAS HAD TO REPLACE ALL OF THESE ITEMS AS WELL WITHIN THE LAST FEW YEARS. I NEEDS A RELIABLE VEHICLE TO EARN A LIVING. *JS
REGARDING: SUBARU RECALL CAMPAIGN WQK-47 / NHTSA RECALL NO. 14V-311 / JULY 2014. THE REMEDY FOR THIS RECALL IS INSPECTION AND TESTING OF THE BRAKE LINES. IF THERE IS NO ACTIVE BRAKE FLUID LEAK AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION, THE LINES/CONNECTIONS WILL BE SPRAYED WITH ANTI-CORROSION MATERIAL. IT IS VERY CLEAR IN THE DOCUMENTS THAT REPLACEMENT WILL NOT BE DONE UNDER ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH RUST/CORROSION IS ALREADY PRESENT IN THE BRAKE LINE SYSTEM. I FIND THIS ABSOLUTELY APPALLING, AND AN EXTREME DANGER TO UNSUSPECTING DRIVERS OF THESE VEHICLES. THESE BRAKE LINES COULD BE ONE DAY AWAY FROM LEAKING, BUT IF THEY ARE NOT LEAKING AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION, THEY WILL NOT BE REPLACED. THE OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM DAMAGE THAT HAS ALREADY OCCURRED TO THE BRAKE LINES IN THE FORM OF OBVIOUS CORROSION. THIS REMEDY DOES NOT FIX ANYTHING IF RUSTED/CORRODED PARTS ARE GOING TO BE LEFT IN PLACE, WITH MOST OWNERS COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THE HIDDEN DANGER. I WOULD LIKE FEEDBACK FROM THE GOVERNMENT REGARDING THIS SERIOUS CONCERN. *TR
SINCE THE PURCHASE - WE NEEDED TO PUSH BRAKE PEDAL DOWN TOO FAR TO APPLY BRAKES. WE COMPLAINED TO SUBARU - THEY CHECKED BUT SAID NOTHING WRONG. BUT I AM UNHAPPY. *TR
SINCE FROM THE BEGINNING, I HAVE TO PUSH MY BRAKE PEDAL TOO DOWN TO APPLY THE BRAKES, I REPORTED IT SEVERAL TIMES TO MY SUBARU DEALER BUT THEY SEEMS TO BE NOT SERIOUS IN DEALING THIS. *TR
THE ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE IS THAT WE HAVE TO PUSH THE BRAKES TOO FAR BEFORE THE BRAKES START WORKING. I REPORTED THE MATTER TO SUBARU SERVICE DEALER IN RAPID CITY, SD AND TO SUBARU (COMPLAINED THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE), THE SUBARU DEALER CHECKED THE BRAKES AND THEY SAY THEY ARE ALL GOOD AND NORMAL. SO FAR WE DID NOT HAVE ANY INCIDENT CAUSED BY THIS BUT WE ARE NOT HAPPY AND DO NOT FEEL SAFE. WE HAVE DRIVEN A NO. OF VEHICLES BUT THIS IS THE ONLY VEHICLE WHERE WE NEED TO PUSH THE BRAKES SO MUCH DOWN. *TR
2009 SUBARU FORESTER ENCOUNTERED REAR BRAKE FAILURE AT 22555 MI.. BRAKE PADS DESTROYED BY CALIPER HARDWARE THAT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE DUE TO CORROSION. BRAKE ROTORS SCORED AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT BECAUSE FAULTY WEAR SENSORS DESIGN FAILED TO ALERT TO PROBLEM. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SUBARU FORRESTER. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL INDEPENDENTLY WENT TO THE FLOORBOARD ABNORMALLY AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO DECELERATE BUT DID NOT COME TO A STOP. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED AN UNUSUALLY LOUD NOISE. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THAT THE REAR PASSENGER BRAKES WERE COMPLETELY GONE. THE DEALER ADVISED HE BRING THE VEHICLE IN FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING HOWEVER, THE CONTACT DID NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT BRAKE PADS WERE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND WOULD PROVIDE ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000.