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