My anti lock brakes suck

[AirMoore]

I hate Anti-Lock Brakes in the North-East... absolutely loathe them.

Manuals w/out ABS in NYS FTW!!!!

[corkguykev]

I also hate the ABS in my current car. I have come close to rear ending 2 cars since I got it because of 1, hitting a pothole and 2, one of my front tires skidding on a wet manhole cover and in both cases, the bloody car decided to f**k off on me and I was just haunted that it stopped in time despite me nearly bending the brake pedal trying to get it to stop .

I was not going fast in any of these 2 cases (thankfully) and if the car didn't have ABS, I would have had no problem stopping it well in time instead of getting the crap scared out of me instead and ending up within less than a foot of the rear of a car one of the times it happened.

Some people swear by ABS but I would rather decide how I want to brake instead of some stupid computer that decides to release the brakes when I need them the most .

[Obsidian]

ABS systems can differ greatly by car manufacturer as well. Some are a lot more sophisticated than others. Properly used it helps maintain control on most surfaces ... especially wet & slippery.

Reading these ABS complaints, it sounds like some are more likely traction control engaging. While it's usually part of the same overall system, actual ABS should only engage when you hit your brakes hard. I have rarely had ABS activate other than playing around and forcing it to. TC on the other hand comes on quite a lot (usually prompting me to turn it off).

Unless you are an expert at threshold braking, ABS is better than 99.9% of the drivers on the road.

[voyager7]

I hate Anti-Lock Brakes in the North-East... absolutely loathe them.

Ditto. Except I'm in the mid West.

[swarga]

I've never noticed the anti lock brakes kicking in on the Vette, I guess that's a good thing.

The freeway off-ramp I take is a short, tight-radius, downhill ramp with a stoplight at the end. When I take it a little too hot in the Corvette the ABS definitely kicks in. Never happens in the Civic, though.

[Raoul Duke]

ABS systems can differ greatly by car manufacturer as well. Some are a lot more sophisticated than others. Properly used it helps maintain control on most surfaces ... especially wet & slippery.

Reading these ABS complaints, it sounds like some are more likely traction control engaging. While it's usually part of the same overall system, actual ABS should only engage when you hit your brakes hard. I have rarely had ABS activate other than playing around and forcing it to. TC on the other hand comes on quite a lot (usually prompting me to turn it off).

Unless you are an expert at threshold braking, ABS is better than 99.9% of the drivers on the road.

+1.

[OpenRoad]

I've never noticed the anti lock brakes kicking in on the Vette, I guess that's a good thing.

The freeway off-ramp I take is a short, tight-radius, downhill ramp with a stoplight at the end. When I take it a little too hot in the Corvette the ABS definitely kicks in. Never happens in the Civic, though.

Hey, there you go. This happened a lot on my Toyota 4-Runner.

[OpenRoad]

I had the ABS system engage when stopping on my driveway here in Utah when it was snowy. I was going maybe 2 mph. The ABS systems should not engage when going under 5 mph, IMHO.

The problem is once they engage, they remain so, even if you are braking over a small patch of ice that then ends back onto regular pavement.

Anti-lock braking system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[mfcool45]

I also hate the ABS in my current car. I have come close to rear ending 2 cars since I got it because of 1, hitting a pothole and 2, one of my front tires skidding on a wet manhole cover and in both cases, the bloody car decided to f**k off on me and I was just haunted that it stopped in time despite me nearly bending the brake pedal trying to get it to stop .

i drive a civic passport (suv) and ooo man do i encounter this plenty.. driving in bad roads i just cant avoid and when an oo SH** moment happens i learn to relax and pray that the brakes hold in time

[JDS]

Reading these ABS complaints, it sounds like some are more likely traction control engaging.

Actually you're thinking of stability control, not traction control. Traction control cuts engine power and/or brakes the drive wheels to prevent wheelspin on acceleration.

I had the ABS system engage when stopping on my driveway here in Utah when it was snowy. I was going maybe 2 mph. The ABS systems should not engage when going under 5 mph, IMHO.

No they're actually not supposed to engage under 5 mph (or something like that), if they do, it's probably a malfunction.

The problem is once they engage, they remain so, even if you are braking over a small patch of ice that then ends back onto regular pavement.

Again, I think you're misunderstanding ABS operation. When a wheel starts to lock up, the ABS system releases brake pressure and then immediately reapplies it. It will release pressure again if the wheel locks up again, but it will never simply release pressure and hold it off, it always continues to cycle until the wheel stops skidding.