My wife's 2013 Outback (2.4, 53k miles) has developed a rather strange braking issue. About a week or so ago she noticed that there seemed to be more pedal travel than usual. She believes the problem came on either suddenly or over a short period of time. The symptom is that there is indeed more pedal travel than in the past, but at the end of the additional travel braking action seems normal. Short stabs of the pedal at walking speeds are normal, but at any speed above about 10 mph the additional travel becomes evident. Brake boost and pedal effort are normal, and as you depress the pedal you can feel a light resistance when the booster activates and this is where braking action has begun in the past, but now there is some strange additional travel before braking action begins.
Brake fluid level is normal, and a visual inspection of the system including calipers reveals nothing unusual (no signs of any leakage or seeps.) Brake pads are somewhat worn but not at wear limits (original pads, evenly worn, commensurate with the mileage on the vehicle.) I bled the system at each caliper, nothing unusual noticed and no improvement. I also generated some ABS activations on a dirt road, operation seemed normal, no change in problem. Also there are no fault codes present associated with the braking system (using the Subaru-specific program on an Autel scanner.)
Not sure where to go from here since there is no obvious problem yet there is definitely a different feel, although it might not be obvious to someone not familiar with the vehicle. From an old-school perspective the feel might suggest a leaky master cylinder, but that seems kind of doubtful on such a relatively low-miles vehicle. I could change the pads, calipers, etc. but that seems like throwing parts at the problem because there is really zero evidence that they are a factor.
Has anyone run into this before?
TIA from the new guy...
Brake fluid level is normal, and a visual inspection of the system including calipers reveals nothing unusual (no signs of any leakage or seeps.) Brake pads are somewhat worn but not at wear limits (original pads, evenly worn, commensurate with the mileage on the vehicle.) I bled the system at each caliper, nothing unusual noticed and no improvement. I also generated some ABS activations on a dirt road, operation seemed normal, no change in problem. Also there are no fault codes present associated with the braking system (using the Subaru-specific program on an Autel scanner.)
Not sure where to go from here since there is no obvious problem yet there is definitely a different feel, although it might not be obvious to someone not familiar with the vehicle. From an old-school perspective the feel might suggest a leaky master cylinder, but that seems kind of doubtful on such a relatively low-miles vehicle. I could change the pads, calipers, etc. but that seems like throwing parts at the problem because there is really zero evidence that they are a factor.
Has anyone run into this before?
TIA from the new guy...