Brake light

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Hi all,

I have a 2001 Outback with almost 40k miles.

The 'brake' idiot light on the dash started coming on occasionally,
usually in the morning, turning off before I got to work. The foot
brake seems to still work fine, and I hear no audible warnings. Now it
comes on every morning, and sometimes on the way home.

The thing is, the day-beams of the head-lights go out when the dash
brake light comes on. This is what happens normally when you pull up
on the hand brake and you don't have night-beams on.

My questions are: is this a normal brake lining failure indicator?
Having the lights go out make me think that it just has something to
do with the hand-brake linkage rather than the brake discs. How long
are factory brakes good for?

I know, take it in to be safe and sure, but I'd like to get some
confirmation, since I have the odd head-light variable, to be sure I
don't get taken.

Thanks, Chris

----
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool
than to speak out and remove all doubt"
--Abraham Lincoln
Remove X's from my email address above to reply
[These opinions are personal views only and only my personal views]

 

[Edward Hayes]

Check the brake fluid reservoir level first.

 

[Dave Null Sr.]

message

Check the brake fluid reservoir level first.

Check the brake pad thickness first. According to
people who know these things, this sounds like
time for new pads.

As the pads wear, the caliper cylinders must extend farther using
more fluid which lowers the reservoir level. When the
fluid reaches the point where the pads are at their
thinnest, the brake fluid level sensor lights the
warning light on the dash.

Since your problem seems to be gradual, it sounds to
me exactly like the designed effect.

If your pads seem to be fine, start looking elsewhere.

 

[Henry Paul]

My dad had this same problem on his '95 Impreza. Turns out it was just low
on brake fluid.

What made the fluid low in the first place could be the real problem.

 

[Edward Hayes]

As the brake pads wear they move farther out of the calipers so more fluid
is needed to keep the system full.

My dad had this same problem on his '95 Impreza. Turns out it was just low
on brake fluid.

What made the fluid low in the first place could be the real problem.

--
Henry Paul

Hi all,

I have a 2001 Outback with almost 40k miles.

The 'brake' idiot light on the dash started coming on occasionally,
usually in the morning, turning off before I got to work. The foot
brake seems to still work fine, and I hear no audible warnings. Now it
comes on every morning, and sometimes on the way home.

The thing is, the day-beams of the head-lights go out when the dash
brake light comes on. This is what happens normally when you pull up
on the hand brake and you don't have night-beams on.

My questions are: is this a normal brake lining failure indicator?
Having the lights go out make me think that it just has something to
do with the hand-brake linkage rather than the brake discs. How long
are factory brakes good for?

I know, take it in to be safe and sure, but I'd like to get some
confirmation, since I have the odd head-light variable, to be sure I
don't get taken.

Thanks, Chris

----
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool
than to speak out and remove all doubt"
--Abraham Lincoln
Remove X's from my email address above to reply
[These opinions are personal views only and only my personal views]

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

As Not A Speck Of Cereal <(e-mail address removed)> so eloquently
put:
[] Hi all,
[]
[] I have a 2001 Outback with almost 40k miles.
[]
[] The 'brake' idiot light on the dash started coming on occasionally,
[] usually in the morning, turning off before I got to work.

Thanks all. I guess I'll check the fluid *and* the pads. I guess it
was just confusing that it was a morning only thing (temperature of
fluid changes pressure?), and that the lights would go out as if I had
the parking brake on.

Chris

----
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool
than to speak out and remove all doubt"
--Abraham Lincoln
Remove X's from my email address above to reply
[These opinions are personal views only and only my personal views]

 

[Henry Paul]

My dad's would something like that when my mom would take him to work. The
brake light would be on when she took him to work, and would go out on the
way home. A week later the light stayed on all the time. It ended up low on
fluid. I told him to check the pads too, but he said he still had plenty of
"pedal" and didn't see the need to do the brakes right now.