ABS on this truck is dangerous...

That's not how it works . The ABS bypass kills the VSC too

 

Good to know. Then I go back to my statement about a million posts before. Only disable the ABS when necessary like off road or under certain low speed conditions. Unless your ABS is seriously fucked up and it's doing weird shit all the time. Then maybe it's time for a new truck or a lawsuit

I won't go over the whole story again, but let's just say when you are at highway speeds and you need to avoid something VERY quickly VSC comes in handy. I agree with you that we are coddled today by modern safety features, but I'm sure our parents argued the same way about safety glass, airbags, fuel cutoff switches, ECU's, and seat belts when they first became mandatory. If you don't ever need it you're lucky. If you do and you don't have it, well then shit sucks.

BTW, again as others have said, this thread was about a very specific ABS issue. The fact that it's now about safety features in general shows you the slope this starts down...

 

Very interesting, and it makes a lot of sense too.

The solution is kinda obvious though: downshift into 2nd or even 1st gear, or just clutch, pull handbrake. Did you try that?

 

If you were to yank the e brake, and still had some traction in front, but none in the back it would likely cause you to lose control.

 

Went ice fishing yesterday, balmy -28C with the wind-chill. It’s cold and very icy here, especially on dirt roads.

I tested the ABS on my 2012 once again on a polished glare ice/snow packed dirt road on the way to the lake. I was doing 50km/hr on a straight stretch and then hit the brakes hard. (I was in 2hi)

The ABS kicked in, VSC kicked in and I still had complete control, then I stopped. Of course at that speed I did slide, it’s going to happen on glare ice. But in all honesty it was not that bad, good winter tires help, studs would be better. Running the new KO2 and I’m impressed so far, they are better on ice then the previous version. If it was warmer and there was some moisture on the ice I’m sure I would have slid further, but the end result (stopping with control) would have been the same.

I have no issues with the ABS in my truck, sorry to hear others are having problems. There are a lot of people saying there is an issue especially with the 2005-2009 year ranges, so something weird is happening here. What people are describing (run away abs) is kind of concerning.

 

^^^ this


I have 2013 turd or ac auto
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when new and on the stock crap tires, and winter, I agreed the ABS was pretty active and never thought it was dangerous, just different. but yes very active and increased stopping distance more than my old 4runner abs works


Now, this winter, on new michelin ltx at's....my ABS (and I have been intentionally trying to slip and get abs to engage and everything) it seems my ABS has gone from -really happy to engage- to more normal, and it engages less than before. it seems to let more snow pack up under the fronts before chattering and slipping....BUT I have all the steering control I want....

in straight line new on stock tires, yes it seems too active...

today it seems perfect and doesn't activate as often, lets more snow build up before chattering, and when I do turn it certainly works great... as I turn and not just slide straight

only thing I have changed, is the tires. unless toyota snuck in a brake controller update on me ( I did go in for two unrelated tsb's) then tires play a huge part in how Tacoma abs works....

 

Makes sense the abs detects wheel speed when one is going faster than the other it corrects good tires have the traction and slow closer to the same rate.

 

Yesterday i had this braking issue, slow speed, under 10mph, in heavy snowing conditions. At an intersection the truck simply would not stop. It was normal application of brakes, could feel abs pulsating, but the truck just kept rolling and i braced for a slow speed collision, as the person in other car panicked and slowed down...leaving him directly in front of me. There was nowhere to steer away either, was heavy traffic...and everyone else stopped fine, for that light. It finally did stop, 2/3 ft from other car, but it felt like inches.
I then drove on side streets and kept testing the brakes, jamming the brakes, getting the abs to chatter and it stopped ok. I drove in lower gears and ofcourse felt more control of the vehicle. But i could not replicate what happened in the intersection. I am now gonna be super aware around town or highway, with snow, ice conditions and definately keeping truck in lower gear of auto transmission. I am in my mid 40s and been driving all my life and never had a car react like that. I feel any of my other cars would have stopped in that situation....even if i jammed brakes, because weight of car would have aided in slow speed stopping. I am giving the abs the benefit of the doubt and maybe that specific ground condition, created that kind of braking. But it was a seriously horrible feeling not being able to stop the fcking car. One of the things i noticed w testing the brakes, w jamming them the chattering braking worked fine. But w the intersection normal braking, the abs was more of a pulsing brake action and as i was not stopping...probably hit brake harder, lengthening the abs situation.
My friend has the same truck and was travelling from vermont to minnesota and had two deer jump out on highway. He says he is a believer w how the abs stopped the truck, on black ice.
All i have to say, is be aware of this possible abs issue, because people on this thread are not exaggerating. If your in dense traffic, it could very easily create an accident, with very little reaction time to downshift or steer out of the way.

 

As you and your friend now have seen both sides.. It is not a perfect system but it can save your ass when it needs too!

I would rather a low speed risk than high speed danger myself..

 

Same here, no problem on my 2012. I do find the brakes too senesitive and touchy but the ABS seems to work fine. I also run a winter tire, nothing special but a snow tire w/o studs. With traction control I can hardly even initiate a fishtail...

 

Do not downshift or pull the e brake in a emergency stop situation.
It will cause the rear end to lose control,increase stopping distance & decrease stability.
TK, your experience happens all the time in these trucks. It won't be until a class action lawsuit is filed that Toyota reengineer their ABS.
Also, I'll bet your friend was not on black ice at the exact spot that he hit the brakes, or he would be eating venison steaks - & getting his truck fixed.

 

Agreed totally. Only other thing i can add, is i have a 2012 w stock tires. But i was aware of this thread and already been testing the brakes in snow conditions before yestrday. Yesterday i was at end of a hour/half commute. On highway, put truck in 4wd and stayed in right lane, yielding to a salt/sand truck in middle lane w hazards on, while many sedans passed the truck in fast lane. Got back in town traffic, not in a rush and common sense braking. Earlier in day, it was 35deg and was shoveling slush, it then turned to heavy snow with a temp drop, which wasnt forcasted on tv weather btw. So i am guessing it was those specific road conditions. Because ive had no problems on cold dry snow. I think what my experience was, compared to others on this thread, was that it was totally unexpected as to normal driving. I guess ya have to experience it, for it truly being a learning experience.
Also, my parents own a prius, where they have "rolled" through one intersection as well...slow speed. Also a rolling/braking experience in a parking lot. They arent drivin the car in the snow anymore.
No complaints about the vehicles at all...other than this. But everyone reading these threads, definitely be aware of this...and save yourself from having an accident during horrible weather.

 

I hear ya man thanks, yeah your right downshifting in snow will fishtail vehicle. After yestrday after close call, i spent time accelerating and braking and determined im just gonna leave trans in 2nd gear around town w fresh snow. No way am i gonna be rolling like that again....and ofcourse way increase braking distance.

 

My ABS works perfectly and saved my butt. I was doing 70 mph and had to emergency lane change under full braking force. Never lost control and was able to avoid a nasty accident.

 

The ABS issue for me hasn't ever come into play when I'm on the highway. If conditions are good enough to be going 70mph, then they probably aren't the conditions that will most likely trigger the ABS issue.

It only happens to me when I'm already going really slow and try to stop on a slick/icy spot, like a turning lane that isn't maintained well or at an unplowed intersection. The ABS kicks in and won't shut off causing your stopping distance to be about double of what it normally would, slowly sliding just a couple mph the entire way.

 

Thanks for the feedback on that. BFG claimed improved siping on the KO2 but nice to hear from a user. Waiting for the 4/15 release of the 235/85R16 KO2 to put on my soon to be delivered truck. Very rarely encounter ice with where my truck drives, but do cross some mountain passes in snowy conditions every few years.

As to ABS and ice, I don't have enough winter driving experience to have a good feel for what is normal or not. But I do know the terrifying experience of hearing/feeling the ABS go mad while you just keep sliding - from both a Subaru and a Honda out in Maryland. More than once in each vehicle. Feel like I want an "Anchor" button on the dash someplace. Only going 5 mph but it won't stop! Ahhhh!

So from my inept winter driving ABS experiences I can completely understand why many will say "too fast for conditions" or "you don't understand how it works" - I probably fall into that category. But there seems to be far too many competent winter drivers who are having stopping issues in their Tacomas but not other vehicles (either other vehicles they drive or the people driving around them when they can't stop the Tacoma). So to me it seems quite possible that something different is going on with the Tacoma ABS at slow speeds on ice. As others said though, I will take the benefits of ABS the other 99% of the time. The ABS disable mod is probably the best solution for those in frequency icy conditions, just turn it off when you know you are in conditions where it doesn't act favorably.

 

In snow ?

 

They have probably fixed this in newer models, but my 2005 TRD 6-speed had problems stopping on good dry surfaces, which resulted in my truck being totaled. Two vehicles were stopped in the high speed lane when I started to slow down and then ultimately slammed on my brakes. It looked like I was going to stop before hitting the vehicle, but all of a sudden the ABS released my brakes (like it did when off-roading with wheels off the ground). There was no distinctive brake pulsing, just a brake release. Toyota specs say that a vehicle can be stopped within 221 feet from 65 mph. Not so in this example.

 

That is rough. At least the crash safety equipment did its job!

 

I am gonna make head explode for all those ABS and VSC lovers.
Yesterday, the high of the storm when was raining and freezing. mixed with snow. I drove my Non-ABS and non Traction equipped vehicle on all-Season tires.
My biggest issues were people in front of me driving too slow and wipers freezing.
Otherwise, pulsating breaks was no issue when I wanted to stop and I was stopping faster than vehicles with ABS (Newer vehicles). Taht meant I had to stop and move forward because ABS driving noobs could not stop fast enough.