2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: Backwards E-brake

Executive Editor Paukert has already complained about one button located on the panel to the left of the steering wheel in our long-term 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT. But now that the keys have traded hands and I've got a beef to share about a different button.

The electronic parking brake is the biggest "button" in the cluster, but it's not so much a button as a push/pull-type switch. Fitted with a manual transmission, we tend to set the parking brake every time we exit the car, so the switch gets a lot of use.

However, Subaru has set up the switch in the exact opposite orientation you'd expect. Every time I go to set the parking brake, I pull it. Every time I go to turn it off, I push it. Unfortunately, it works the other way around. I think what's going on is that my muscle memory is trying to replicate what I would do with a more traditional parking brake lever, i.e. pull to set, push to release. I suppose someone could argue the exact opposite, that pushing to engage and pulling to release makes total sense (because that's how the door on a microwave works?), but we've heard from other late-model Subaru owners that this switch is a source of frustration for them as well, and many other vehicles that we've driven with similar e-brake levers work in the opposite fashion.

For now, we must remember that in this digital age of ours, new technology doesn't necessarily mimic its analog counterpart, which means I'm stuck pulling when I should pushing until my brain decides to relent.

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