F@#%@#g abs almost killed me

Dam 2nd gens

 

The abs kill switch was the best performance upgrade i have done to my truck. I can romp my breaks going 50mph in the sand and stop on a dime before my truck ever enters a dangerous situation. It also makes my truck go into Trac Off on the fly so i dont have to sit and wait for 3 seconds which is actually pretty handy in my experiences.

 

For people who are afraid of insurance claims with an abs kill switch just remember that a blown abs #1 fuse has the same effect but no liability, fuses are an item that can blow at any time. These trucks are much safer without abs. Before I disabled mine I went thru 3 stop signs and a four way stop flashing red light. I was not driving too fast, did not wait til the last second or jammed on the brakes. Since abs went bye bye no problems at all. I have not slid thru any stop signs or red lights. I have not slid at all in the snow or slush. Same crappy Dunlops and same driver who can't drive so you tell me what the problem was. The abs is too sensitive and is not reacting to wheel lock. It is reacting to slight differences in wheel speed and releasing almost all braking pressure. This abs system is going to kill someone, I know that it won't be me. Peace and good luck.

 

Well. I don't know what the deal is, but somehow or another Tacos seem to do well here in Colorado with all this snow and ice.

 

It's built with pavement in mind, not dirt.

 

ABS increases stopping distances especially on snow or loose traction surfaces and is not mandatory on passenger vehicles in North America

 

Well, if you say so that's fine with me. But you have the auto trans. Me, I just pop the clutch in and let the brakes do their job. I don't have the auto trans still trying to push the truck forward.

 

ABS generally offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping distances on dry and slippery surfaces for many drivers; however, on loose surfaces like gravel or snow-covered pavement, ABS can significantly increase braking distance, although still improving vehicle control.[1][2][3]


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system

 

Is the stopping distance shorter with ABS?

No! From early commercials, it may have looked like you could stop on a dime. That instantaneous stop is not realistic. When braking on dry or wet roads your stopping distance will be about the same as with conventional brakes.
You should allow for a longer stopping distance with ABS than for conventional brakes when driving on gravel, slush, and snow. This is because the rotating tire will stay on top of this low traction road surface covering, and effectively "float" on this boundary layer.
A non ABS braked vehicle can lock its tires and create a snow plow effect in front of the tires which helps slow the vehicle. These locked tires can often find more traction below this boundary layer.


http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/tp-tp13082-abs2_e-215.htm

 

I see "rotating tire" and that means a powered tire, right? There is no powered tire with a manual with the clutch disengaged, or an auto trans in neutral. That was the point I was trying to make.

 

No. It means a tire that is rolling either powered or not.

 

anotherreject, welcome to the club. Unfortunately.

Disable your ABS system.

Oh, don't be surprised if their replies will say something like this: you don't know how to drive a car.

It's always your fault. According to them, ABS system on Tacoma is the best system of the world. Not the world, but from all the solar system.

Since I disabled ABS system, I feel much more secure and I never went through stop signs. Before, with ABS activated, it happened at least 1 time each month.

It's enough: I drove cars before Tacoma and I never went into this kind of situation. I fixed it by removing the fuse.

 

It is not illegal technically to modify your own truck in these ways. What DOES happen, is if you are in an accident, and it can be proved that you even HAVE a mod that kills your ABS, then the likelihood of you losing your case is very high. You can also incur civil liabilities above and beyond insured liability, that your insurance company can deny if they choose.

Perhaps on wet roads the following distance should have been greater? I almost NEVER see a person following the car in front at a safe speed. Cars on the interstate at 70 and they are about 30 feet behind, then when they are in an accident get upset. Not saying that this is the case, but the real question would be how far behind you were, how fast were you both driving, etc. Lots of factors go into this stuff.

Right on the money with the bold text.

Did you loose control of your steering? THAT is what ABS is about. It is NOT designed to stop you faster. It is designed to assist in maintaining as much steering control as possible. If your tires are skidding, you can not control your direction. Fact of physics.

Considering the number of times me and Coma have bumped heads in other topics, this should be saying enough here where I say that the quoted post is 100% exactly correct!!!

You are asking for trouble here. A blown ABS fuse will turn on a warning indicator, and store a code in the computer. The code is time stamped as to how long ago it occurred. Removing, or installing a "blown" fuse, and attempting to claim that it happened just at the time of an accident is more dangerous than just accepting fault. By knowingly claiming that your ABS fuse did not blow until the accident, or whatever the case may be is insurance fraud. That will get you into double the trouble.

To the second bold part, the ABS system does NOT release all pressure. It reduces pressure until the wheel speed sensor detects that the wheel is no longer locked up.


While I agree that with the number of people here saying that they are having issues with the Tacoma ABS indicates that perhaps Toyota should look into the sensitivity, I do not agree that the ABS systems are inherently dangerous. I see lots of people mentioning accidents, or near misses, or panic, but I still have yet to hear about a case where ABS actually caused someone to get killed or severely injured. The key bit of information here is that people need to understand what ABS is for. It is NOT to make your vehicle stop faster, or in a shorter distance. Actual tests have proven that in many cases the vehicles have a slightly longer stopping distance on a slick surface. What it DOES do is allow you to have more steering control in an effort to allow you to try to avoid an accident. It is NOT designed to make you stop on a dime, nor is it capable of doing this.

Many factors go into stopping a vehicle. Tire inflation, tire condition, the hardness of the tire, tread patterns, speed of vehicle, momentum (i.e. how heavy a vehicle is affects how difficult it is to stop), also factors such as condition of brakes, driver error (following too closely, braking too late, etc)

All of this affects stopping. There is one thing, and one thing only that makes you stop: Traction/friction. Without it, you are not going to stop until perhaps you have plowed up 10 feet of snow in front of you. I don't care HOW good a person's driving skills are, if your tires do not have traction, you are not stopping. AND you are not going to have any control. ABS works to try to help a vehicle that loses traction maintain some kind of control. It is NOT designed to help stop your vehicle any faster. Period.

 

Rotating tire as in front and rear

 

I've been contemplating the mod or the fuse trick for quite some time, but I'm reluctant due to the insurance issues. Something really needs to be figured out for this problem. I have skidded too far on several occasions, and I do not believe it is because of poor driving on my part. The abs system is horrible on my truck. :-(

 

If you downshift too hard on ice you will lose control of the vehicle.

 

I also live in CO and used to slide through every stop sign that had ice on it. Lesson learned - I decelerate waaaay in advance now.

 

You first have to get that by the feds. As mentioned in another similar topic, manufacturers can't disable, or allow to be disabled, any ABS system. Violates federal law on ABS systems, as well as increases their risk of liability should someone "accidentally" forget to turn it back on when they got back onto pavement. Laws on safety are based on normal highways and paved roads. They are not including off-road type driving, because that is considered optional, and driving at your own risk if you choose to do so. Safety organizations do not take off-road driving or "trails", including dirt roads, to be something that is needed to be included in laws.

 

There is it's called "TRD offroad model" turn on rear locker, abs is disabled, brakes good, steering bad.

 

Read what you wrote again. Really? That sounds like it is all on you. Dirt, gravel road at night going too fast on an unknown back road.

Hmmmm.