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ABS activates on Dry Payment

6186 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  greeno
I am wondering if there are any problems others have had when they brake on a dry surface it feels like the car is rumbling. I think its the ABS activating, I have no idea why it would activate when the ground is dry. It has happened about 3 times in a month.
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Well if you're not braking HARD, ABS shouldn't activate but if you ARE braking HARD, no matter dry or wet, ABS will probably come on because even when the road is dry, your wheels will probably lock up on hard deceleration.

Could you explain how much brake pressure you put when that happens?

Thanks
you might be driving on gravel road/shoulder with dirt/sand.. Drive slow and look far ahead.
All of the above^^ Sorta.

Most people growing up nowadays spend more time in front of a computer or a TV playing games than going out and playing or riding a bike. End up missing a lot on how shit works in general.

Don't get me wrong but I see this crap all the time. For all I know you may in fact have a problem with your car's ABS system. You didn't really give us much information to go on so all you're going to get are educated guesses at best.
On the other hand if you are fairly new behind the wheel, perhaps you may not fully understand how ABS works, or how it was intended to work. Save me from typing all that mess please.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/anti-lock-brake.htm

Granted, the examples in that guide mention ice and slippery conditions for illustration purposes but don't mention anything about dry conditions. This is commonplace and probably the reason people associate ABS with control in slippery conditions for the most part.
Dry roads under certain conditions such as cool weather and over inflated tires can provide less than average traction. So hard braking may result in a lockup with ABS being activated. Some systems are more sensitive than others.
Additionally, a combination of tire pressures can have an effect on traction when braking. Give the guide I linked a skim, and you should have a better idea.

Having said all that, give us a little more info on how you are braking and the conditions.
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Well once was a hard break because the idiot in a truck in front of me hit the brakes really hard, luckly I was about 10 car lengths away because with the ABS it doubled my stopping distance and I was about 4 feet away from hitting the truck when I stopped. The other 2 were medium brakes not exactly hard but not soft, basicly to stop so I don't run a red light and get it ticket from the camera, when I probably would have made it through a yellow fine if it wasen't for the camera.
Well once was a hard break because the idiot in a truck in front of me hit the brakes really hard, luckly I was about 10 car lengths away because with the ABS it doubled my stopping distance and I was about 4 feet away from hitting the truck when I stopped. The other 2 were medium brakes not exactly hard but not soft, basicly to stop so I don't run a red light and get it ticket from the camera, when I probably would have made it through a yellow fine if it wasen't for the camera.
Well it seems to me it's working as it should.. As for doubling your stopping distance, do you have a way to quantify that?

Perhaps you should stop by your dealer and have them take a look at it in any case.

I bet if you had no ABS you'd be facing a ticket, paying a deductible and driving a rental car.
I doubt very seriously it doubled the stopping distance.

I am pretty positive it stopped you from locking up the wheels and losing control of the car.

Just another tip. If you need to stop as fast as you can stand on the brakes and don't pump them.

The ABS will stop you in the shortest distance.
I bet if you had no ABS you'd be facing a ticket, paying a deductible and driving a rental car.
How would I be facing a ticket, if I didn't have ABS on car and I slammed my brakes I would burn a little of my tires because the wheels wouldn't be turning. Worst case scenario the tire would blow.

But on the other hand I know that ABS on icy road would help from sliding on a icy road because when you slide my mind would be you need to stop and hit the brakes harder without thinking.
just have your car checked by toyota. the rumbling that you described is a cause for concern. i had to break really hard on a number of occasions with speeds close to 65mph (100kph) but never felt any rumbling.
Most people growing up nowadays spend more time in front of a computer or a TV playing games than going out and playing or riding a bike. End up missing a lot on how shit works in general.
:rofl:
Thanks grandpa. Such an old man rant

I don't know where you live, but where I am, I see more kids outside playing than I see adults going for walks or doing yard work.

But either way, that intro to your comment made my day :D
How would I be facing a ticket, if I didn't have ABS on car and I slammed my brakes I would burn a little of my tires because the wheels wouldn't be turning. Worst case scenario the tire would blow.

But on the other hand I know that ABS on icy road would help from sliding on a icy road because when you slide my mind would be you need to stop and hit the brakes harder without thinking.
Well let me break it down.

You slammed on the brakes and ended up 4 feet away from the truck.
How do you think that scenario would have played out minus ABS?

You would have kissed that trucks bumper most likely. Where I come from that equals a ticket. If the person you hit does not show in court then they would dismiss the ticket.

:rofl:
Thanks grandpa. Such an old man rant

I don't know where you live, but where I am, I see more kids outside playing than I see adults going for walks or doing yard work.

But either way, that intro to your comment made my day :D
Not a grandpa yet! I'm glad I made your day:cool:
:rofl:
Thanks grandpa. Such an old man rant

I don't know where you live, but where I am, I see more kids outside playing than I see adults going for walks or doing yard work.

But either way, that intro to your comment made my day :D
I don't know where you live but kids do spend more time on a game than outside playing.

ABS will Grumble and Vibrate when you get into it hard.
Worn Tires.

Check your tires to see if they are worn out. You can no longer go down to the tire tread wear indictor like you did before you had ABS. I had my ABS come on 2 or 3 times last fall because of road dust on the street, and it may also happen when you drive ot of a parking lo at an angle and one whee is on dry pavement and the other is hopping of a higher curb.
I was going to post about going out of the driveway at an angle because that happened today. Anyhow my tires are still brand new, so its not the thread, I wonder if it will be better once the thread is worn a little.
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