NHTSA Complaint #723298 — 1999 SUBARU FORESTER SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

Complaint Details

ODI Number	723298
Vehicle	1999 SUBARU FORESTER
Component	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Date of Incident	February 15, 2000
Date Filed	June 23, 2000
Mileage	N/A miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	0
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	Yes
State	CO

Consumer Description

DRIVING ON FAST DOWNHILL SECTION OF MOUNTAIN 2 LANE HIGHWAY, ON ICE / PACKED SNOW, TAPPED BRAKES WHILE ENTERING CURVE ... 2 SECONDS LATER WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING THE VEHICLE LOST ADHESION, OVERSTEERING DANGEROUSLY. I RECOVERED WITH CONSIDERABLE OPPPOSITE STEERING LOCK AND SLIGHT APPLICATION OF POWER (CAR IS ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE.) IT HAPPENED SO FAST, I KNEW NOT WHAT HAD CAUSED THE CAR TO SLIDE OUT OF CONTROL. TODAY, I LEARNED THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. WITH THE GEARSHIFT SELECTOR IN DRIVE, TRAILING THROTTLE AND APPLICATION OF BRAKES, THE COMPUTER WILL OCCASIONALLY (AUTOMATICALLY) DOWN-SHIFT THE CAR INTO 3RD. GEAR. THIS SOFTWARE BUG, COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED AND TOTALLY DANGEROUS IN MARGINAL TRACTION CONDITIONS CAUSEDG A VICIOUS SKID FROM WHICH MOST DRIVERS OF AVERAGE EXPERIENCE WOULD HAVE NOT RECOVERED. WE PUT ABS ON CARS SO THAT BRAKING CAN BE MORE PREDICTABLE WHEN DRIVING UNDER MARGINAL COEFFICIENTS, THAN WE DESIGN SOFTWARE WITH A BUG WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO THROW THE CAR TOTALLY AND UNPREDICTABLY OUT OF CONTROL ON ICE. NICE WORK, SUBARU !*AK

Related Complaints for the 1999 SUBARU FORESTER

Other SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP Complaints

#898739 — November 5, 2001 — AT SLOW SPEEDS OR WHEN COMING TO A STOP BRAKE PEDAL FEELS MUSHY, THEN, IT GOES TO THE FLOOR. THIS HAPPENS INTERMITTE...

#893659 — August 7, 2001 — WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 50 MPH APPLIED BRAKE, BRAKING DISTANCE WAS NORMAL. BRAKE PEDAL STAYED ON FLOOR, HAD TO BE PULLED ...

#744488 — May 2, 2001 — ALL WHEEL DRIVE REBULIT 2/00,AFTER COMPLAING TO SERVICE CENTER THE WHEELS FEEL AS IF THEY ARE NOT WORKING IN UNISON.Y...

#883082 — March 14, 2001 — BRAKE PEDAL WAS GOING TO FLOOR ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, USED TOE OF SHOE TO LIFT PEDAL BACK UP BEFORE VEHICLE WOULD ...

#741340 — March 5, 2001 — WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED THE VEHICLE UNDER MANY CONDITIONS WILL TEND TO ACCELERATE, THIS ALSO HAPPENS ON A 2001 VERSIO...

Recent Complaints for the 1999 SUBARU FORESTER

#11311985 — ENGINE — February 28, 2020 — (PARTIAL COPY OF MESSAGE I SENT TO SUBARU EARLIER THIS WEEK.) [MY] FORESTER IS OLD, BUT I WOULDN'T BE REPLACING ...

#11230370 — SERVICE BRAKES — July 9, 2019 — WHY IS THE BRAKE LINE CORROSION RECALL WQK-47 ONLY FOR 2009-2013 FORESTERS? I OWN A 1999 FORESTER WHICH HAS JUST HAD...

#10970496 — ENGINE — April 4, 2017 — TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 SUBARU FORESTER. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING, THE ENGINE OVERHEATED AND SEIZED. T...

#10871310 — POWER TRAIN — May 28, 2016 — AS OTHERS HAVE STATED HERE AND MANY MORE FROM VARIOUS SUBARU FORUMS, I'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE SHIFTING INTO DRIVE I...

#10717441 — POWER TRAIN — May 20, 2015 — THERE ARE DAYS WHERE THE VEHICLE WILL NOT ENGAGE INTO DRIVE. IT GOES IN REVERSE BUT STILL NOT ENGAGE THE DRIVE GEAR. ...