Brake Question

[CopperX]

Hi,

I have a 4th gen from 2004 with about 165,000 mile. Services at the dealership every 5,000 miles.

Stopped at a red light on my way home yesterday and when the car in front of me started moving, I followed as usual. All the sudden the car in front of me stopped fully and I slam on the break (all the way) and steered my car towards to the driver side. My car stopped right before it slam into the car in the front but, about a half of a second, without me lifting my foot from the brake paddle, my car just moved a little and it tapped the bumper on the car in the front.

Fortunately, nothing major happened other than some scratches on my bumper cover.

Do you guys have similar experience? Is it normal for the car to nudge a little after I fully engaged the brake (or ABS system)?

 

[Jeffy]

Hi,

I have a 4th gen from 2004 with about 165,000 mile. Services at the dealership every 5,000 miles.

Stopped at a red light on my way home yesterday and when the car in front of me started moving, I followed as usual. All the sudden the car in front of me stopped fully and I slam on the break (all the way) and steered my car towards to the driver side. My car stopped right before it slam into the car in the front but, about a half of a second, without me lifting my foot from the brake paddle, my car just moved a little and it tapped the bumper on the car in the front.

Fortunately, nothing major happened other than some scratches on my bumper cover.

Do you guys have similar experience? Is it normal for the car to nudge a little after I fully engaged the brake (or ABS system)?

Sounds like you weren't going fast enough for ABS to kick in, you didn't hear the beeping did you?

Are you sure it wasn't just weight transfer?

 

[CopperX]

Sounds like you weren't going fast enough for ABS to kick in, you didn't hear the beeping did you?

Are you sure it wasn't just weight transfer?

Thanks for the quick reply.

No, I did not hear any beeping while or after I depressed the brake. I was pretty certain I had it all the way down and did not move my foot.

As far as "weight transfer" goes, are you talking about the momentum force when your car comes to a full stop?

 

[Jeffy]

As far as "weight transfer" goes, are you talking about the momentum force when your car comes to a full stop?

Basically, yes. More like the "nose dive" / body roll. It can really feel like your car scoots forward a few extra inches sometimes.

 

[CopperX]

Basically, yes. More like the "nose dive" / body roll. It can really feel like your car scoots forward a few extra inches sometimes.

Well.. in my case, in didn't just "feel" like my car scooted forward a few inches. It did scoot a few inches just enough to bump into the bumper of the front car. It felt more like it skidded a bit.

So, in general, I should hear beeping noises when ABS kicked it? How fast should I be going so the ABS would kick in when I depress the brake fully?

 

[Jeffy]

Well.. in my case, in didn't just "feel" like my car scooted forward a few inches. It did scoot a few inches just enough to bump into the bumper of the front car. It felt more like it skidded a bit.

So, in general, I should hear beeping noises when ABS kicked it? How fast should I be going so the ABS would kick in when I depress the brake fully?

You should know when it kicks in, the dash will beep and light up, and you'll feel the car shuddering as the brakes pulse.

It only happens when you're going fast enough to lose traction with aggressive braking, which it doesn't sound like you were doing. Maybe you skidded just enough to let the tires slip, but not enough to let the ABS kick in? That would be my guess.

 

[CopperX]

You should know when it kicks in, the dash will beep and light up, and you'll feel the car shuddering as the brakes pulse.

It only happens when you're going fast enough to lose traction with aggressive braking, which it doesn't sound like you were doing. Maybe you skidded just enough to let the tires slip, but not enough to let the ABS kick in? That would be my guess.

Again, thanks for the reply.

That would be the only explanation for what happened. Still confused though.