NHTSA Complaint #11436231 — 2015 SUBARU FORESTER

At about 101,000 miles I took the car in to the dealership where I bought it for another issue. When the tech got it up on his lift he came in and notified the service manager that there was bubbles on my brake line. The service manager came to us and she said “I really shouldn’t let you drive out of here with those bubbles because I would be an unsafe condition”, the implication was that if they burst I would have no brakes. The road salt on the roads in the winter in Vermont was indicated as the cause of the problem. They installed all new brake lines behind the cabin. I had asked them to save a section of the brake lines showing the bubbles and that DID NOT happen. I do much of my own maintenance and to have steel brake lines bubble it’s hard to understand. Maybe the hose between the end of the steel brake line and the wheel could bubble but having the brake line bubble is nightmarish.The safety concern is if other Subarus in salty climates have that problem and the owner is not aware of it, the brakes are liable to fail. Scary. As to the engine, since the car was a new, putting pressure on the accelerator caused the car to lurch, Irritating and dangerous in tight settings. Notified the dealership on the day we got it and when mentioned, nothing could be done for the 5 years since it was new.