Can't stop in snow

I was around there too. Come to think of it there was only one time I turned off the ABS. Could be that I was parked on I68 for 3 hours..

 

The transmission is not sending any additional power to the rear wheels when braking unless you are two-footing an automatic.

I am not sure what year, but I believed they stopped that a while ago. My 97 has it. It also works great if you are off-roading and a wheel has no traction. Slight application of brake pedal holds loose tire and allows power to go to tire with traction. but yes, it does allow the rear proportioning valve to apply more brake force to the rear wheels as the rear of the truck gets lower with additional weight.

 

The brakes on tacomas are not very good .they suck

 

I've owned my truck for 4.5 years and feel the ABS is way too sensitive.. Even with new BFG AT's if a tire would slip in the slightest ALL braking force was cut and I would roll through an intersection. Yes it kept the truck in a straight line, but zero braking force. Even on dry pavement coming to a stop and one tire would encounter a patch of sand or gravel..The ABS would cut ALL brake force and the truck would end up stopped several feet farther than I wanted it to be.

Is the ABS on the Tacoma a simple all or nothing, or is it a smart system that would apply to a single slipping wheel? To me it feels like an all or nothing deal.

 

I was on a skating rink yesterday, and my truck wouldnt stop. Wtf is wrong with this pos?

 

We should put our trucks on the jamaican bob sled team

 

If you lost all braking force to all 4 wheels, then there is a problem. ABS systems are designed to separate all four wheels. (with the exception of some 3 wheel systems that separate the two front wheels individually, and the rear brakes as a group, but this system is older, and not as common)
So if all 4 wheels stopped braking, then there is a problem in the truck and you should have it looked at.

 

The 07 and earlier trucks seemed to be an all or nothing scenario when it comes to abs. My 07 would run the abs on all wheels even if only one was slipping, however my 08 would only use abs on the wheels that are slipping and not all the wheels. I noticed this difference immediately the first time I drove the 08 in slippery conditions.

My 2010 acts the same as my 08, only the wheel that has lost traction has abs applied and not the rest which allows me to retain braking ability. IMHO, the earlier version of abs on these trucks was incredibly dangerous. It seems from this discussion that they hae gone back towards the older abs version on the newer trucks applying the abs to every wheel when only one has actually lost traction.

 

I do feel like that overall the brakes are wicked sensitive and really grip hard and fast. really need to be careful. I still have under 5k on the truck so maybe that has something to do with it... Very touchy brakes. Otherwise a great ruck

 

This is interesting. Can anyone else confirm this is correct?

 

No, but I can confirm in my 06 last night that the ABS almost caused me to rear end someone at a red light, thankfully they inched forward as they saw me sliding into them while the ABS whirred away.

To all those who think I was approaching the intersection too fast for conditions, I guess 10mph while about 75ft from where I needed to stop is too fast, I will slow it down next time to 5mph. Lightly touching the brakes does not work. I absolutely NEVER speed, no matter what time of year, and grandpa around town being very careful when its icy (only been in one accident in 15yrs, not my fault, learned accidents are a major PITA).

Had I drove the Tacoma in the snow/ice before I bought it, I would be driving a different truck. I live in the snow 6 months out of the year so it is kind of a big deal for me to be able to stop when I want to.

I grew up in the snow, have driven ALL types of pickups and cars, mostly domestic, and this trucks ABS system should be illegal. It would be interesting to know how many fender benders or worse it has caused on icy roads. At least when I see all the other Tacoma's driving around here in the winter, I know they feel my pain about trying to stop without sliding half way through an intersection......WTF Toyota? Not acceptable....

To those of you who think its just fine, go drive any Ford, Dodge, Chevy pickup, ANY year with ABS, and apply pressure to the brakes on an icy day the same way you do with your Tacoma. You will find how nice it is to be able to stop without the ABS engaging.

The last three trucks I owned were Fords, all with ABS, and in all the years of driving them I cant remember EVER engaging the ABS, or having a hard time stopping....same area, same roads, same conditions. Most of the trucks I drive for my job have been 2000-12 chevy or ford full size. NEVER had ABS problems or problems stopping on ice.

To those of you reading this that actually LIVE in the snow, not just hang out in it once or twice a year and go home, know what I am talking about. This shit is dangerous on the ice compared to EVERY damn car or truck I have ever driven, and its been a lot over the years.

Oh, and I shouldn't have to do a F@#$in Mod to disable ABS on a 2006 pickup IMO. If you ever were in a bad accident and the adjuster somehow saw that this had been done, probably would not turn out so well for ya.

Sorry for the rant, just winter after winter of dealing with this and last nights close call really gets me going. Other than the worst ABS in existence, this is a great pickup and at almost 100K, not a single problem

 

Again I emphasize that there is more to these systems than just the brakes and how they act. Suspension changes, vehicle weight, weight distribution, tires, tire inflation, suspension components....all of these affect how well, or how poorly an ABS system will react. In the case of trying to compare a Tacoma ABS activation to a full sized Ford, GM, or Dodge, you are not making a reasonable comparison. Those trucks are heavier and their characteristics for ABS are different. If you want to try and make a good comparison, then compare ABS function between the Tacoma, the Frontier, and maybe the Colorado? Those would be level playing fields there.

My diagnostic information shows that the 2008-2013 Tacoma has 4 wheel ABS. (I didn't search back past 2008) This means that each wheel has an individual speed sensor, and each wheel is individually controlled by the ABS control valving. This means that the base ABS system is the same, however there are differences most likely in calibration and other things, however the individual wheel operation is the same.

I believe that if the vehicle has all 4 wheels lose brake force when ABS activates that there is either a VERY slick condition that no amount of brake control, human OR computer controlled would be able to compensate for, or that there is something else having an issue, such as tire condition, tread depth, etc MIGHT be an issue.

 

Hmmm... my abs works fine, it's the vsc i'm afraid in snow.

 

Hahaha.

 

Fwiw, all 3 of my trucks have had the same suspension/wheel and tire/ mounted accessories(toolbox, winch etc)...

It would be interesting to see if there was any difference before 08 since that year was when I noticed a change in the abs behavior. For all I know they might have simply altered the software controlling the system...

 

a) tires

b) also tires

c) see items A and B

 

Push the little button to turn it off.

 

My tires are BFG ta ko's 265/70/17. Mine were the same set on all 3 trucks. Just changed the out on the 2010 a few months back. Got just under 60k miles out of them, great tires

Totally different behavior on the same tires with the same setup on 3 different trucks? Nah, not the tires, they definitely play a big role but there's definitely something else goin on with the abs on the older and the newer trucks but not on the middle production years...

 

I have had a 2005 sport and now my 2012 baja and have never had problems with my brakes in the snow.

 

I drove to work this morning on an inch of ice with no problems from the brakes.