Question for the car mechanics -ABS failure

[Miles Long]

Brothers and sisters
The ABS braking feature recently failed on my '03 Protege 5. I don't miss it at all - in fact, I've disliked it since the day I bought the car. I know how to drive without locking up the brakes - I don't need this feature!
My question- will the disabled ABS affect the function of the standard braking, in any way shape or form (other than that annoying :damn angry: yellow warning light, that a piece of black duct tape will cover up in a hurry?)
The conventional brakes seem to be working just fine, minus the ABS.
Thanks in advance
Miles

 

[naughtyG]

Heya,

shouldn't make any difference at all to normal braking - they'll just lock up in a oh-shit moment..

However, because the whole system controls the pulsing of calipers, there's always a possibility it *could* screw with it. If you're not bothered with it, find the fuse feeding the system in your fuse box and remove it, that should take care of it!

 

[misiek93]

You'll be fine, nothing to worry about. Brakes will still work fine, just no ABS. If your car had traction/stability control that maybe disabled as well when your ABS stops functioning.

It's likely your ABS sensor just went bad, you can have the computer scanned at local autozone (for free) to find out what the code is or drive it like that w/o ABS.

 

[RaWarrior]

It's fairly rare the pumps actually go bad... as said probably 95% of the time it's one of the wheel sensors that goes, and if the system detects it's not working right, it just shuts it off and trips the idiot light.

If you don't intend/care to fix it, I would yank the fuse and then just forget it. The pump is in-line between the master and wheel cylinders, obviously designed so the brakes will still work if the system failed. The only possible hitch would be it could cause an problem for the safety inspection. It's not required since lots of older cars don't have it, but often times if the car came with a feature, it needs to be functional. The rules vary widely state to state.

That said, I don't get why people "love to hate" ABS. Typically with a statement like above..."I'm a good driver and don't need it". To me that reads like "I'm a good rider and therefore don't need a helmet". See the obvious flaw in this logic?

ABS reacts faster than you can, and in a well-calibrated system(not all are, especially on bikes), it WILL stop the vehicle faster than without it regardless of who's driving. It exploits the principle that static friction is always higher than dynamic, and by rapidly stopping and starting the wheel, it takes advantage of the higher static(re-starting the wheel's movement) instead of dynamic(locked wheel sliding) friction. Yes you can do that with your foot, but an ABS pump does it many times faster.

I'll agree that as with other driver aids it should be driver controlled, as in having an "off" button. Obviously it's not ideal for every situation but for 99% of wheeled traffic it's a good idea that does work, regardless of what people tell themselves. In the 60's people thought seatbelts were a stupid idea that didn't help anything too and in time people got over themselves and started to realize that your ego is no match for the laws of physics.

 

[Fire-medic]

I gotta agree w/"Ra." ABS is fairly-robust, and it probably isn't anything 'big' if it isn't working. You are better-off with it than w/o it. You never know when that one time is, so hopefully you can get it diagnosed & fixed for cheap.

"...in time people got over themselves and started to realize that your ego is no match for the laws of physics." unless of course your favorite riding costume is to dress up like Captain Hook, minus the prosthetic, and with no crocodile following you around, going "tick-tock, tick-tock..." until one day, you leave an angry red pavement smear with your 'do-rag'-wrapped cabeza because some s.u.v. driver was paying more attention to putting-on makeup and updating her facebook status than to piloting a 5500 lb. juggernaut.

I recall when Rambler in the 1950's was installing seatbelts as original-equipment, and people were razor-blading them out of their way. My oldest brother had a couple of Nash Ramblers while attending Syracuse U shortly after Jim Brown was playing there. I did get to see Ernie Davis play for them when my dad took us to games. Jim and Ernie made defenders look like their brakes were locked-up!

 

[naughtyG]

My take on ABS is I simply wish every car/bike had it, and because I've had it in some I've really missed it in the ones that didn't after! Most obvious is my '90 Crown Vic in FL, 2.2 tons of metal going on four very inadequate patches of rubber, every time it rains and you hit the brakes it locks up! Great granny-driving training that was..

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

As stated above, Autozone can check it for free, and it is probably a bad sensor. But keep in mind that it also could be a bad wheel bearing. A bad wheel bearing will make the sensor read incorrectly, causing the ABS to fire and pulse the brakes. I had this exact problem on my wife's car, it kept firing the ABS and after replacing the front sensors, I jacked it up and found the wheel bearing just starting to go bad. Replaced it, and it works fine now. You can check your wheel bearing by jacking the car up, grabbing the tire and see if it has excessive play in it.

 

[PDWeyand]

Well If have to choice a system on a cage that is pita but worth it, it would have to be ABS system. When it is working and nothing is wrong system it great. It saves lives everyday. But like anything else it fails or brakes and then you are back to the normal break system. My semi had ABS system on the truck and trailer. I know that the system worked. If I had my rather's, I rather have a cage following with abs than with out but then again I also rather not have someone chasing me either. Cagers follow too close and drive too fast not understanding that the faster they, go the farther it going to stop.

 

[Fire-medic]

"check your wheel bearing by jacking the car up, grabbing the tire and see if it has excessive play in it"

yep, with the wheel off the ground, facing the wheel/tire, grab it (the tire) @ 12 o'clock and pull it towards you & push-away, any play or 'clunking' is too-much.

 

[sdt354]

Brothers and sisters
The ABS braking feature recently failed on my '03 Protege 5. I don't miss it at all - in fact, I've disliked it since the day I bought the car. I know how to drive without locking up the brakes - I don't need this feature!
My question- will the disabled ABS affect the function of the standard braking, in any way shape or form (other than that annoying :damn angry: yellow warning light, that a piece of black duct tape will cover up in a hurry?)
The conventional brakes seem to be working just fine, minus the ABS.
Thanks in advance
Miles

How about inspections there? In Ma. you won't get a sticker if a warning light is on. Or even if you recently reset it. They might not check the actual
brakes, but no light.
Steve

 

[Miles Long]

As stated above, Autozone can check it for free, and it is probably a bad sensor. But keep in mind that it also could be a bad wheel bearing. A bad wheel bearing will make the sensor read incorrectly, causing the ABS to fire and pulse the brakes. I had this exact problem on my wife's car, it kept firing the ABS and after replacing the front sensors, I jacked it up and found the wheel bearing just starting to go bad. Replaced it, and it works fine now. You can check your wheel bearing by jacking the car up, grabbing the tire and see if it has excessive play in it.

Thanks to ALL , for the replies so far. Concerning the above, I already did some checks on the sensors this past fall, when I was changing out my summers for winters ( remember that action, you transplanted Floridians?)
Anyway, my car has external sensors, that read off notched rings on the hub assembly. Not integrated with the bearings, as with some cars. I checked each sensor for resistance and voltage, as per a Protege website I occasionally visit. They all seemed to be within specs. I always check for play at the wheels when I change my tires, everything seems to be tight (the car only has 51,000 kilometers on it)
Some of the comments received have convinced me that I should put "prudence before pride", so I'll get the error codes read. No Autozone in my area, but close by in Maine. Thanks for that tip!
Cheers

 

[Miles Long]

How about inspections there? In Ma. you won't get a sticker if a warning light is on. Or even if you recently reset it. They might not check the actual
brakes, but no light.
Steve

Good question, Steve. I'll have to call the Mazda dealer, although I haven't had them do the inspections since the car came off warranty.
The retired heavy equipment mechanic that has been doing my inspections is known as...how do I put this......."lenient", when it comes to inspections. Lights, horn, tires, no cracks in the windshield - then just pass him the $28.00.
He knows I do the brakes myself, so he just asks if they are working O.K. Sometimes he will take a trouble light and check one wheel for rotor condition.