jp98 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I have a problem on my 98 Outback with my brakes. When the tempatures drop to the minus side of the scale my brake pedal is very hard. If I leave pressure on it it will go back to working normaly. It is defentily tempature related since when it is warm the brakes work great. I was thinking possibly that the fulid is contaminated with a little water and needs to be replaced, or could it be with the master cylinder or a combination of both? TIA Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 jp98, I think that you've hit upon your own solution. If you've never flushed the original brake fluid out of your system since new, then you definitely have water in it that is freezing. Its an easy fix, if you DIY, and inexpensive if you let the service guys do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I have a problem on my 98 Outback with my brakes. When the tempatures drop to the minus side of the scale my brake pedal is very hard. If I leave pressure on it it will go back to working normaly. It is defentily tempature related since when it is warm the brakes work great. I was thinking possibly that the fulid is contaminated with a little water and needs to be replaced, or could it be with the master cylinder or a combination of both? TIA Jim My gut feeling is that it is the master cylinder. There is a tsb that states this fault exaclty as you described. do a search on this, under braking, master cylinder, cold weather brake .. or any other combination you can think of. i dont remeber if the issue affects the 98 or not, but it is exaclty the same failure mode. Good news is i think this is recall item. Go to the NHTSB web site and look at the recalls for your car. Another thing to do is test your power brake booster. With the car off, pump the brakes 10 times (till the pedal gets real hard to push). Put your foot on the brake pedal and start the car. The pedal should go to the floor as the booster does it job. I would try this at below freezing. I woulld rule out water in the brake lines. In order to get enough water in the system to freeze all 4 brakes, you would have to put a few ounces of water in the system. Also since your brakes work great when hot, if you had water in the fluid, the water would quickly boil and you would have dangerous brake fade. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4620 Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I'm not sure about a 98, but I know my 99 OBW had a recall on the master cylender for pretty much that same thing...in the cold the brakes have no power assist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp98 Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 I checked but didn't see any recalls on the brakes for my year. I guess that today I'll change out the fulid and see what happens. Then on Monday I'll call the dealer and see what they show as far as recalls. I checked the past post on this problem and they sound just like what I have== a solid pedal that after holding pressure on it will go down and then the brakes are fine. It isn't bad if you expect it but if anybody else drove the car it could get real interesting. Thanks Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 It isn't bad if you expect it but if anybody else drove the car it could get real interesting. Thanks Jim well not something i would want to test ina panic stop application either. Good luck and be careful nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordo Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 My brake pedel in my 97 outback seems to be frozen, it is cold out right now, its minus 21 with a wind chill of minus 31. Today is the first time and it happened twice. It seems to be frozen for about 20 seconds and then the power assit kicks in. I will try letting the car idel for a few minutes to see if that will help as I am just starting and driving right away. At least the heated seat work fine. Maybe I should move south? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 My brake pedel in my 97 outback seems to be frozen, it is cold out right now, its minus 21 with a wind chill of minus 31. Today is the first time and it happened twice. It seems to be frozen for about 20 seconds and then the power assit kicks in. I will try letting the car idel for a few minutes to see if that will help as I am just starting and driving right away. At least the heated seat work fine. Maybe I should move south? Replace the power break booster. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 My brake pedel in my 97 outback seems to be frozen, it is cold out right now, its minus 21 with a wind chill of minus 31. Today is the first time and it happened twice. It seems to be frozen for about 20 seconds and then the power assit kicks in. I will try letting the car idel for a few minutes to see if that will help as I am just starting and driving right away. At least the heated seat work fine. Maybe I should move south? Replace the power break booster. Test it : Once you get it to work, shut the car off and pump the pedal 5 times. With your foot on the break pedal start the car. If the pedal doesnt move its the booster, if it does its the master cylinder. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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