ABS on this truck is dangerous...

For about the fourth time since I've had the truck, the ABS has put me in an extremely dangerous situation.

The other day I was driving out of a parking lot with a little packed snow on it. It was a little slick, but moving very slowly I was still getting good traction and the brakes seemed to be stopping me easily enough. I was pulling to the end of the parking lot to pull out onto the main road, a four lane busy highway. It's a downhill grade to the road. I'm moving very slowly, and I feel completely in control of the vehicle, it is slowing down. Suddenly ABS decides it wants a piece of the action, takes away my braking power, and I start quickly descending the hill toward the road. I press harder, no effect and I'm starting to move faster. I release the pedal and try again hoping it won't quick in, but it does and I get the same thing. And this point, I do the only thing I figure I can do. I look down the road, see I have a good break in traffic, put it in second and just accelerate out onto the road.

The first time this ABS pissed me off, I was coming to a four-way stop, moving very slowly on a road that was dry and mostly clean and clear. I think one wheel must have hit a very small and short patch of ice. ABS sensed that wheel wanting to lock up, took away all my braking power, and I coasted right through the intersection.

In both cases, I was lucky I had a clear road.

I'd love to disable this crap, but I'd be concerned if I would ever get in an accident and they find I've disabled the ABS, my insurance won't cover me. On the other hand, I think I've been incredibly lucky the ABS hasn't caused a serious accident thus far.

But, if I would want to, does anyone know how to temporarily disable it in a truck not equipped with a locker?

ETA: Sorry about bumping the other thread and then starting my own.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/57877-disable-abs-heavy-snow.html

 

I agree. I was in a ice covered parking lot. No joke, people were ice skating on it. I was going about 5 mph and pushed the brakes lightly and they locked right up. I missed my turn and almost slid into and F-150.

 

2nd winter with my '09. I'm not even sure if I have ever had the ABS kick in yet. Maybe once or twice? Mine doesn't seem to be as sensitive as other people make it sound. Only time my ABS has to do any work is when the traction control/VSC kick in.

 

I just slid though an icy 4 way stop sign intersection last week. By all means I was not going too fast, the abs just wouldn't stop. I thought it was just me.

 

You will definitely know if and when it happens. You will particularly notice it when you're in perfect control headed to stop before a busy intersection or highway and ABS suddenly decides to not let you stop.

 

This happened to me the other day. I was driving fine and was fixing to turn on a 2 lane road to come to work. I eased on the brake since the road was snow covered. The ABS kicked in and I slid past my turn. Had to put in reverse and back up to make my turn. Then I was turning into the parking lot at work and the same thing happened. Almost slid into the curb and a pine tree.

 

A lot of people don't totally understand what ABS does and why - and why they think they need to disable it.

First off...Take the truck to a dealer and have them troublshoot or diagnose the system.

I hear a lot of people complaining about it engaging too soon. In most of those cases - if the system is functioning properly - is people are going too damn fast for conditions.

The ABS prevents wheels from locking up. A moving wheel is better for 'controlling & turning ' than a wheel that's locked up. That's what ABS does, prevents wheel lock up and gives you a better chance of controlling the vehicle than letting the wheels stay locked up.

Disabling it is a BAD idea.
I've never had any problems with mine even engaging. I have to press pretty damn hard on the brakes in snowy conditions to get mine to even engage.

 

I understand the purpose of it just fine. In my example from the other day, I was not moving fast at all. In fact, I was crawling, and was in good control of the vehicle...until ABS kicked in, and because of the lack of braking power, I actually began to accelerate down hill.

In my other example, the road was 90% clear and dry. Had ABS not been there, I would have safely come to a stop at the stop sign. Instead, ABS kicked in and I coasted right through the intersection with ABS playing around, thumping at my brakes the whole way through.

 

I learned to drive in Michigan (ca1968-ish), and we were taught to pump the brakes when in slippery winter conditions; ABS didn't exist, at least not on my 1962 Valiant station wagon.

My understanding is that ABS systems are designed to pump the brakes, but to do it far faster than is humanly possibly: the idea being exactly what Janster said about a "moving wheel" providing more control than a locked-up wheel.

FWIW... Michael

 

Yikes!

 

Right, but...

Look at the two examples I wrote about, and the examples of situations others have written about. In each case, ABS activation was detrimental, not beneficial.

Does an ABS system have it's place? I suppose. But the ABS system in this truck kicks on at times when it simply shouldn't.

I mentioned that I'm concerned about disabling my ABS for insurance reasons. It's kind of ironic though. If the other day there had not been that gap in traffic and I would have gotten into a wreck, entirely due to that ABS system, would Toyota be liable? I don't think so.

 

In my case I just kept pressure on the brake pedal as hard as I could while I "coasted" to the middle of the intersection as a brand new Camaro just watched me go by, luckily he was already stopped.

 

Abs or your foot on the break will not stop a truck on ice. Very simple. The only thing bad about it is you cant mess around like the older models.

 

x2. Maybe we're missing something

 

Entirely due to ice.

 

Never had a problem with mine but it doesn't snow where I live either.

 

Those who drive on snow or off-road alot know the ABS is very sensitive on these trucks. Just the way it is. On snow with stock tires if you push it, ABS will be buzzing away constantly. Though w/ snow tires rarely ever. Be aware of the road and conditions...ie slow down, once your on snow/ice or gravel your stopping distance is going to be longer than non-ABS, but you'll keep control... and probably appreciate its safety benefits on your typical rainy/dry roads.

btw ABS disables and does allow lockup below 5 mph. So if your crawling it shouldn't be an issue.

 

It has been proven by scientific study that ABS increases braking distance on slippery surfaces.

In gravel, sand and deep snow, ABS tends to increase braking distances. On these surfaces, locked wheels dig in and stop the vehicle more quickly. ABS prevents this from occurring. Some ABS calibrations reduce this problem by slowing the cycling time, thus letting the wheels repeatedly briefly lock and unlock. Some vehicle manufacturers provide an "off-road" button to turn ABS function off. The primary benefit of ABS on such surfaces is to increase the ability of the driver to maintain control of the car rather than go into a skid — though loss of control remains more likely on soft surfaces like gravel or slippery surfaces like snow or ice. On a very slippery surface such as sheet ice or gravel, it is possible to lock multiple wheels at once, and this can defeat ABS (which relies on comparing all four wheels, and detecting individual wheels skidding). Availability of ABS relieves most drivers from learning threshold braking.
A June 1999 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study found that ABS increased stopping distances on loose gravel by an average of 22 percent.[9] -Wikipedia.org

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EDIT:

For those that may be interested, Toyota improved and optimized the brake system in the 2009 models and introduced several new features.