CybrFyre

Can you clarify what you mean by "primary circuit"? First time I've heard this terminology used w.r.t. brakes. Do you mean the front brakes are not engaging?

Thanks all for the numerous replies. I need to spend some time I haven't had yet reading through them. A couple of quick bits to chew on... 1) Evidently I had sticky calipers (pistons on said calipers) on the rear brakes causing those to stick from time to time. This evidently also got really bad in the last month. The pads in the course of a month went from 6/32 to 2/32... ouch! Prior to that they were wearing at a pretty normal rate. So, rear pads and rotors replaced (rotors were also really rusty and grooved) and the pistony thingamajigs in the calipers were lubed up so that the calipers were again moving as calipers should. Supposedly the front calipers are moving just fine. Of note, when I got home, I did notice a big round groove on the right rear rotor. Anything to worry about there? It seemed to smooth out next time I drove the car then seemed worse again back home (I have a feeling light is affecting how bad it looks). I can't seem to find a straight answer on the net about those grooves. No noticable grooves in the left rear or in the front. In the few miles I've driven the car (don't drive a heck of a lot as I have decent bus service to and from work) I have noticed the pedal sometimes seems to "catch" and feel stiffer when pressing the brakes and sometimes seems to feel like it starts to catch then something decides that there's too much pressure in the system or that the pedal is too high and adjusts the pedal back down a bit as I'm pressing it. I am, of course, only noticing this during light braking such as gradually coming to a stop. 2) I had previously tried the brake booster test. Car off, I can maybe pump up the break pedal a tad pressing the pedal repeatedly. Other than that, nope, can't pump it up. Does not get tight or hard to press. Light pressure on pedal and turn on car and the pedal does indeed sink down a bit as it seems the pedal is supposed to. 3) Front rotors are "warped" according to the dealer, which to me says that there's really brake pad material on them. Previously, I rebedded the brakes and this helped for a while (until I had to hard brake a few times to avoid various creatures crossing the road in my path). I'm wondering if the vibration from the extra material on the front brakes is enough to throw off whatever adjuster mechanisms are there -- note that during the usual gradual braking I don't really feel any vibration, but the question remains nonetheless. Thanks!

Hi. 2005 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. When I first had the car, the pedal was exactly the right firmness and exactly the right travel to engage the brakes. One day, after a routine service (at this point, I don't recall what they were doing), there was excessive travel before the brakes would engage. The car would still stop just fine, but a noticable extra amount of travel. While one gets used to this, when switchin back and forth between cars, especially, the extra travel becomes quite obvious. For a few years after that, whenever the car was serviced, the brakes would be back exactly where they were supposed to be, but only for a few days. Then back to excessive pedal travel, again. And now, as of about a year ago, I'd say, the brake pedal sometimes (not always... might do it many times in a row, etc) will sink a bit as I'm pressing it down. Especially in the case of trying to brake gradually, this makes where the brakes grab a moving target. You migtht be slowing then the pedal will sink a bit causing you to press further then the brakes suddenly grab hold. There will also sometimes be a slight sinking when sitting at a stop light. It's almost as if the bit that decides how much pressure should be in the brakes isn't working right. The claim from the dealer is that this bit of sinking is a normal function of the system to keep the brake system from overpressurizing and blowing out. And while that might be true, the brakes did not used to do this. Any thoughts? Thanks.