Need a little help figuring this one out guys...

[06TribecaMD]

06 Tribeca, 30k miles on her.....

Story: about 20" of snow, first time in a good 5 years I've had that much snow here in Southern Maryland. What better chance to take the ol subbie out and see how she handles and what fun she can be. After a good 20 mins of donuts and then a drifting competition against a few 4x4 Ford, Chevies and Dodges (which of course the Subaru took the crown) I put her away.

NO signs of damage, didnt hit any curbs, hard snow piles, cars, mail boxes, etc...

Problem: take turns fast, or accelerate from a stop hard, anything other then babying it or driving it like a Grand Pa, causes my "BRAKE" light to come on. I dont feel brakes catching any of the 4 corners, no squealing no nothing. Light goes off only when I push the brake pedal hard enough to feel it grab...

Any ideas? Thanks in advance

[awd_envy]

Have you checked the brake fluid level?

[06TribecaMD]

I have not....but only because I keep forgetting to.

I figured that the fluid should not have gotten low from a few donuts and drifts. But then again some of you may understnad the AWD system better then me, does it use brakes to control slipping? If so, that may be the problem right there!

[awd_envy]

The BRAKE light in a car is usually only used for 3 things, but if you find something else let us know. I'd be interested.

The three I'm aware of:

(most probable) Brake fluid is low. It works like your gas light... When your gas light comes on, you don't assume a fuel injection issue right?:lol: (I say this is your most probable, because you say the BRAKE light turns on in corners or rappid movements. These rapid movements causes the "low fluid" floater to rise and sink above and below the low fluid line, and that would turn on the light.)
Anti-Lock is currently on. (your probably not looking at the dash when this is happening :eek:)
Emergency or Parking Brake is engaged.Any malfunction of the BRAKE system is most likely going to be reported to the On Board Diagnostics system (OBDII) and you'll get a check engine light, not illuminate the BRAKE light.

[06TribecaMD]

ah ok, probably and hopefully only a low brake fluid issue. I will check that today and get back to you!

Thanks

[06TribecaMD]

now, if it is a low brake fluid issue.....that would lead me to believe that the AWD system somehow uses the brakes on each corner to try to control slippage. Meaning when I was doing donuts for about 20 mins straight with only maybe 1 or 2 30 second breaks in between, the braking system was probably trying to stop all teh spinning, and caused a lot of brake fluid to be used

[wrx-boy]

chimin' in a little late but I've had my fair share of fresh snow and unplowed parking lots too in all my Subies. I'm guessing after this session, the wheel wells and rims were pretty packed with snow? Then it was pretty cold so the melted snow on metal parts froze and packed in a nice layer of ice causing everthing to tighten up a bit thus tossin' you a nice RED LIGHT.

Once it warms up or you park outside in the sun for a bit you'll probably see this light dissappear. :rolleyes:

Hopefully since I'm posting 3-4 days after you had the issue it's already cleared up though....just my .02 :tup:

[Tribeca_06]

thats weird..congrats on ur win...doesnt the BRAKE refer to the parking break? maybe something is lose or just a faulty wire...bring to the dealer?

[Subiesan]

So if it's not the fluid level, then my recommendation would be to check your wheels/brake areas for packed snow, and or loose ABS sensors. I actually had a sensor come loose on the left front wheel on my 05 LGT after some snownuts. Not sure if this was a result of the dealer replacing the pads (which I now do myself) or something else. Once I put the sensor back in it's location, and the system could detect sensor activity, the light went out.

And, you shouldn't be losing brake fluid from the application of the TCS, unless you're really wearing down the pads and that would lead me to search for other answers as well...

[ralliartist]

Mine had a faulty wire connection when I first bought it. The "BRAKE" light would come on and only go off if I pushed it down far enough for it to catch slightly. I took it in and they fixed it no problem.

Just take it to the dealership.

[06TribecaMD]

alright guys, sorry for such a long delay in getting back to you...

NO obvious signs under the truck of broken wires, sensors, etc...Brake fluid is full..... guess i gotta go see a dealer