NHTSA complaint: 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK — SERVICE BRAKES
I BELIEVE MY ANTI-LOCK BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED ON MY 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK AND IF THIS IS THE CASE THEN SOMEONE IN AUTO SAFETY DATA COLLECTION NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT IT. I WAS DRIVING DOWN AN OFF RAMP DURING SNOWY CONDITIONS. I APPLIED MY BRAKES AT AROUND 35 MPH AND THEY ABRUPTLY LOCKED UP. THERE WAS NO SHUTTER/SHIMMER EFFECT THAT I MIGHT EXPECT WITH ANTI-LOCK BRAKES AS THEY GO ON AND OFF WHILE TRYING TO GRIP THE ROAD. I APPLIED THEM AGAIN WITH THE SAME JOLT FOLLOWED BY SLIDING. I TRIED THIS SEVERAL TIMES AS I APPROACHED THE INTERSECTION. THOUGH THE LONG OFF RAMP DID SLOW ME DOWN, AT ABOUT 15 MPH (I THINK) I PLOWED THE LEFT FRONT OF MY CAR INTO THE FORD RANGER IN FRONT OF ME. THIS IMPRESSIVELY CRUSHED THE LEFT FRONT SIDE OF MY CAR AND MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE POINT OF IMPACT WAS THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FRONT BUMPER, BUT IT HIT AT THE UPPER 2-3 INCHES OF THE BUMPER. I'M NOT SURE IF THE AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED WITH THIS TYPE OF IMPACT, BUT IF THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DEPLOY THEN SOMEONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT IT TOO. *TR
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation