NHTSA Complaint #10054622 — 2003 SUBARU WRX

I HAVE A 2003 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STATION WAGON WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE INCIDENT ON JANUARY 19, 2004 IS ONLY ONE OF AT LEAST FIVE EXAMPLES OF THE PROBLEM DETAILED BELOW. *AK HERE IS THE RECURRING PROBLEM: WHENEVER I BRAKE AT RELATIVELY LOW SPEEDS (UNDER 30MPH AS FAR AS I REMEMBER) OVER EVEN MILDLY BUMPY SURFACES, THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSES COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR DOES NOT BRAKE. THE CAR WILL NOT BEGIN BRAKING UNTIL I REALIZE WHAT IS GOING ON, RELEASE THE BRAKE PEDAL, AND THEN HEAVILY DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AGAIN. I ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE ON JANUARY 19, 2004. THIS IS VERY BAD, BUT EVEN WORSE IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST -- I LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOME OF THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALKS IN MY AREA UTILIZE RAISED, WHITE-PAINTED CONCRETE SURFACES TO HIGHLIGHT THE CROSSWALK. THIS RAISED, UNEVEN SURFACE HAS TRIGGERED THE BRAKE PROBLEM I'M DESCRIBING SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST. THIS IS VERY SCARY SINCE MY CAR MIGHT STRIKE A PEDESTRIAN IN THE CROSSWALK BECAUSE OF ITS INABILITY TO BRAKE SMOOTHLY ON UNEVEN SURFACES. I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL ABS-EQUIPPED CARS IN THE PAST, AND NONE HAVE EXHIBITED THIS SCARY BEHAVIOR. AFTER READING ON A SUBARU OWNER'S INTERNET SITE THAT MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE THIS PROBLEM, I CONTACTED A SUBARU DEALER ABOUT THE ISSUE. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS NORMAL FOR ABS-EQUIPPED CARS. I FIND THIS EXTREMELY SCARY AND VERY HARD TO BELIEVE.