[roastedpeppers]

Hello all I'm new here. My family owns two foresters. One is an older one that I drive now and the one my mother drives is a 2005 Forester X I believe. Her Forester only has about 70k on it and recently it had some major issues. She was driving down our very steep driveway when she hit a tiny patch of snow,so the ABS kicked on. The problem was it didnt turn off, she claimed she tried everything to get the brakes working again (besides pulling up the emergeny brake of course) and she hit a tree instead of going into the street. We brought the car to the dealership and they claimed the could not find anything wrong. Oh and at the time this happend the Crusie Control light had been blinking and the check engine light was on. We had brought it in 3 times before this happend for that problem which they claimed each time that they fixed. So they said the Check engine light was a false alarm and they fixed nothing. My parents are geting a new Outback because my mom now refuses to drive the car. So they offered me the newer forester which is tempting since mine has almost 200k on it now. So what could be the issue? I would not bring it to the dealership to get fixed, I'd bring it to the garage where my boyfriend works (my parents won't let me bring it there now or let my boyfriend look at it I don't know why they're just plain stuborn and think the dealership knows best). He thinks the wheel sensor is broken. What do you think? Oh and the dealership claims there's a recall on the car but I can't find anything on it. Thank you.

 

[Patrikman]

it could be the sensor.

that is what caused the ABS to fail on my old Jetta. I replaced the sensor and it was fine after that.

 

[TC2000]

I believe as long as she was sliding with the breaks depressed the ABS wont turn off. Thats the way they work. Sounds like she panicked when she should of just continued to steer the car until she regained control. If shes offering it to you, Id grab it and have the car serviced to check everything out just to be sure.

 

[ddavidv]

She was driving down our very steep driveway when she hit a tiny patch of snow,so the ABS kicked on. The problem was it didnt turn off, she claimed she tried everything to get the brakes working again (besides pulling up the emergeny brake of course) and she hit a tree instead of going into the street. We brought the car to the dealership and they claimed the could not find anything wrong.

This is not a vehicle issue, it's a driver issue. "The brakes didn't work" is not a possibility since they were working afterward/dealer found nothing wrong. She was on ice...you're just along for the ride when that happens. The ABS has nothing to do with it. Even if the system fails the brakes will still function.

Too many people think ABS is some mystical cure-all for foul weather driving, much like AWD. Ain't so. I'd snatch that car up and enjoy it.

 

[roastedpeppers]

Alright she said that she was letting off the brake and kept trying to press on it. Supposedly this happend twice before, the ABS not working. However it could be true that she did panic and didn't want to admit it especially since she didn't pull up the e-brake. Okay thank you everyone for the response. We'll check everything over once I have it just to be sure.

 

[Tau137]

This is not a vehicle issue, it's a driver issue. "The brakes didn't work" is not a possibility since they were working afterward/dealer found nothing wrong. She was on ice...you're just along for the ride when that happens. The ABS has nothing to do with it. Even if the system fails the brakes will still function.

This is not necessarily true - a good example of that would the 02-03 WRX recall (ABS would completely disable the brakes for a few seconds under certain circumstances).

 

[adc]

I believe as long as she was sliding with the breaks depressed the ABS wont turn off. Thats the way they work. Sounds like she panicked when she should of just continued to steer the car until she regained control. If shes offering it to you, Id grab it and have the car serviced to check everything out just to be sure.

+1...............

 

[BAC5.2]

This is not necessarily true - a good example of that would the 02-03 WRX recall (ABS would completely disable the brakes for a few seconds under certain circumstances).

Which was never an occurance or issue with the Forester.

Sounds like ABS worked perfectly. If she didn't FULLY let off the pedal, ABS would continue to engage. And even if she DID let fully off the pedal, she could have still been on ice/snow when she reapplied. I don't believe this "on-till-stop" logic applies to the newer cars, or at least my Outback. ABS will disengage itself when the vehicle is no longer sliding.

The ABS is controlled by a separate ECU. If there were an error with the system, the ABS light would be on the dash. There is no CEL that could possibly disable the ABS. If it were a bad wheel speed sensor, then it would throw an ABS code and the ABS light would illuminate on the dash. The only way for the ABS to be disabled is if that light is on in the gauge cluster. If that light is off, then ABS is functioning as designed.

If she refuses to drive the car any more (because she thinks it is unsafe), and is getting a new Outback, but offers to give the car to her child, then methinks it was driver error. You wouldn't intentionally put the life of your child in a vehicle you deem to be unsafe. At least I wouldn't think so.

 

[roastedpeppers]

Which was never an occurance or issue with the Forester.

Sounds like ABS worked perfectly. If she didn't FULLY let off the pedal, ABS would continue to engage. And even if she DID let fully off the pedal, she could have still been on ice/snow when she reapplied. I don't believe this "on-till-stop" logic applies to the newer cars, or at least my Outback. ABS will disengage itself when the vehicle is no longer sliding.

The ABS is controlled by a separate ECU. If there were an error with the system, the ABS light would be on the dash. There is no CEL that could possibly disable the ABS. If it were a bad wheel speed sensor, then it would throw an ABS code and the ABS light would illuminate on the dash. The only way for the ABS to be disabled is if that light is on in the gauge cluster. If that light is off, then ABS is functioning as designed.

If she refuses to drive the car any more (because she thinks it is unsafe), and is getting a new Outback, but offers to give the car to her child, then methinks it was driver error. You wouldn't intentionally put the life of your child in a vehicle you deem to be unsafe. At least I wouldn't think so.

Although I know my mother loves me. Car safety wasn't her bigest concern for me. My first car was a 1992 Mazda Mx-3 I bought myself for 1000 bucks that had no airbags and the drivers seatbelt was broken. Everyone called it my little death trap. She gave me the Forester becasue she retired.
This car can't be as bad as my Mazda though.

 

[good dog]

I would consider another dealership for diagnosis, since you mentioned the check engine light was on and others flashing that would throw a code that the dealership could read and determine a course of action/repair.

If the dealership indicates a recall, then ask them to provide the info on the recall, it shouldn't be your responsibility to look for it, or contact Subaru Customer relations or both. I would agree with everyone that the system was working, probably road conditions were worse than they were reported to be.

I'd take the car if I were you it's newer. If the engine lights come on again you can always take the car to Auto Zone, Napa and get the code read and reset, before you take it to the dealership, then you already have an idea of what could be wrong.

Also sounds like they don't like your choice of boyfriends.:huh::shake:

 

[vicali]

Her Forester only has about 70k on it and recently it had some major issues.... the ABS kicked on.... and she hit a tree ...my mom now refuses to drive the car.... they offered me the newer forester...what could be the issue?

Sounds like she panicked

This is not a vehicle issue, it's a driver issue... The ABS has nothing to do with it....I'd snatch that car up and enjoy it.

she was letting off the brake and kept trying to press on it... she did panic and didn't want to admit it

Sounds like ABS worked perfectly... even if she DID let fully off the pedal, she could have still been on ice/snow when she reapplied... ABS will disengage itself when the vehicle is no longer sliding.
The only way for the ABS to be disabled is if that light is on in the gauge cluster. If that light is off, then ABS is functioning as designed.

methinks it was driver error.

I think you should replace the faulty part; your mom.. lol
enjoy the new Foz :biggrin:

 

[roastedpeppers]

Thank you all for the help