HELP....Car lurches sideways during panic stop

[az-yota]

I was going about 50 mph at night down an asphalt highway and a Deer suddenly appeared from nowhere right in front of me. I stomped the brakes and the car lurched sideways (pointing to the right) nearly sending me into the ditch and a tree. The brake pads are fine so I know it's not that. I saved the car and the Deer continued on unscathed but I had to clean my drawers out after that.

I have a 2000 CE with 122k. What would cause this near loss of control?

Other than than the timing belt what else should I do to care for this car? I want to drive it for a long time as it is paid for. I've owned this car since 35k but it was a salvage title when I bought it, it had been totaled out.

[RU2CHKN]

check for a stuck piston in your driver side caliper

[Mike Gerber]

Also, check for stuck caliper slide pin(s) on the left front brake assembly. You may be able to jack up the front of the car and try to rotate each front wheel by hand. I wouldn't be surprised if the left front wheel is harder to rotate than the right front. This indicates some brake drag in the left front brake assembly, either from a stuck caliper piston as RU2CHKN suggeseted or stuck caliper slide pins. This can allow some constant brake pressure on that left front wheel. That constant brake pressure causes that brake (pads and rotor) to heat up. Then, when you make a hard panic stop, the cars pulls toward the side of the cooler, now stronger, brake.

Mike

[SexieWASD]

Did you lockup the wheels or could you feel the ABS working? Do you have ABS? If you don't have ABS this is normal behavior when you lockup the wheels, the front wheels will have much more traction under heavy braking so the rear of the car will slow down less effectively. It will either continue to push the front of the car forwards, or pick a side and continue in that direction turning the car until either the brakes are let up, or it stops. This is very important to expect if you are driving without ABS in with low traction. You can use it to your advantage in low traction situations. If you have to make an emergency stop it is sometimes helpful to be able to pick which direction your car is facing, so in case you cannot make the stop you can pick a safe escape route, generally you can aim you car away from on coming traffic by lightly shifting the weight of the car to one side, you will aim to the opposite side. It's a very temperamental balance if you want to stay completely strait after the wheels have lost traction at speed.

Controlling a car's direction in a slide is a complicated topic with many ways to get the same result. It's part of the art and science of drifting, and it is made much harder in a FWD car, but if you did indeed break the tires loose then it may have some relevance to your post, if not then listen to mike.

[LynchburgCSI]

It's just not being use to having no ABS. No ABS can screw you over....as my sig pic shows.

[az-yota]

Could it be suspension related?

[WISHYWASHY]

i always thought it is normal for the car to pull sideways whenever i slammed on the brake to stop
then again, i usually wind up sideways when i am trying to stop or avoid hitting someone on icey road, never happened on dry road surface before.

[JohnGD]

I don't think it has anything to do with timing belt. Most likely just brake/tires related. Among the suggestions your rear might have locked up sooner than the front and started to sway. You have a CE, so I don't think you have ABS on there. But those Bosch 5.3 systems then didn't do stability control like the later Bosch Version 7 and 8.

How's the condition of your tires? Have you bled the brake fluid in the past 2 years with a good fluid like Castrol GT LMA (Low Moisture Activity) or Valvoline Synthetic?

As far as tires causing sways, check out this video:
http://www.michelinman.com/tire-care...artire-change/