Well this morning on the way into work, light turns yellow and the lady in front of me slams on the binders about 30' from the intersection. Of course she is driving a toy corolla, not me. Needless to say I bumped her. I know I should have left more room. But I didn't, but if the dang abs didn't go of I wouldn't of hit her. I'm only 25 and when i learned to drive, you learn without abs and all was well. You hit the brakes and you stopped. In my last 3 trucks, I have had some close calls on and off road. I wish they would get rid of them. I just wanted to vent this, and thank you. JR

How do you draw the conclusion that ABS was the cause of your accident? These things take forever to stop.

Also what is your tire pressure?

If there was no ABS, your brakes would have locked up, and you may have hit the car in front of you anyway.

what was the pavement like? if it was nice and dry or even wet and your abs was working fine its about impossible to stop faster with conventional. some conditions piss of abs and they seem to get a bit too excited and that can screw you, mostly just going slow on nasty pavement. JMO

I wish you could easily dissable ABS though, it should be on a freaking factory switch like an airbag.

We had a heavy dew. I take complete blame, but when the abs goes off it doesn't stop you as fast as conventional. The other thing is, my dad's 93 GMC dually would shut off the abs when you where in 4wd. That was nice, the snow and mud are horrible on the abs, especally when you are going down a steep hill.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I have to ask. Are you familiar with what the ABS does and sounds/feels like when it activates?

To answer you yes, the first time I experenced it, it scared me i had no idea what it was. But now I do. At least all is over with, I tried to exchange info and she said nothing was hurt and drove off. I'm glad her car held up.

To answer you yes, the first time I experenced it, it scared me i had no idea what it was. But now I do.
Personally, IU think there should be some form of education that demonstrates the operation of the ABS systems so as not to scare people with the grunting and modulating of the brakes/pedal...

I must say I like the ABS in my truck. I know how trucks stop without it and it makes a huge difference. Mine also works in 4 wheel drive as well. The most common mistake people make is letting of the pedal when it pulsates. You hammer on them and hold it down and it will stop shorter everytime.

I know how ABS work.......every time I am plowing and it goes off I push my foot to the floor and there is ussualy an audible "MFing stupid ABS, I Censored hate ABS, stoopid...." and by then I'm normally stopped. Is this normal?:confused: Normally 99.9% of the time I like it but at times its a PITA.

IMHO the GM ABS is the best HD truck system out there. It is so smooth on glare ice and snowy roads. The control is so good that it feels that there is more traction then there is. My only complaint there should be a dash light to wake you up. If you are experiencing noises (excessive) then maybe your tire size is not factored in or out of the range of the simple minded ABS computor (doesn't self learn). thanx geo.

hmmmmm, good point I suppose. I have only had one wussy storm since i got the TTS programing and since Steve Rezaped everything to my tire size maybe things will be better?

I dont care for it either. It is the harshest ABS system Ive ever felt.

I was up on the ice a few days ago, and wanted to se how it would do. Every time, it would kick in, the lights would go dim, and it pretty much felt like something was wrong.

The TDI, on the other hand, has the best ABS Ive ever felt........

I feel your pain. The ABS in these trucks is great, above 15mph, but below on rought pavement it stinks. You will never stop faster in a panic situation with out ABS, its just faster then you. But when you slowing on nasty PA roads where the road is all wrinkled up, the ABS goes on and you can't stop. The tires are out of contact with road for a short time and it thinks you sliding when you not.
If you want to prove how the truck works without ABS, like I did in a fit or rage after almost hitting someone! Pull the 60amp fuse, you will be shocked how with ABS it calms the rear. I could not beileve how fast the back-end locks up and comes around.:eek: Try it, I did and even at 50mph by stomping on the brakes the rear locks and you have to stear into it. Needless to say I put the fuse back in when I got home! Its just something you have to live with.

You are funny ratlover.

if I remember, there is a low speed sensor, that deactivates ABS (otherwise noone would be able to stop to 0 mph, or hold the brakes in the drivethru). A larger tire would likely increase the speed threshhold for deactivation. Not sure of how the sensing occurs or if it is related to the ECM speed signal, seems to me the sensors are located at the wheel, again not sure.

I Have Also Noticed That Abs Is Erratic After Tire Size Is Changed. It Feels Like Its Not Exactly Sure Wtf Is Going On. I Was Told That Using A Programer That Has The Speedo Recal Option Would Correct This,but Have Yet To Try. Is This True?

Does anyone know if the system on our trucks is a 4 channel ABS system? I stomped on the brakes in the snow the other day just to see how slippery it was and it seemed like all four wheels were doing different things.

If you remove the ABS fuse you will have conventional brakes. My 02 pulses

almost every time it comes to a stop. Apparently a result of false signals due to sensor corrosion. I find if one wheel is on snow or ice that stopping time seems
to be longer than conventional which still have braking on the other wheels.

I am not sure if they improved the ABS but on my 99 Silverado it sucks. All it takes is a little bump or pothole (we donīt have potholes over here, though) and the ABS will come on and reduce brake performance significantly. This happens especially often when approaching an intersection when preparing to stop...I had several very close hits !!!
Talked to an GM engineer a while back and he said they know about it but wonīt do anything because it would cost big $$$$.
He mentioned that some even disable the ABS right after taking off from the dealers lot. On unloaded trucks this is not such a good idea as the rear proportioning is no longer operating and the rear wheels will lock up very early.
Having driven many other vehicles (not trucks) I know that there is lotīs of room for improvement. Anyone who knows an Mercedes ABS will know what I am talking about.

yeah, try driving on a gravel road with washboards!!!!!!!!!! whoa :eek:that corner came up fast, or downhill on glare ice...... like hittin the gas pedal...maybe i did???.

"abs" the new drug.

I had the opportunity to test mine at 65 MPH when a small heard of deer filled the road. I got on the brakes with both feet. The truck came to a stop just short of a disaster. The best part was I was able to completely change lanes to avoid them. Just before a complete stop I heard a little rubber squeal. There was no tendency for the rear to try to pass the front like the old days. I will keep mine thank you very much. Later! Frank

Not that anyone cares, that squeal would have been the low speed sensor kicking in to defeat the ABS.

One big problem with ABS is that you have to learn to use it to steer and avoid. Being an "old dog" myself - I've found myself just "bindin' down and hangin' on" in a couple of close calls. I've heard, and am trying to remind myself that with ABS you are supposed to look to the escape route and steer to avoid rather than focus on the obstacle, which takes you right into impact. I nearly dumped a load the first time I got too close to some suddenly stopped traffic on an interstate, because just when I was expecting maximum brakes and a lockup the ABS seemed to release like the brakes had failed!:eek:

Had mine kick in during a hard stop towing 4000# trailer before I had switched the trailer brake controller into the new truck (foolish I know). Stood hard on the pedel, nothing in front of me except a quick changing green/yellow/red light and the start of crossing traffic. The road was smooth and the truck did a maximum performance stop all four wheels seemed to be operating independently, no noise or vibration in the brake pedel like the 96 Yukon I used to have. The stop was stright and under control. It amazed me! Rough road, snow, Loose gravel may change my opinion.

Yes the brake controller is now installed and working. Hope I don't need to try the ABS any further.

Hey JRZ - this might help you - just came across it on another thread:

GM Recall on steering/brakes - http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21571

I dont know what is wrong with you guys. I love ABS, have you ever tryed to steer a truck with no ABS wile trying to stop on ice, It does not work. ABS will save your life, I have an F-150 with no ABS and it SUCKS on ice and snow, I almost consider it dangerous to drive in winter because of that. You guys can say what u want about GM's ABS but i for one love it and would NEVER dissable it. Just my 2 cents.

The squeal was the rear tires putting down a short patch of rubber. Later! Frank

It is not that the ABS is bad in general, I mean the concept is great. I just have been in situations where braking performance was significantly reduced for no apparent reason. I also have been in situations where it helped to clarify that !!
What would really be needed to improve the systems performance is to have wheel speed sensors on all 4 corners not just the front and one in the tranny for the rear (can only speak for a 2WD). This way the system could determine between a one-sided bump or an actual wheel lock-up. What happens is that the rotation of the rear axle around the driveshaft axis makes the system think that the rear wheels slowed down and the ABS kicks in.

The ABS system on my wifes '03 Explorer really sucks. On hard packed snow, the system will go off, but then lock the brakes. Can't steer at all when that happens.

i hate em, god gave us knees so we could pump our brakes

let me say this the first vehicle i owned with abs was my '98 sierra Z71, and after over 100k i never got use to the crappy brakes, the abs was always working, and making its stupid noises, and the damn truck would just not stop quickly. the '04 dmax, holy cow, these brakes rock!, never one problem afer 16k, in fact i have never had the abs system engage--that i could tell--it just stops--and that is impressive for a truck 2000 lbs heavier than the '98!

In my experience GM ABS sucks. My '99 S10 hits a little bump during braking and the ABS kicks in, lengthening the stop distance considerably. I had a '95 Z28 that had a wheel sensor go out, I didn't know anything about it until one day the pedal went all the way to the floor with no resistance and I went through a red light at 45 mph, narrowly avoiding becoming a stain on the front of a garbage truck. The dealer fixed that one under my extended warranty, thank god. Sold the car right afterwards, I decided that it was cursed. Hopefully the newer systems are better.

I've read that the new systems on the HD trucks are 4 channel, so that's a big improvement right there.

Hey Ratover I thought that was just a new safty device to wake up us 1/2 a sleep snow plowers. That the only time mine ever go off.