ABS was gone for unknown reason - truck end up in snow bank

My truck slid off into the ditch. Wife said there was no ABS so 4 wheels locked while truck was descending iced up hill. Now, I would probably dismiss that if not for the fact that I saw it with my own eyes and test drove it after got truck out of the ditch.
There was no ABS action until I decided to test sliding backwards in 4hi. Only then ABS kicked in and worked afterwords.
No errors, No ABS light, nothing. I have scan gauge and and it did not pickup any error codes.
Weird $hit and reason why I hate electronics. Looked at FSM but not seeing how would ABS manage to turn itself off with out displaying light on the dash.

Any ideas?

Personally I would love to disable that crap permanently but wife says she needs it.I don't see a point of having it ON if its not reliable.

 

Sounds like another group lawsuit against Toyota in the making. This time for lack of rapid deceleration.

 

Interesting , this is why I try not to rely on ABS and just slow down / gear down when I'm driving in snow.

Having said that , the system should still have engaged .

I assume damaged wires would have thrown a code .

Odd .

 

If more people ends up in the ditch because of that I am sure somebody will sue.

If ABS light is ON then there is malfunction so that would be easy to solve, just pull the code. But light never went ON and scangauge did not pick up anything so this defiently was not regular failure.

whippersnapper02 - Not sure if you relize but the same thing controls traction system so if that happens when you offroad you better have long towstrap.
Also truck knows when has 4 wheels locked since all 2gens have deceleration sensor. Plus you never have all 4 wheels locking at the same time. When ABS kicked back ON I went the same route and it worked fine every time

I hear you OZ-T, same with me I don't expect for this thing to work so I brake the old school way.

 

its possible that the brakes were overheated in which case it could shut off.

 

Just thinking here...

Is it possible that your wife was pumping the brakes? Or, she didn't have the brakes on long enough in any given period of time? (ABS won't work if you're pumping the brakes)

Or....I'm also wondering - if you don't have your foot smashed on the brakes, does the ABS still function when only half the pedal is depressed?

 

Definetly no, its 32F here and it happened at the beginning of the trip so whole system would be cold.

She definitely was not pumping brakes I did see all 4 wheels go from turning to full lockup and stayed that way until nice crunch sound

Yes, ABS engages regardless of how much you brake, it does it as soon any wheel locks up. I tested afterwords and there was no way to get ABS to work. I was sliding truck left and right and ABS would not engage. I finally put in 4hi and slided backwards , only after I did that, ABS kicked in and worked since then.

I doubt Toyota will be able to get that solved since there are no error codes or anything else. I am going to give corporate Toyota a call and see if they have any ideas. I dont wont to take trip to the dealer and get my computer flashed.

 

Pretty sure abs has limits. I've locked mine up recently and purposefully. Love pulling off onto the wet grass and hammering the brake. If its slick enough to slide off a road, its probably slick enough to defeat abs. Once all the tires lock, you're stopped in its eyes.
Nice evidence that people don't know how to drive anymore. "what do I do if brakes lock" Press harder?
Believe its emblazoned in the manual; but its hidden underneath a car seat so I'm not going for it.

Should what is said to have happened happened like is said, it may have gotten confused after whatever happened happened and took a few revs to get back to normal.

Not a big fan of the anti-stop brake system myself. More you want to stop the less it seems to work. Where is this world the federal government thinks we live in where people swerve under braking. Maybe its driving and motorcycle training that keeps me off the brakes while swerving. Brake, swerve, brake. Ingrained into my soul. Couldn't swerve with foot on the brakes any more than sneeze with my eyes open. I'll take my stopping distance short thank you. I don't drive at things I need to swerve around I want as little energy as possible in an impact, not more control while braking in a straight line.

 

I would suspect iced up sensors...

Howard

 

#1 The vehicle speed must reach above 12 mph before the ABS turns on

#2 Malfuction of the ABS will cause the ABS control module to shut off or inhibit the system.

#3 Loss of fluid in the brake master cyl will disable the ABS

Do Not exceed the speed limit on wet and slippery roads
The ABS DOES NOT operate effectively when the limits of gripping performance have been exceeded.

SLOW DOWN

If the vehicle hydroplanes while driving at HIGH SPEED on wet or slick roads, the ABS doesn't work effectively

The ABS Warning light indicates a malfuction in the ABS or the brake assist system

The ABS IS NOT designed to shorten the vehicles stopping distance.
Always maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you in the following situations:
When driving on dirt, gravel, or snow covered roads
When driving over bumps in the road
When driving over potholes or uneven roads.

SLOW DOWN!



Don't blame the vehicle for your inadequate driving skills on slippery roads

 

Are you positive it wasn't that the ABS did in fact come on and the damn thing just wouldn't stop? I put a switch inline with the fuse for the ABS system on mine because I got tired of not being able to stop the truck in the snow/ice. I swear the system just can't make up it's mind at low speeds. High speeds it's nice to have. Low speeds once it engages it's like you lifted your foot right off the brake pedal. Now when the roads are bad I flip the switch and I know I can stop. Just like the 98 I had to wait forever to arrive without ABS brakes.

 

Positive. Wife was driving I was watching outside from 10 feet away. All 4 locked and stayed locked. No sound either. When I tested the same thing happened no ABS whatsoever. No sound and no brake action (No ABS light either). Its like truck never had one.
ha ha it would be cool to find out how to disable ABS with out even warning light ON. This way no problem with inspections.

 

ABS doesn't work when the roads are iced up? http://www.ehow.com/about_6162289_do-brakes-work-ice-snow_.html

"Under severe conditions when the entire road is covered with ice, all four wheels may lock simultaneously. Unless at least one wheel is turning, the ABS will react as if the vehicle has stopped. When this occurs, the ABS is defeated, and the driver will need to go back to the pumping technique."
​

 

It's not a complete fail though, it has saved my ass on two occasions when the ground was wet from rain. 4wd, ABS, lockers, or anything else- ice is sadly still a nightmare

 

Ice = Hockey Puck

Personally I like having ABS there, but know that my driving style has a greater influence on how fast I stop than the safety equipment.

 

ABS is not a fail, it is very useful tool

now if you are DEPENDING on ABS to stop you

then you have failed as a driver.

In the service we called it 11-1-A-799

aka : Operater Error

 

i have found that the ABS doesn't work below a certain speed.

 

I suspect the low sPeed is what caused it not to turn on (normal operation like stated earlier). What was the speed of travel?

 

I'm sorry, but this whole, "I hate digital things, just give me the way old things are" is completely bunk. If you love the way "old things are", then go buy a 1960 Chrysler Saratoga and let me know how your wife does with winter driving in that thing.

ABS doesn't deal with stopping distance, its purpose is to help maintain the driver's control over the direction of the vehicle. Saying you'd rather pump the brakes yourself is ridiculous, too. 10 times out of 10, the ABS system will out-perform you in terms of the amount of control is returned to the driver. And the times that the ABS system is defeated - that's why YOU are the driver instead of the computer - you should be able to tell when you need to start pumping the brakes.

I don't buy the whole "Blame the technology, give me the basics and I'll do the rest". That's a bunk theory and it creates an allowance for drivers to not learn how to properly control a vehicle.

The icy road is a pretty sucky condition, and it doesn't happen often, so I don't think it's ridiculous that your wife didn't know how to react properly. But I also don't think it gives anyone the right to blame the technology. Toyota never said the ABS system would work 100% of the time, and to not know how to properly operate your vehicle. Onus is on you (or your wife).