2000 Outback Legacy noise when turning left and parking brake light on all the time

[stefaniehauck]

My parking brake light is on all the time and when I steer to the left, I hear a clunking noise like something is banging or rubbing against something else. The parking brake light stays on only when it is below 34 degrees. My husband has looked under the car 3x and cannot see anything loose. I also started to experience a slight shimmey while driving on a straightaway a couple of days ago when the cold weather set in. Could this be my rack & pinion steering? I just got new tires a month ago and all 4 were balanced and aligned at that time. The suspension was checked then too. I had a bad shimmey before the new tires were put on but the Subaru mechanic said it was because of the old tires. Just wondering what is going on and if I can drive it for another week until I take it into the dealer. thanks.

[SovereignAxe]

Those might not necessarily be related, although it would be surprising if they weren't.

Still, the clunking noise could be due to a a bad constant velocity (CV) joint. It's the joint that allows the engine to transfer power to the front wheels, but still allow the wheels to pivot left and right so you can steer. check to see if the boots on them have torn. they're black and shaped kinda like a round accordion. If it's torn or you can see a thick grease splattered all over your wheel well, you've probably got a bad CV joint.

does this clunking noise happen only when the parking light is on? if that's the case, it's probably an electrical issue that you'll need someone more qualified than us to look at.

[stefaniehauck]

There isn't any grease leaking anywhere so its not the CV joint. My husband looked underneath and neither one is cracked, torn or leaking. Probably has something to do with the parking brake being loose or the parking brake cable going bad.

[subiesailor]

Does the brake hold the car or is it kinda operational? Thinking you have two issues worn CV joints that are getting a little noisy this generally is noticed by clicking sounds while making tight turns in say a parking lot. And the parking brake can actually get jammed by ice or snow in the on position even if you have released the handle.

Now the shake when your driving could be related to the worn CV joint or joints or could simply be brake rotors reaching the end of their life assuming the shake is most noticed when stepping on the brake lightly or even hard both cases the shake gets worse?

Given the age of the car this is my guess

The shake is = old rotors starting to hit the replacement point
The clunking or clicking sound if it happens when turning tight in parking lots are worn CV joints it happens
Or the clunk could be bushings on the transmission or drive line getting tired and worn out and the clunk is the movement thats happening due to tired bushings.

The parking brake could be worn out - or getting jammed by snow or ice in the on position keeping the dash light on till the ice or snow is cleared by heat. Or it could have dirt or a broken spring causing it to not fully release when the handle is released.

[plain OM]

Probably nothing wrong with the parking brake. More likely, the brake fluid level in the reservoir is low.

The reservoir has a float that will signal when the level gets too low. As the ambient temperature drops, the brake fluid contracts, and if it gets low, the brake light comes on. As the ambient temperature goes up, or even as the engine compartment warms up, the light will go out because the fluid has expanded up to the min level.

The brake fluid should be at the FULL mark at 60-70F. If it's below, it will likely trigger the light when the temperature drops to near freezing.

The development of shimmy "when the cold weather set in" could be a similar situation -- low pressure in one or more tires due to the drop in temperature.

Check the level of the brake fluid in the reservoir, and the tire pressures.