Soldato
Anyone else wonder why the OPs driving style seems to require ABS to kick in so often? As for the OP - get it fixed, life or death things need fixing.
Andi.
Andi.
How hard is it supposed to be?
- Thread starter FoxEye
- Start date
I'm not an aggressive driver so I don't brake hard. Besides in a 1.3 Yaris I can only do 60 mph downhill with a tail wind
The problem is normally encountered on wet country lanes. Which is where I do a lot of driving (Cornwall, y'all). Having a road surface that isn't mud is a luxury down here.
The accident where I had to ditch in the hedge actually occurred at somewhere between 10 and 20 mph. The chap in front (in an expensive 4x4) was pulling out of the junction onto the main road, and I was behind him. The road was sloping downwards. For an unknown reason he stops to look at something half way through pulling out (full stop). I brake (gently as low speed) and ABS kicks in. No resistance - at all (I'm not the world's strongest man btw), pedal straight to floor; gravelly sounding crunching/grinding noise. Not the hammer-like/vibration-like action people have been describing in this thread.
That was a year or two ago. The most recent cases of ABS kicking in were similar downward sloping roads in wet condidions at very low speeds. Ie slowing to a full stop at a junction on a downwards slope. The ABS kicks in and I have no brakes at all. I use the handbrake to stop the car at the junction. Handbrake appears fully effective.
How often is my ABS kicking in? I'll wire you £20 right now if you can tell me.
Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Jul 2013
- Posts
- 8,570
I didn't know my old Alfa had it until I'd owned it for about 6 months
, and that was on a country lane with stones and dirt which made it kick it.It does seem as though the OP likes a bit of forum confrontation
Permabanned
You don’t necessarily have to be driving like a goon to activate the abs especially if something isn’t working correctly. It happened to me when I was driving through a country lane at a safe speed when I met a car coming the other way, I tried to brake which I should have easily been able to do abs kicked in and I very nearly plowed straight into the car coming the other way, to the point I tried to steer into the hedge to stop myself. Luckily I managed to just stop without causing any damage.
As I said I had issues with mine which showed up as an implausible signal on one of my sensors. When the mechanic connected his snap-on diagnostic system and told me to take him for a drive, it was clearly showing up as an erratic signal at the moment the abs would kick in. Replaced the sensor and all was well.
well now we know why the abs is kicking in.
I just wanted to discuss the ABS. It seems some people want to make my threads confrontational because of my views in GD. I'm happy for this one not to be (confrontational).
I don't drive aggressively and that is not why ABS is kicking in. Assertions that I'm a bad driver are baseless. I could be, or I might not be - you don't have any information either way.
I'm getting the Goodyear Vector4 All-Season tyre - it was recommended by Honest Johns who seems to have a fairly good reputation. I am a car noob tho.
I was told this is a good choice for mud and leaves and wet roads (etc) as found on country lanes.
KwikFit (who I've never used before) happened to be the cheapest price online.
Soldato
You don't need to be driving aggressively, if the front tyres are near the end of their useful life and you're on slippy surfaces then it'll kick in.
Perhaps see if it's any different with the new tyres, but if a car was making me reach for the handbrake to stop it - I'd want it looked at sharpish!
Perhaps see if it's any different with the new tyres, but if a car was making me reach for the handbrake to stop it - I'd want it looked at sharpish!
I'm quite happy for it to kick in, the problem is I'm not sure it's behaving as it's supposed to when it does.
Having no braking and no resistance in the brake pedal is a cause for concern! Esp when the handbrake works.
If the handbrake didn't work I'd obviously have no grip from the tyres. But ABS causes the brakes to disengage completely when the handbrake is still effective.
It doesn't add up to me.
Anyway who would be the best bet to investigate this? I won't hold out much hope of KwikFit finding anything - I might not even say anything to them at all and just see if their free brake inspection gives the all-clear.
I'm guessing a good independent local garage is going to be the answer? finding one is the problem!
as he said
If you thought there was something compromising your safety or that of other road users .. get it looked at ... obviously its illegal to be driving with a major safety defect.
most people will have tried-out abs at some time, empty wet road, a few leaves or a bit of frost to know how it feels too, although,
admittedly, haven't probably done that for 15 years myself, or, indeed, used it.
Independant garages with a bit of notice, are going to have a mechanic who will do a quick test drive to give some feedback, with the enticement that they will get the work,
pick a wet day.
EDIT: scratch this I'm just stupidly repeating what others already said.
Caporegime
Don’t bother with Krap fit you may as well take it to a local Zoo and ask the monkeys to take a look , as already said your abs should be something you barely ever feel kicking in (I can’t remember the last time it activated on my car or truck) and I don’t recall the pedal going to the floor in such a situation, the last time I found the pedal at the floor and needing to use the handbrake was when the master cylinder failed on an old Escort RS Turbo....
Frankly if your having to use the handbrake to stop then you shouldn’t be driving the car imo.
Finding a good garage isn’t easy especially in rural locations.
https://www.goodgaragescheme.com/
Enter your postcode here and see who comes up locally.
, as already said your abs should be something you barely ever feel kicking in (I can’t remember the last time it activated on my car or truck) and I don’t recall the pedal going to the floor in such a situation, the last time I found the pedal at the floor and needing to use the handbrake was when the master cylinder failed on an old Escort RS Turbo....Frankly if your having to use the handbrake to stop then you shouldn’t be driving the car imo.
Finding a good garage isn’t easy especially in rural locations.
https://www.goodgaragescheme.com/
Enter your postcode here and see who comes up locally.
Man of Honour
Kiwk fit won't find anything they'll change your tyres (probably do it wrong), look at your pads (probably tell you you need new ones even if you change them just before you go in) and then rattle gun the wheel nuts on so they're now a permanent fixture.
You need to take it to a proper garage and you need to do it now, you're driving a car with brakes you know are faulty which is madness.
You need to take it to a proper garage and you need to do it now, you're driving a car with brakes you know are faulty which is madness.
Associate
Unfortunately I'd say you give enough information in this thread to make the statement that you are a bad driver. Not necessarily because of your driving ability but because of your seemingly cavalier attitude to what sounds an extremely dangerous fault. From your own posts you've been having this problem intermittently as your ABS kicks in for a "year or two". You've already informed us you've had to ditch into a hedge because of this fault, and that you've had to use the handbrake to bring yourself to a complete stop these are not normal situations and are something any "good" driver would be attending too immediately as they occur.
If you genuinely loose all / most braking as your ABS kicks in then this fault is insanely dangerous and if you are still driving knowing this then you absolutely fit the description of being a bad driver. Imagine if it was a child that stepped out in front of you and you couldn't stop in time injuring or even killing them? I imagine the authorities would take a rather dim view of the situation if this fault was deemed to be responsible and they then stumbled across this thread letting them know you have known about the fault for at least "a year or two"
This fault is extremely dangerous. You could potentially kill yourself or someone else because of this and the car needs booking in to be looked at by a qualified technician urgently. The only driving you should be doing is an incredibly careful one to a garage that is as local as possible and this car simply shouldn't be being used on the road.
After the hedge ditching incident I did take the car to a local garage and ended up with a £250 repair bill (mostly for the wheel damage).
I asked the chap then to test the brakes and he said he "drove it a bit" and everything looked fine.
I don't believe everything is fine as per this thread, but I don't think the law would require me to keep seeking 2nd or 3rd opinions (at my own cost) after the first mechanic gave the all-clear. I am not a qualified mechanic so I must take his word for it.
I have very limited experience of ABS because I don't recall triggering it in the works vehicles I drive/drove. Perhaps once...
So at least my driving style isn't to blame here.
I asked the chap then to test the brakes and he said he "drove it a bit" and everything looked fine.
I don't believe everything is fine as per this thread, but I don't think the law would require me to keep seeking 2nd or 3rd opinions (at my own cost) after the first mechanic gave the all-clear. I am not a qualified mechanic so I must take his word for it.
I have very limited experience of ABS because I don't recall triggering it in the works vehicles I drive/drove. Perhaps once...
So at least my driving style isn't to blame here.
If you have no confidence in the car, and it is "just" a Yaris, and you are chasing your tail....I would just flog it and get another one/something else. There are better things in life to be doing than taking a Yaris to multiple garages to diagnose an obscure/hard to find issue.
Am I the only one sat here thinking you need to change your driving style if you are having ABS kick in often enough that this is a major concern? Either that or something about the car setup aint right.
I cant recall the last time I had ABS kick in on the roads.... genuinely... cant.
I cant recall the last time I had ABS kick in on the roads.... genuinely... cant.
Soldato
Indeed, and it's quite normal with certain Toyotas for the pedal to sink to the floor if you press it hard while the car is stationary. My girlfriend's old Auris did it, and I've driven Yarises that do it. Something to do with how the ABS/EBD system is set up.
Perhaps OP's tyres are ancient and knackered and crap as well.
Fair point. It's quite old now as well being a 2003 model. I like the car but I'm not sentimental
2-3 times a year that I remember. Bear in mind we're talking Cornish back roads/lanes. Ie covered in leaves or loose gravel.
If I just drove on the main roads I probably would be in the same camp as you and have never even seen it kick in once. I've not once needed to do an emergency stop in all the time I've been driving, btw. Which is since about 2010.
It's a major concern regardless of how often it happens tho. Once is enough
Anyway I'm booked in at a garage from the GoodGarageScheme and it's only costing £40 for them to have a look. So not too bad for some peace of mind.
They are/were - just had new ones this morning. I'm not surprised ABS is kicking in, it's just the behaviour when they do that bothers me.
Interesting info anyhow. Well I'll let you all know in a couple weeks what the result was. In the meantime I'll avoid country lanes
Soldato
You don't have 60psi in your tires do you?