Subaru told its dealers to temporarily stop selling 2012 Impreza, Legacy and Outback models on November 25 after receiving a number of customer complaints regarding increased brake pedal travel.
The brake issue is reportedly due to a problem with the master cylinder. Subaruparent company Fuji Heavy Industries said it is recalling about 3,000 cars that have already been sold or delivered to replace the faulty master cylinder, a process that takes about an hour. Despite the lengthy pedal travel, Subaru says the brakes still work and have caused no injuries.
“Some customers said the brakes didn’t feel right,” said Subaru spokesman Michael McHale. “The pedal travels farther than it should. There were no failure issues, no accidents.”
Suburu’s decision to issue the recall comes after 130 field reports from dealers regarding the issue. The company independently confirmed the problem on three vehicles.
Aside from a small number of Imprezas made in Subaru’s factory in Gunma Prefecture in Japan, most of the affected vehicles were Legacy and Outback models produced at the company’s SIA plant in Lafayette, Indiana. The faulty master cylinder common to all three vehicles came from one production batch of an unnamed supplier.
Besides the 3,000 vehicles already sold, there could be a few thousand vehicles equipped with the faulty master cylinder in dealer inventories, McHale said. The exact number of cars plagued by the issue wasn’t immediately clear.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been informed of the brake problem and will begin sending out recall notices to owners over the next few days.
The issue could be resolved and the stop sale order lifted as early as early next week, an outcome that would be favorable to the many Subaru dealers with limited vehicle supplies.
“The dealers are frustrated,” said McHale. “They don’t have a huge inventory.”