Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Subaru WRX owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Antilock braking system engages on dry pavement when it encounters bumps, pedal goes almost to the floor and braking force is severely reduced. I have driven many cars with ABS and nothing like this has ever happened to me. I have sort of learned to "drive around" the problem, but on a couple of occasions where emergency braking was called for it has nearly caused me to get into an accident - once forcing me to drive up onto and over a curb and into a ditch. Destroying one of my wheels in the process. Someone ran a red light and I couldnt stop from 30 MPH in what would have been plenty of room with a normal braking system. …
While returning to las vegas from a camping trip on ventura freeway near the tarzana exit our 2003 WRX experienced a loss of braking at approximately 25 MPH in stop and go traffic on clear, dry, rain grooved highway. My wife was driving the WRX at the time and she reported that the ABS kicked in and then "let go" causing her car to roll into mine (pulling our camp trailer), she struck the trailer doing about 5 to 7 MPH. Damage to her WRX was in excess of $5K, damage to trailer and my car was cosmetic only. A similar incident occurred while I was driving the WRX on the way to camping site, same symptoms but no traffic to avoid...I assumed that road condition was probable fault. My wife noticed that the ABS seemed too sensitive shortly after purchase of vehicle. After about a month it went away. …
My 2002 Subaru WRX sedan has displayed unreliable ABS behavior. This has resulted in my first accident in 10 years of driving. The car appears to loose virtually all breaking power when encountering any road imperfections. While the ABS system should engage in such an even, it should disengage as soon as it clears the problem. However, while driving, I have noticed the WRX continues to loose breaking power. While driving down a 35-MPH road, I encountered a minor collision caused by a car being obstructed or cut off. Normally at this speed I would assume 5-6 car lengths to be sufficient to stop the car, but while breaking I encountered a small dip in the road surface. When the car passed over the dip, the ABS engaged, after that point the car continued to loose breaking power until I collided with the car ahead of me. …
Antilock brake failure caused accident. A vechicle in front of me stopped quickly so I applied the brakes with moderate to heavy pressure. Although I was going only 30-35 MPH and had several car lengths to stop, the brakes locked and the pedal went soft and I was unable to control the car causing me to rear-end the vechicle in front of me. I have had similar incidents in the past with the WRX where the ABS would trigger when going over a bump with moderate brake pressure and the pedal would go soft (rather than the kickback I expect with ABS), but it was never in a situation that would cause an accident. The accident occured on dry pavement, at the posted speed limit, and I do not recall whether I hit a bump during the incident triggering the brake problem. Given the distance and the speed, I should have been able to stop well before hitting the car in front of me. …
I experience dbrake failure with my 2002 Subaru WRX during a moderate speed (about 35 MPH) emergency panic stop, resulting in my sliding into a truck that cut me off and caused damage to my car and his truck. The date listed below May be incorrect because I don't have the date with me right now, but it is within a few months of the incident. The road surface was fairly dry and slightly bumpy and after stomping on the brakes they went all the way down with no pulsing and very little stopping. I felt like I was on ice with no ABS. I commented to my insurance company during my initial call reporting the accident that I felt I had plenty of time to stop and that the brakes just "slid". I also reported it to my local Subaru dealership who checked it out after the accident after the body work was done and found no problems. …
Driving during very light rain in left lane about 30 MPH, car in front (about 2-3 car-lengths ahead) starts braking. I pressed the brakes and ABS came on without any reason, the car did not slow down almost at all, forcing me to switch the lane quickly to the right. While switching lanes, car started skidding and diving the nose to the right/tail to the left, I tried to correct the nose to the left, but that caused a more dangerous skid to the left, toward oncoming traffic. I turned the wheel right again, trying to regain control, but the car spun out and hit a tree on right side of road with the driver's door. I was taken to a hospital and stayed there overnight for observation, released next day. Nobody was injured, the tree had a few very small scratches. I am still waiting to find out if the car will be repairable or totaled.
While driving on a residential street, well within acceptable speeds, approaching a right hand turn with no traffic I slightly moved left on the road (over the bump strip, but not into the other lane) to get a smoother angle into the turn.upon braking, the drivers front tire squealed/slid, no ABS pulse and brake pedal was far closer to the floor than normal.I let off and downsifted to no avail.I hit the curb (only, thankfully) but did extensive damage to my car rendering it undrivable.I now have no faith in my once cherished car and once it is repaired am contemplating replacing it.why havent they fixed this???????!?!?!?
I drive a 2002 Subaru impreza WRX sedan. The ABS system is terrible on this vehicle and has numerous times failed to apply pressure to the brake system, regardless of pedal position. One time specifically this caused me to not be able to avoid hitting a deer, and doing 4000 dollars of damage to my vehicle. The dealership denies any problems, but I way more than enough stopping distance where any vehicle should have been able to stop. The surface was rough asphalt. I was going approximated 55 MPH (speed limit), and was 200 ft away from the deer when I first applied pressure to the brake pedal.
The vehicle failed to slow down and subsequent hard braking LED to loss of control. The rear end swayed to the right and hit the right barrier, then turned around, front right hit the left barrier. The vehicle had history of not being able to stop on surfaces with the slightest bumps, as found on exit ramps and intersections. The vehicle was checked prior to the accident for the brakes by the dealer and had found no problem. Subaru declined to look at the vehicle after the accident for possible manufacturing defect regarding the ABS. It is still in my garage for possible inspection.
ABS brake performance - the ABS over reacts to uneven or slick surfaces and fully engages reducing braking effectiveness. This can be caused by rippled or uneven pavement or a manhole cover and can happen under any braking condition from moderate to heavy braking. The only way to regain braking is to let off and then reapply the brakes, the exact opposite of what I've been taught about ABS. This condition eventually resulted in a crash and $7000 damage to my vehicle in a braking situation where I don't feel ABS action was warranted.
NHTSA investigations
Braking system/ABS
Subaru's supplemental response of September 29, 2003, identified that the 2002, 2003 Subaru wrx models areequipped with the Bosch 5.3 ABS system, and identified that other model Subaru vehicles are also equipped with the Bosch 5.3 ABS system, but have different calibrations than the wrx model vehicles.Subaru identified that changes were made in the ABS ECU to address a calibration logic issue when driving the…
Extended stopping distances
During the ea, odi and vrtc performed the following activities:1.conducted a mail survey of 246 subject vehicle owners todetermine the roadway surface that caused owners' concern;2.interviewed complaining owners;3.conducted field inspections of seven (7) complaint vehicles;4.instrumented testing at vrtc of complaint and peer vehicles;5.reviewed Subaru's response to our information request;6.met with Subaru for…
Brake complaints in other WRX years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2002 Subaru WRX?
NHTSA has 80 complaints about the brakes of the 2002 Subaru WRX, 19% of the model year's 427 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (54 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Subaru WRX brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2002 Subaru WRX, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Subaru WRX brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 22,000 miles, and 54% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 14 crashes, 0 fires and 8 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.