Has anyone ever had a problem with their ABS not kicking in?

Today I rear ended a huge frito lays truck. :o

I was going 25 mph and wasn't near this truck when I looked down for literally 1 second to see if I had my cell phone. When I looked up, the truck was at a complete stop. Having confidence the truck would stop, I slammed the brakes. The brakes locked up and I slid and slid and slid until I hit the truck. When I got out of my truck, I examined the skid marks to only find one skid mark that came from either the front or rear driver's side tire. I couldn't swerve to either side because of traffic. I know these trucks are heavy but man, I thought there was plenty of time for the truck to stop.
The entire front end of my truck is crushed now and luckily the airbags weren't triggered.

Also, the skid mark is pretty long...

So now back to my question, Did the 04's have an ABS issue?

 

No, no ABS concerns as far as I know...and unfortunately, it wasn't the lack of ABS that caused your wreck, it was lack of attention on the road. Sorry to be the one to say it. Hope your truck gets fixed as soon as possible.

 

Either way it wouldnt of mattered, ABS is intended to allow you to steer at maximum braking.

 

That is totally true. ABS cars actually usually take slightly longer to stop completely.
That's why some cars let you switch it off, for driving in gravel, etc. where locking em up stops better.
I'm surprised it didn't work, but it would not have stopped the impact.

I have nailed my brakes full on to dodge a drunk in an Explorer, and mine worked great, full on the pedal, and while I could feel it pulse, I had great control as I drove around the idiot.

Lose the cell in the truck.
I watched a guy in a brand new Escalade rip a gas hose off in Carpenteria, he was so busy with his phone, he forgot to pull it out of the tank.
High powerd exec type. Looked like a complete idiot, and he knew it.
They are dangerous when on the road, even if you use headsets.

And as to looking for it why, was it ringing?
Anyway, sorry about your loss, and good luck with it.
Chris

 

The ABS system reads the speed of the tires and available traction correct???
Maybe i thought you did not need it ive hit the brakes before and have had my abs not engage and the dealer said it was fine.

 

If the tires were indeed locked, the ABS should have come on. If rear wheel speed is zero, for instance, the ABS will pulse the rear brakes, etc.

Funny thing is, my ABS comes on quite often...I'm coming up to a stop, hit a big bump (common in Michigan) with the brakes on, the pedal drops and scares me senseless. This is my first vehicle with ABS and I'm still getting used to it.

 

That doesn't sound like ABS's fault. The tires at maximum brake still squeal and make a lot of noise like they would be sliding but they aren't.

I don't feel mine kick on that much even during really hard braking. I've only felt it a couple time when I had to hit the brakes in the rain.

 

Thats true. When its raining my ABS goes off even during slight brake taps. Other time it doesnt come on, sounds like the computer didnt feel the need for the "pulsing".

 

Stop worrying about your cell phone and drive.

Sorry, no sympathy from me and I don't buy the ABS failure thing.

 

ABS may not be designed to function below 25mph. At slow speeds, if you completely lock up all 4 wheels, how does the computer know that you are actually still moving ?

 

If you haven't experienced the 'feel' of the ABS system, it's probably a good idea to find a safe place such as a large empty parking lot, go about 40 mph and then 'stand' on the brake pedal with all you got.

You will feel the pulsing through the pedal and you won't become disconcerted by the feeling when you need it in a panic stop.

In this particular situation, I think 25 mph is too slow for either ABS to kick in or to do any good if it had.

As was said earlier, it just helps you maintain control, it's not a 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card when there isn't enough room to stop.

 

My ABS works. That was one of the first things I tested when I got the truck back in October of 03. I tested them on dry pavement going 30mph and wet pavement at 30mph also. Actually, I was curious as to how the brake pedal was going to feel so in an emergency braking situation I wouldn’t be caught off guard.

If you haven’t already tried the ABS out in a non-emergency situation, you should

nx96gt, sorry that happened and glad you’re not hurt

 

My ABS performs flawlessly every day.

(I read the newspaper on the way to work)

 

Like I said, I Literally looked down and back up. The phone wasn't ringing either. But that second or two caused me to get in the accident. I can't recall feeling the brake pedal pulsate. I'll test the ABS when I get it back from the body shop.

Thanks for your comments...

 

I'm convinced that my ABS saved my truck and me from injury last week.

I had an idiot in a chevy silveraldo turn left across my lane going into a service station. He was at a dead stop turning left and I was traveling at 60mph. He began his turn when I was about 50 yrds. from the intersection. There was a long line of cars behind him also waiting to turn left, so I couldn't use the on-comming lane to avoid him. So instinctively I hit my brakes hard and the tires began to squeal, but I was still able to steer around behind him and to this day I still don't know how we didn't swap paint. Love that ABS


BTW: I'm pretty sure he was on a cell phone.


Ox