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ABS Brake Questions and Answers
This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.
Question:
2001 Chevrolet Suburban mileage: 94,000. The
problem is that when I started my truck
today there was a motor running under the
left side driver’s seat that didn’t sound
correct and then my ABS light came on. After
turning the truck off and removing the key,
the motor kept on making noise. I determined
it was my ABS Pump so I removed the ABS fuse
from the main box and it stopped. I drove
the truck in my parking lot and the brakes
worked but then flagged the emergency brake.
When I put the fuse back in the pump
continued to make noise. What has happened
to this pump that it would run with the car
off?
Answer:
A faulty ABS unit will cause the problem you
described. Unfortunately, it won’t help to
just replace the module. Both the pump and
the module most be replaced as a unit. Just
so you are not taken off guard, this is an
expensive fix.
Question: 1999
Cutlass Supreme 3.4 mileage: 95,000. Hi, this
car has been warping rotors within 10,000
miles. I know to use the emergency brake at
least once a week, and to keep my foot of
the service brake when releasing it in order
to allow the rear calipers to adjust
properly, been doing this since I got it
with 74k on it. I believe this to be a
problem of design, too small of a pad, and
rotor, my Daytona's are bigger. I saw where
you mention heat shields, if I remove them
will that reduce this problem? Craig
Answer: If you
have aftermarket heat shields that go
between the rim and the brakes, we would
recommend removing them. Your brake rotor
problem may be due to over tightening the
lug nuts or if you have aftermarket rims on
your car, they may not allow proper air
circulation.
Question: 1999 Plymouth
Voyager mileage: 93,000. I put on pads and
rotors on my van last week and I drove it
about two miles and saw little wisps of
smoke coming from the front right side when
I stopped at a stoplight. I pulled over
first chance and saw no smoke but did smell
hot smell. Every time I drive it, I smell
this hot smell when I stop. I don't have any
noise or pull while driving or stopping. The
brake pedal feels good. I read your Q&A and
saw that some people sand their pads could
this help my problem or is it something
worse?
Answer: Sounds like the
brake calipers are hanging up. You will have
to remove them and replace as needed.
Question: 2002 Honda
Civic mileage: 40,000. Hi guys, I have 02
Honda Civic. Brakes were squealing so I took
it into a shop about 2 weeks ago and changed
the front pads and resurface the rotors as
recommended by the car technician. They
replaced the pads with metallic pads, disc
pad shims and flush the brake fluids, which
I believe is pretty standard. But now every
time I brake the squealing still persists
and is louder than before. It always squeals
at around 5 - 25 MPH, if I step harder on
the brake pedal, it will stop squealing
until 5 MPH. The brakes always squeal at 5
MPH and lower. I've heard that new metallic
brake pads will have some squealing at the
beginning but should disappear. Is this
normal for new brake pads to be squealing
for two weeks long? If this is normal, how
long does it usually lasts? And when should
I take it back for them to examine the
brakes if it persists longer? I don't want
to take it in and have them tell me, yea,
this is normal for new brakes. Could you
guys give me some advice on this? Tony
Answer: Try replacing
the brake pads with genuine Honda parts from
eAutoPartStore.com. We have found that
after market brake pads have a tendency to
squeak on Honda's.
Question: 2002 Dodge
Caravan mileage: 84,500. The amber brakes
lights have always come on and stayed on for
up to two minutes after the ignition was
turned on. Sporadically both lights would
flicker on and go off at whim while the
brake pedal would become extremely hard to
depress. I was assured this was normal.
However, since August 2000 and now I have
experienced 7 complete loses of braking
practically having to stand up on the brake
pedal to slow done vehicle. A local
mechanic was kind enough to pick up my
vehicle and take it to the shop (brakes were
not functioning when he picked it up but by
the time it was hooked up to the computer
for diagnosis the brakes were working again,
no diagnosis codes available) where he kept
it for two weeks and drove it for 300 miles
in attempt to have the brakes fail. No such
luck. 11 days later, the brakes failed again
and that is when I took it to the dealer.
Brakes were working when the van was picked
up. The emergency brake also failed.
When I spoke to them today they had not been
able to locate the problem because the
brakes were back to working again.
Answer: We had similar
problems on a Dodge Caravan and the only
solution that worked was to replace the main
ABS valve with new parts, not rebuilt ones.
And thoroughly flush the brake system, bleed
to adjust as needed.
Question: 2003 Toyota
Sienna V6 mileage: 50,000. As I brake, I hear
a thumping noise from the rear. The thumping
slows as the car slows. Mechanics at my
dealer told me it was my *front* rotors
needing to be replaced. That didn't sound at
all right, so I took it to an independent
mechanic for a second opinion. He said that
the rear wheels and brakes were full of dirt
and gunk (and that the front rotors were
fine, thank you very much). They cleaned it
all out and the thumping went away -- for
about a week. Any ideas?
Answer: Re-inspect the
rear brakes and if it all checks out okay,
try replacing the brake shoe return springs.
Question: 2002 Ford
Explorer mileage: 67,000. I recently had my
lower front ball joints replaced by a local
mechanic, after I got my truck back I
started having problems with my front
brakes. At random times while braking the
brake pedal would push back and pulsate. I
brought my truck back to the mechanic and
they told me that it was my ABS activating
at random times and it was a software
problem that needed to be fixed by a Ford
dealer. I brought my truck to a dealer and
they have since told me that both front hub
assemblies needed to be replaced, at a large
cost. So my question is, could this local
mechanic have damaged the hub assemblies
while replacing the lower ball joints, and
how much should the repair to the hub's
cost?
Answer: Ask Ford why
they think the hub assemblies need to be
replaced. They should be able to tell if
they were damaged by another mechanic.
Probably what happened is an ABS wheel
sensor was damaged when the ball joint was
replaced.
Question: 1996 Jeep Cherokee
mileage: 117,000. I am having a problem with
my brake system. Recently I replaced the
front pads myself, and when I went to bleed
the air from the system, I could not get one
of the bleeder valves open as it was
stripped. And so to fix this I had two new
calipers installed, one to replace the
busted valve and the other to match. Since
then, I have bled the system twice, and both
times a lot of air has come out. I have no
idea how air is getting in. The pedal feels
spongy, and makes a hissing sound when
depressed. If held down firmly it will
slowly work its way to the floor. The brakes
work decent, it's just that they aren't
firm. Also, when applied the brakes make a
high-pitched squealing sound. My book tells
me that this is the wear sensors rubbing
against the rotors or something but that
should have been fixed when I replaced the
pads, right? Please help me!
Answer: The brake pedal
slowly working it's way to the floor would
be caused by a faulty master cylinder. The
spongy brake pedal is probably due to air in
the system. The brake system should be
pressure bled to flush the air out.
Question: 1997 Cadillac
Sedan DeVille 14,000 mileage. I have a
question regarding the brakes. What will
cause the car to 'jerk' or' catch' when
trying to stop. Example: While pressing on
the brake pedal to stop or slow down, the
car 'jerks' or feels like the brake is
'catching' on to something. It gets worse as
the speed decreases until the car is at a
full stop. I have changed the front disk
brakes and rotors. What else could cause
this to happen? EricAnswer: Check to see
that the brake rotors are running true.
Also, check the tires for cord separation
and properly tighten the lug nuts that hold
the wheels on. Over tightening will distort
the brake rotors.
Question: 1998 Chevy
Cavalier 2.0 4 cyl Mileage: 95,000. It has
been very rainy here, and recently the rear
brakes have a tendency to lock up at times
even under light braking. They are very
touchy. The car has ABS. Could this be the
weather, or what else could it be?
Answer: Replace the rear
brake shoes and return springs. Check the
size of the drums. If oversized, replace
them.
Question: 2003 Pontiac
Grand AM 3.3L V.6 mileage: 85,000. I have a
2003 Pontiac Grand AM, when I push on the
brakes, the rear brakes (ABS) lock up. I
inspected the brake pads and shoes along
with the drum and rotors - all are fine. I
suspect the proportioner valves in the
master cylinder. Am I on the right track or
is their something else I need to be looking
into? Thank you! Matt
Answer: Replace the rear
brake shoes, return springs, and check the
size of the drums. If oversized, replace
them.
Question: 1999 Pontiac
Grand Prix 3.1 mileage: 97,000. I have
recently purchased this car. When I bought
it I new it needed new rotors and pads. My
wife and I drove the car home and the next
morning I replace the rotors and pads. After
replacing the parts, I noticed that when you
push on the brakes the brake light comes on;
the brake boost pump also actuates. Also
when you are stopped at a light you can hear
the pressure boost pump for the brakes
actuating about every 3-10 second with the
brake light coming on when the pump
actuates. I bled the brakes three times but
still no luck. Is it possible that I still
have air in the line or could it be the
pressure switch is bad?
Answer: If your car is
equipped with an optional ABS brake system,
the rotors that you purchased may be for a
non-ABS equipped car. If so, this would
cause the problems you are experiencing.
Question: 2002
Mitsubishi Diamante LS V6 DOHC mileage:
185,000. We have been told that our ABS
system has failed, and that this is the
reason that we are experiencing about 50% of
our braking power. Apparently, the right
front and left rear are working, but not the
other brakes. In order for us to replace the
ABS hydraulic and control system, we need
the unit part numbers or we can't locate the
parts needed. Can you help, as we will have
to replace these ourselves as the cost is
prohibitive to have a dealer complete it for
us, and we really love the car overall. Your
help in this regard will be sincerely
appreciated. Bob
Answer: Try an
independent parts house to see if they can
locate the ABS unit, you need. Also, check
the master cylinder, as it may be the source
of your problem.
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