Logan's '96 Legacy brake problem

VDCdriver
Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:59:49 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

On today’s show (1/17/08), Logan from Reno stated that her brake pedal has no effect on the brakes during early morning periods in the winter. While it is possible that Tom & Ray were correct about a brake line collapsing or about moisture in the brake fluid, there is also another possibility.

Back around 1998 or so, Subaru announced a recall of some '96 and '97 Legacy and Outback models. The reason for the recall was–are you ready?–the exact symptoms reported by Logan. The “cure” was to replace the defective master cylinder, which is affected by low temperatures.

On the chance that her car is one of the recalled vehicles with a defective master cylinder, she should call her Subaru dealer’s service dept, give them the VIN, and ask if there are any outstanding recalls on that vehicle. They should be able to pull up the information on their computer system very quickly, and if hers is one of the affected vehicles, she should be able to have the master cylinder replaced free-of-charge. Safety-related recalls never expire!

On a related topic–Why do so few people actually take advantage of recalls, despite the fact that they receive a notice in the mail from the manufacturer? While it is true that some recalls have to do with very trivial matters, this one is a perfect example of a recall that could be a matter of life or death.

Free repairs as a result of a factory recall. Why would someone NOT take advantage of this?

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