2020 Subaru Ascent Brakes

The emergency brake occasionally comes on for no apparent reason. It has happened multiple times before but, never while driving until today. The button appeared to be stuck when I went to disengage it as well which made no sense. There was nothing in the way for it to get stuck. Upon further research in the Subaru forums it appears ours is not the only one to have experienced this. This leads me to believe there may be an unknown issue.

The car has issues with rapidly deteriorating brakes. The brakes have been replaced twice and I feel they are bad again. This puts myself, anyone in my car, and any car around me at risk. The dealer is aware of the issue. Car was last inspected with the same concerns in mid-April to which the dealership responded the brakes are "like new". No one else has inspected the vehicle including the police or insurance representative. There was no warning lights related to the issue. I could just feel the brakes grinding. They were first replaced one year after purchasing the vehicle on 4/28/21. They were replaced again on 6/23/22. They feel like they are grinding again.

The braking system on the vehicle does not operate as expected on the vehicle. As a result a vehicle that only has 40k miles on a daily driver, is on its 3 set of rotors, 2nd set of brake pads( i declined having them changed at the 40k service) and 2nd set of tires. The brakes have not functioned comparably to any other vehicle that I have driven. They grind and the vehicle shakes when stopping. The issue grows worse with the increase in speed. I spoke with the service manager at the dealership and he informed me that Subaru is aware of the issue and it is common for this vehicle. The service manager stated that the rotors and calipers for the vehicle are undersized for the curb weight and it is an ongoing issue with the vehicles. I have spent thousand on maintenance on a vehicle that is 2 years old, an unreasonable amount. On the service managers recommendation I reached out to Subaru about the issue and was given a $600.00 coupon and told there is nothing else they can do and my issue was reviewed at the "highest levels". As I drive the vehicle now, I feel that the braking system is inadequate and the vehicle does not handle in a safe manner. According to Subaru, my only recourse is to spent thousands of dollars each year I own the vehicle at their dealership changing brakes and rotors with every oil change. Unacceptable.

The brakes are insufficient for the weight of the vehicle. This has been recognized by the Dealer who sold the vehicle. Rotors warp quickly. Stopping power of the system is insufficient.

At around 18,000 miles when applying the brakes, the vehicle would shake and vibrate. By 20,000 miles the vibration was excessive affecting the ability to steer straight when braking. The dealer told me that they were aware of the issue with this year/model. Diagnosis, warped rotors. Dealer resurfaced rotors and replaced pads under warranty. Vehicle performed fine for a while. At around 36000 miles had the same issue, this time dealer indicated that there was a "fix to the issue", new rotors and pads were installed again covered by warranty. Vehicle performed fine for a while. At around 49,000 miles, the same braking issue, dealer replaced rotors and brakes, this time NO WARRANTY, $610 out of pocket to replace brakes for a know design defect.

The car's braking system has a severe shudder at times, as well as a loud noise, and seems hesitant with stopping abilities. The dealership confirmed the issues, turned the rotors within the first year of ownership. Problem did not improve. The front brakes and rotors were replaced at 24000 miles. Within a couple months problem was occurring again. Dealership said they couldn't duplicate the issues. Had it back in again at 50000 miles (3 years old) and said they need replaced again on front, and now the rear as well.

16000 miles. Front brakes vibrate hard when you press the brake. The whole front of the car vibrates it feels the same when the ABS system vibrates. Really scary sound and vibration.

VEHICLE HAS 6700 MILES. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN TO DEALER 2X ALREADY FOR BRAKE ISSUES. FRONT BRAKES STARTED MAKING VIBRATION, GRINDING AND VIBRATION ISSUES. ISSUE EXACERBATED WHILE GOING DOWNHILL OR LIGHTLY BEING ON THE BRAKES. THEY'VE REPLACED BRAKE ROTORS, PADS AND CALIPERS THE FIRST TIME. SECOND TIME THEY REPLACED PADS AND ROTORS. 250 MILES LATER GOING DOWN HILL THE BRAKES ARE VIBRATING AND MAKING A GROWLING NOISE

FRONT ROTORS AND FRONT BRAKE PADS HEAT UP CAUSING ROTORS TO WARP CAUSING A PULSING AND LOAD NOISE WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED ,VEHICLE HARD TO STOP.

THE VEHICLE HAS 19,000 MILES AND ABOUT 1 WEEK AGO THE BRAKES STARTED MAKING AN ABNORMAL NOISE ALMOST LIKE GRINDING. THE CAR ALSO WOULD VIBRATE AND YOU COULD FEEL IT ON THE STEERING WHEEL. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND TURNS OUT THE BRAKE ROTORS ARE WARPED. THEIR SOLUTION IS TO RESURFACE THE ROTORS AND ALSO RESURFACE THE BRAKE PADS. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS THIS REPAIR DOES NOT SEEM TO BE PROPER DUE THEY HAVE NOT FOUND THE ROOT CAUSE FOR BRAKE ROTOR WARPING. THERE IS ALSO A SUBARU SERVICE BULLETIN ON BRAKE ISSUES. HTTPS://STATIC.NHTSA.GOV/ODI/TSBS/2020/MC-10179409-0001.PDF. MY MAIN CONCERN IS THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY. SUBARU PREFERS TO JUST RESURFACE THE BRAKE ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS AS THIS IS THE LOWEST COST REPAIR FOR THEM, THOUGH THE CAR IS STILL UNDER FULL BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY.

BRAKE PADS NOT REPLACED WHILE AT DEALERSHIP FOR NON-UNIFORM BRAKE ROTORS. I BELIEVE NOT REPLACING THE BRAKE PADS AT THE TIME OF RESURFACING THE BRAKE ROTORS WILL RESULT IN THE BRAKE ROTORS BECOMING NON-UNIFORM AGAIN. THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN FROM SUBARU STATING AN BRAKE PAD DESIGN UPDATE, BUT WAS NOT OFFERED IT BECAUSE THE DEALER DOES NOT BELIEVE THE NON-UNIFORM ROTOR IS CAUSED BY THE OBSOLETE BRAKE PAD DESIGN. VEHICLE HAS AROUND 8,000 MILES AND VIBRATION IN STEERING WHEEL WHEN BRAKING FROM HIGHWAY SPEEDS PROMPTED SERVICE CALL.

RIGHT FRONT ROTOR WARPED DEALER CHANGED AT 6,000 MILES AND ROTOR IS WARPED AGAIN KEEPS HAPPENING (LIBERTY SUBARU EMERSON NJ) DEALER WILL NOT REPLACE THE ROTORS, FRONT OF VEHICLE SHAKES WHEN APPLYING BRAKES ,

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 SUBARU ASCENT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT DURING A COUNTRYWIDE ROAD TRIP AT 70 MPH THE VEHICLE SHOOK AND SHIMMIED WHEN HE APPLIED THE BRAKE GOING DOWNHILL ON A STEEP GRADE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER GROOVE SUBARU (5300 S. BROADWAY, ENGLEWOOD, CO 80113, (720) 279-9409). THE TIRES WERE ROTATED AND THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED TO SEEK A COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC TEST BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHEN HE RETURNED TO HIS RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AUTHORIZED DEALER NEAR HIS RESIDENCE TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE BUT WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 9,500.