HELP ME MY ABS AlMOST KILLED ME.

[RonMAIDEN]

ABS is a great tool when you know how to react to it when it kicks in and it doesn't really help you stop quicker but it helps it enable you to steer as oppossed to a lock up slide which you have no steering control.

I've been driving quite a while and on older cars pre ABS we always were taught to pump brakes to maintain steering control.
Too many electronic gizmos on today's car and trucks render younger drivers with less pure driving skills vs people who learned to drive without them but the average driver probably is better with 'em in place on today's roads.

Granted the 3rd gens were caught in a technology shift when it came to ABS and those years were saddled with a so-so system and ABS has come along ways even on today's entry level cars.

 

[bak3rme]

ABS is a great tool when you know how to react to it when it kicks in and it doesn't really help you stop quicker but it helps it enable you to steer as oppossed to a lock up slide which you have no steering control.

I've been driving quite a while and on older cars pre ABS we always were taught to pump brakes to maintain steering control.
Too many electronic gizmos on today's car and trucks render younger drivers with less pure driving skills vs people who learned to drive without them but the average driver probably is better with 'em in place on today's roads.

Granted the 3rd gens were caught in a technology shift when it came to ABS and those years were saddled with a so-so system and ABS has come along ways even on today's entry level cars.

I agree, i would think if there was no ABS most hard braking situations would end up in locked up brakes and the car sliding. in this case most people's reaction would be to turn the steering wheel..which in turns makes things worst....but i can see where you say ABS helps you control when breaking hard.

 

[LINY4Runner]

I've never had an issue with my ABS. I'm satisfied with it's performance and I feel more confident in the snow knowing my ABS is there...way more confident than in my Camry or Fiero, two cars not so equipped.

Just food for thought also- If you disconnect your ABS, and get into an accident that results in bodily harm or death, your truck will be impounded for safety checks and you can be held liable for modifying the vehicle's safety system. That alone makes it not worth the risk.

 

[brian2sun]

I've never had an issue with my ABS. I'm satisfied with it's performance and I feel more confident in the snow knowing my ABS is there...way more confident than in my Camry or Fiero, two cars not so equipped.

Just food for thought also- If you disconnect your ABS, and get into an accident that results in bodily harm or death, your truck will be impounded for safety checks and you can be held liable for modifying the vehicle's safety system. That alone makes it not worth the risk.

I hear what you guys are saying, but if you took a ride with me in my '97 on my snowy mountain roads, there is no doubt in my mind you would agree that they simply don't work. It's not that they don't work well, they seriously don't work. When I had it hooked up, I would have to leave roughly the distance of a football field between me and the car in front of me and I still had close calls at that distance.

I can't tell you how many intersections I went right through and cut off cars because I coulsdn't stop at 5-10 mph. I swear I'm not exaggerating. If were going downhill, the truck will only stop if I turned it sideways into the snow burm. I wouldn't be able to run 1/2 the trails I run off road either. I would be endoing off boulders. You guys have '99 - '02s and your system is better so I can see why you guys think it's safer with ABS in you trucks. I would rather disable it and avoid an accident than get it one and have the insurance tell me everything looks good.

 

[Jayzero911]

:iagree: and I hate my 01 systems in the snow USELESS!!

 

[2DoorRunner]

abs or no abs, nothing will stop you from plowing into the car in front of you if you dont back off their ass. A couple of the posts make it obvious that they were tail gating the other driver. Even if he didnt use a turn signal, you still should have had plenty of time to stop.

 

[bak3rme]

abs or no abs, nothing will stop you from plowing into the car in front of you if you dont back off their ass. A couple of the posts make it obvious that they were tail gating the other driver. Even if he didnt use a turn signal, you still should have had plenty of time to stop.

..well part of it was also i was looking at a huge puddle i wanted to run through way to my right..next thing ya kno i look forward and he stopped..

 

[SkidPalace]

ABS is a potentially life-saving system. MOST drivers do not have the skill to stop a vehicle faster than in an ABS-equipped vehicle. In fact, with a properly functioning ABS system I dare say no human being on earth can provide better braking performance. If Formula One and NASCAR drivers could use ABS, they would.
In case anyone wasn't aware of the principal behind the system, here's a brief explanation out of Physics 101. Braking capacity of your vehicle is limited by the maximum friction between your four tires' contact patches and the ground. But there are two kinds of friction. Static and dynamic. Static friction is always higher than dynamic friction. Static friction is when the two surfaces stay in contact with one another- think when you hit the brakes and you predictably come to a complete stop. Dynamic friction is when the two surfaces are sliding past each other- think when you hit the brakes and they lock causing your tires to skid across the road surface. You will need more distance to stop if your tires have locked and they skid across the ground.
The ideal braking system will provide the only the amount of force to the brake pads to keep the wheel from breaking loose and skidding.
ABS systems monitor the wheels' speed and when it detects that a wheel has a different speed than the vehicle's speed under braking (meaning it has begun to lock and is skidding), it will reduce the brake pressure to that wheel, allowing it to re-grip the road and regain its it's higher static friction coefficient with the ground. Most ABS systems pulse the brakes in this fashion many times a second- well past the limits of human capability. This pulsation of the brake pressure is the buzzing we feel in our brake pedals when the ABS system kicks in.
The big deal about the ABS system is the ability of the wheel to remain in contact with the ground, allowing us to use the wheel to steer the vehicle and avoid collisions. If the vehicle did not have the ABS system, the wheels would be locked and you would most likely plow straight ahead into the direction of travel, or spin wildly out of control. In emergency situations, most people cannot react quickly enough to modulate brake pressure AND steer the vehicle to safety. It's usually one or the other.
If your systems truly are engaging excessively and grossly reducing braking capability and vehicle control, then I would agree to defeat it and have it checked out.

 

[blaniac22]

So...you have an AB Roller.



:hello:

 

[LINY4Runner]

I don't believe ABS is required by any law....it's just an optional system. If your insurance company thought you had ABS but you disabled it that could be a problem. I would definitely question whether you could be held liable for disabling an optional system by anyone else though. Either way, I updated my insurance so that it says I don't have ABS. The savings was less than $10/year.

ABS is not required by law in every car, that's a total twist of what I said. But if your vehicle came with ABS it must retain ABS.
It's got nothing to do with your insurance company.

There are plenty of laws in every state that say you are not allowed to disable or modify OEM equipped safety systems. The same way you're not allowed to remove your seatbelts.

And IF you do get into an accident, and IF you do hurt somebody, and IF they impound your vehicle and find you disabled a safety feature- that accident is your fault. And IF I was hit by someone who disabled their ABS, I would have a SAS'd Runner because I'd walk away with a couple hundred thousand at the very least.

 

[LINY4Runner]

ABS is a potentially life-saving system. MOST drivers do not have the skill to stop a vehicle faster than in an ABS-equipped vehicle. In fact, with a properly functioning ABS system I dare say no human being on earth can provide better braking performance. If Formula One and NASCAR drivers could use ABS, they would.
In case anyone wasn't aware of the principal behind the system, here's a brief explanation out of Physics 101. Braking capacity of your vehicle is limited by the maximum friction between your four tires' contact patches and the ground. But there are two kinds of friction. Static and dynamic. Static friction is always higher than dynamic friction. Static friction is when the two surfaces stay in contact with one another- think when you hit the brakes and you predictably come to a complete stop. Dynamic friction is when the two surfaces are sliding past each other- think when you hit the brakes and they lock causing your tires to skid across the road surface. You will need more distance to stop if your tires have locked and they skid across the ground.
The ideal braking system will provide the only the amount of force to the brake pads to keep the wheel from breaking loose and skidding.
ABS systems monitor the wheels' speed and when it detects that a wheel has a different speed than the vehicle's speed under braking (meaning it has begun to lock and is skidding), it will reduce the brake pressure to that wheel, allowing it to re-grip the road and regain its it's higher static friction coefficient with the ground. Most ABS systems pulse the brakes in this fashion many times a second- well past the limits of human capability. This pulsation of the brake pressure is the buzzing we feel in our brake pedals when the ABS system kicks in.
The big deal about the ABS system is the ability of the wheel to remain in contact with the ground, allowing us to use the wheel to steer the vehicle and avoid collisions. If the vehicle did not have the ABS system, the wheels would be locked and you would most likely plow straight ahead into the direction of travel, or spin wildly out of control. In emergency situations, most people cannot react quickly enough to modulate brake pressure AND steer the vehicle to safety. It's usually one or the other.
If your systems truly are engaging excessively and grossly reducing braking capability and vehicle control, then I would agree to defeat it and have it checked out.

Finally, someone who's not thinking like an over-confident, invincible, master-of-the-automobile teenager...

 

[Kmvreter]

Finally, someone who's not thinking like an over-confident, invincible, master-of-the-automobile teenager...

I agree. ABS has saved me on 2 major occasions in unexpected winter avoidance manouvers. I have no reason to defeat it. Been driving 35 years so learned to winter drive with brake pulsing; I'll let the system do it now.

Traction is key. What is the condition of the tires before you defeat the system?

 

[brian2sun]

Finally, someone who's not thinking like an over-confident, invincible, master-of-the-automobile teenager...

I agree. ABS has saved me on 2 major occasions in unexpected winter avoidance manouvers. I have no reason to defeat it. Been driving 35 years so learned to winter drive with brake pulsing; I'll let the system do it now.

Traction is key. What is the condition of the tires before you defeat the system?

You guys have no idea how unsafe it really is because you don't live in these mountains and you don't have an early 3rd gen. I wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't a reality. I've been driving for 17 years too so I've been over the teenage invincibility phase for a while now. I am 100% confident you would crash my truck if you drove it just like yours on my icy roads, but whatever.. speculate all you like.

 

[JohnsD90]

i put mine on a switch. I leave it off. I dont know why i even put it on a switch

So the ABS button doesn't burn your eyes when your in clear weather conditions, im gonna put mine on a switch.

 

[JohnsD90]

You guys have no idea how unsafe it really is because you don't live in these mountains and you don't have an early 3rd gen. I wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't a reality. I've been driving for 17 years too so I've been over the teenage invincibility phase for a while now. I am 100% confident you would crash my truck if you drove it just like yours on my icy roads, but whatever.. speculate all you like.

I agree, and although i doubt my driving skills are anywhere near Brian, or Bryan's (lol) driving skill, the ABS equppied on my 4runner on the backroads in my town in the snow is not a good combo at all, my tires are in great condition for snow driving, now i may be 18 but i am not a complete dumbass, i can control my vehicle fairly decently driver who can manage driving in poor conditions.

 

[T4RSR5'98]

JohnsD90 tell me more about this switch? you have a link. i need to get rid of my ABS. I'm use to pumping the breaks. i just switched up from a 96 plymouth breeze(aka piece of **** from hell!) and the breaking was better with no ABS or atleast thats what im use to. i need to take into account that the 4Runner is waaaay heavier then the breeze so that could have an affect to. anyways its snowing like crazy here and i have to drive to the Mountain with $%&ing ABS breaks. Thats for the feedback on this thread. Cheers

 

[JohnsD90]

JohnsD90 tell me more about this switch? you have a link. i need to get rid of my ABS. I'm use to pumping the breaks. i just switched up from a 96 plymouth breeze(aka piece of **** from hell!) and the breaking was better with no ABS or atleast thats what im use to. i need to take into account that the 4Runner is waaaay heavier then the breeze so that could have an affect to. anyways its snowing like crazy here and i have to drive to the Mountain with $%&ing ABS breaks. Thats for the feedback on this thread. Cheers

I'm still gathering the info on this from SteezeMcqueen, but i'll see if i can get him to take some pics for ya.

 

[AKAndy]

The big deal about the ABS system is the ability of the wheel to remain in contact with the ground, allowing us to use the wheel to steer the vehicle and avoid collisions. If the vehicle did not have the ABS system, the wheels would be locked and you would most likely plow straight ahead into the direction of travel, or spin wildly out of control. In emergency situations, most people cannot react quickly enough to modulate brake pressure AND steer the vehicle to safety. It's usually one or the other.
If your systems truly are engaging excessively and grossly reducing braking capability and vehicle control, then I would agree to defeat it and have it checked out.

I would argue that there is quite a bit of gray area here. It's not accurate to say "No ABS = wheels locked = crash". Like many of us, I started driving before ABS was widely accepted, and I was taught in drivers ed, and my dad, to not only pump the brakes on ice, but to threshold brake (pressing on the brakes to just before the point that they would lock up.) IMO, this gives more braking power and control than ABS because it's almost like a constant application of static friction vs ABS, which is very rapid repeating instances of static friction.

I agree with Brian that the ABS on the 96-98 just plain sucks, and it's much safer for someone who knows how effectively use their brakes on ice to not have the ABS. I have driven other cars that have WAY better ABS than my 4Runner, and which may actually be an improvement over threshold braking. But not the 96-98 4Runner.

 

[Duhockey]

You guys have no idea how unsafe it really is because you don't live in these mountains and you don't have an early 3rd gen. I wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't a reality. I've been driving for 17 years too so I've been over the teenage invincibility phase for a while now. I am 100% confident you would crash my truck if you drove it just like yours on my icy roads, but whatever.. speculate all you like.

from a Father and a husband with 15 years of driving experience and a heart for the safety of my kid and wife. and someone who has been driving the same 96 3rd gen for over 8 years now, I think I can say that I know how my 4runner drives. I know when something is helping me and know when its not. For years Ive seen 96-98 4runner owners complain and disable their ABS, for years I have put it off.

That ABS system almost caused me to wreck just the other week on a dry paved road in optimal conditions because when you hit a bump in a 96 4runner, the 4runner completely takes your braking away from you, dry road or not. Ive known about the issue and tried to justify it or just been to lazy to pull the plug, but tomorrow it goes. Its a faulty system that should have been recalled, I dont trust it and its caused me more problems than its ever helped in 8 years. If an insurance evaluator or anyone else investigating an accident is sharp enough to catch that Ive disabled it, Ill be kind enough to inform them that my family and definitely the other involved driver were far safer with me having control of my brakes/4runner. If you havent driven the older 4runners with the abs, go ahead, hit a bump and try and stop... you cant do it... it is the SINGLE flaw that Ive seen in 8 years of DD my 4runner.

just my two cents though. everyone is entitled to their opinion, I guess Im just saying, if you havent experienced the ABS almost cause you to wreck, you would never understand.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

from a Father and a husband with 15 years of driving experience and a heart for the safety of my kid and wife. and someone who has been driving the same 96 3rd gen for over 8 years now, I think I can say that I know how my 4runner drives. I know when something is helping me and know when its not. For years Ive seen 96-98 4runner owners complain and disable their ABS, for years I have put it off.

That ABS system almost caused me to wreck just the other week on a dry paved road in optimal conditions because when you hit a bump in a 96 4runner, the 4runner completely takes your braking away from you, dry road or not. Ive known about the issue and tried to justify it or just been to lazy to pull the plug, but tomorrow it goes. Its a faulty system that should have been recalled, I dont trust it and its caused me more problems than its ever helped in 8 years. If an insurance evaluator or anyone else investigating an accident is sharp enough to catch that Ive disabled it, Ill be kind enough to inform them that my family and definitely the other involved driver were far safer with me having control of my brakes/4runner. If you havent driven the older 4runners with the abs, go ahead, hit a bump and try and stop... you cant do it... it is the SINGLE flaw that Ive seen in 8 years of DD my 4runner.

just my two cents though. everyone is entitled to their opinion, I guess Im just saying, if you havent experienced the ABS almost cause you to wreck, you would never understand.

I probably have no business in this thread since my 4Runner didn't come equipped with ABS in the first place, but I'd really be interested in seeing this. It sounds like something worth watching, to increase the awareness of.

That, and while I do believe you, it's hard to imagine how poor the system must be, for gods sake, my old 1987 Mercedes was a tank and the ABS in that car stopped me anywhere at any time, no matter what. Must have been ages ahead of it's time.