Hello,
I did a search and i couldn't find anything on this. My 2000 Cavalier has ABS. I believe my ABS doesn't work. When mashed on the brakes, i lose pressure and there's a buzzing noise coming from the engine bay/brake pedal. This happens when i get on the brakes hard, and also when i'm on the brakes and hit a bump. The pads/rotors/shoes/drums are all under 10k miles. Also the master cylinder has been replaced. mind you, this was going on before the brake work.
My wife is the previous owner (my car until i swap the motor in my integra.. ) and she says the car has been doing this since she got it.
Also on a side note, when i go above 70+ and into a headwind, there's a loud whistling noise coming from the engine bay.. anyone encounter that?
Thanks
HAHAHAHA, sorry but you are funny. That's exactly what the ABS do. it will buzz and lower the pressure on the pedal.
Gilles
2.3 Ho
really? interesting. I think i'll stick to my non-ABS brakes.
When they buzz it's because the ABS are engaging. Completly normal.
Gilles
2.3 Ho
what have we learned today class? most women dont know what features they have on the car THEY bought... Hehe my cavaliers ABS kicks in all the time.. more than it should... mainly over speed bumps when im going under 10mph anyway... but the campus speed bumps here SUCK its like a ramp up, 10feet wide and then a ramp down... 1' tall in the middle. Big Motha ....s
This is a feature? The brakes on my 16 year old acura are better than the cavalier's.
It keeps your wheels from locking up. Then ou have steering when braking hard
If used properly, you shouldn't experience longer brake distances as the ABS allows the brakes to work to the best of their ability. Like pumping the brakes on a non-ABS car but like 10x better.
"The Blue Bullet"
abs is for people who can't drive. i hate abs, thank god im losing it with the ecotec swap.
I want to share something with you - the three sentences that will get you through life. Number one, 'cover for me', Number two, 'oh, good idea, boss', Number three, 'it was like that when I got here.'
let us all know when you lose your front end from sliding into a guardrail.... jk i like the ABS i just wish it didnt happen when i dont think it should happen... i know when im losing traction and i can recover by myself in most cases, without even using the break, but if i push it a little to hard, ABS kicks in and slows down my progress... haha not like this happens all the time... ive only had it happen on snow a few times and once when i was making a u-turn with my car club a little to fast, i had to hit the brake. overall if you dont kick the brake pedal you shouldnt have to worry about it.
I'm neutral on my opinion of ABS. I've become used to it, and I know it's saved my neck a couple of times. Is that because I don't know how to drive? Probably -- but I'd also submit that maybe I've become a bit too dependent on it.
I do find that the people who HATE abs usually fall into one of three categories. Either they
1) Are professional drivers who test the limits of their cars every day and do not require the assistance
2) Are cocky drivers who probably need it more than they know, but resent the interference because they think they're #1.
3) Are clueless about what ABS is doing, and fail to realize that the car is frequently playing an active role in keeping them out of the ditch.
My sister-in-law is in the third category. She complained all winter about the symptoms of ABS and traction control on her new 300C, and her typical solution was to apply more brake/throttle, because obviously the car wasn't listening to her.
Michael Schumacher is in the first category.
Which category are the rest of you ABS-haters in?
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Chances are.... your brakes are fine, but your tires suck. They're losing traction, sliding, thus the ABS kicks in. Pretty neat feature, actually...
I can stop just fine in my Camaro with out ABS, but one time I was driving a customers car around the block, the roads were covered in ice, I tried to stop and the ABS kicked on and I rolled right through the stop sign.. and yes I was going slow.. if I had been in my Camaro, I could have stopped with out a problem.
1983 Camaro Z28
ling427ttvette wrote:I can stop just fine in my Camaro with out ABS, but one time I was driving a customers car around the block, the roads were covered in ice, I tried to stop and the ABS kicked on and I rolled right through the stop sign.. and yes I was going slow.. if I had been in my Camaro, I could have stopped with out a problem.
If the ABS kicked on, there was going to be wheel slippage anyways. I don't know what the customer's car was like, but I'd still chalk up most of the extra distance to tire, suspension, and weight differences rather than ABS sabotaging your efforts. ABS might slightly increase stopping distance for an experienced driver, but if it was a matter of sliding right through a stop sign, you simply shouldn't be cutting it close enough that ABS would make the difference.
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On top of that, if you are used to driving without it, it is instinctual to pump the brakes, completely defeating the purpose of ABS and you are actually hurting performance. Not saying thats what you did, but I have seen it done many times when riding with people.
"The Blue Bullet"
Logan wrote:On top of that, if you are used to driving without it, it is instinctual to pump the brakes, completely defeating the purpose of ABS and you are actually hurting performance.
That's probably true -- and the odd thing is that I will still pump my brakes during an extended slide, even though I've always had ABS. It's not something I learned from a different car. I guess I just feel like I'm playing more of an active role that way. I could try to make the excuse that I'm hoping the ABS will "re-evaluate" conditions each time and possibly hold better, or that I get a better feel for how much stopping distance I still need. I don't know. I never really thought about why I still do it.
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