My Mom, fired up he '03 Legacy GT sedan with 83,000 on the clock this morning and the brake warning light stated on. Trie dthe e-brake and that was not it. Shut it off and stayed on maybe a mile then went off. Last inspection 2,000 miles ago mechanic said that pads were within spec. is thsi athe fluid level sensor flot sticking down or what?? No ABS light.

The brake failure light usually means there is an imbalance in the pressure in system. Generally means you have a leak or air in the system. It can sometimes be due to a master cylinder on its way out. Check all the calipers, hoses, and hard lines for evidence of leaking. Try not to drive the vehicle until you've had it checked over.

That's what I was afaraid of I just replaced all the pads and bleed the sysetm at my house in New hampshire at 68,300 miles. 15,000 miles out of a full set organic of brake pads seems wrong. She JUST moved to East Lansing, Michigan over 800 miles away from me, perfect timing!!

 

Does it indicate anything taht the light went out and stayed out after that?

It could be that after pumping the brake a few times the pressure has returned to the half of the system that was low so the pressure switch went back to neutral and turned the light off. Which would mean the leak (if present) is fairly slow. Still not a good idea to be driving it around until the issue is resolved even though the light is currently off.

Good point, thanks for the reply. You think she should just go to the local Subaru Stealership since she is unfamiliar with the East Lansing?

 

So that light senses loss of pressure in the lines not low level of fluid in the rez.?

Good point, thanks for the reply. You think she should just go to the local Subaru Stealership since she is unfamiliar with the East Lansing?

 

So that light senses loss of pressure in the lines not low level of fluid in the rez.?

 

Hey Jo"xx"

 

Well...that should teach her something...LOL...she should have sold it to me while she was still here in Brewster:lol:

Bill

Yep Bill, It maybe coming back home with me after all, at this rate. I have been talking with her on the new Legacy 2.5i Limited's;)

Good point, thanks for the reply. You think she should just go to the local Subaru Stealership since she is unfamiliar with the East Lansing?

 

So that light senses loss of pressure in the lines not low level of fluid in the rez.?

 

The brake light can be for several things. Low fluid, parking brake engaged, brake system failure. Either one, or all three, depends on what the manufacturer feels like making it.

 

I don't know for sure that Subaru uses the brake light as a failure warning. I'm not familiar enough with these cars yet to say one way or the other, but I know that a lot of car makers do use that light as a failure light.

They use a switch with 2 brake lines (one in, one out) on either side. Inside the switch is a chamber with a piston in the middle. If the pressure on one side of the piston is lower, the higher pressure on the other side pushes the piston over which connects a few contacts and sets off the light.

 

It's entirely possible that it came on because of a fault with the low fluid switch, or the parking brake switch was sticking, but it's a big risk to assume that it has fixed itself. A few weeks down the road you might hit the pedal and it goes right to the floor.

 

If she's not able to diagnose the problem on her own then she should take the car to a dealer or reputable independent shop and have it looked over.

How does the pedal feel to her? spongy, hard ?? The "brake" light will come on for low fluid level in these cars..there is a little electrical connector/sensor at the bottom of the resevoir in the master cylinder. I doubt this is the problem but try this..Pump up the brake pedal with the car off, than start the car with your foot on the brake pedal and if the pedal sinks the power booster is good, If not, well we will cross that bridge when we come to it...Like I mentioned I dont believe this is the problem but as you know it is difficult to diag. over the internet fore we cannot feel/see/touch the car..

Yep Bill, It maybe coming back home with me after all, at this rate. I have been talking with her on the new Legacy 2.5i Limited's;)

 

 

Good deal....it's better than the toyota she wanted

my 94 SS has been doing the same, thing. Funny thing is my 93 legacy n/a that ran the same brake fluid did the same thing right after a brake flush.... I think it's time I try some different brake fluid! I am running some penzoil synthetic, and I wonder if it contains silicone.