bnrz

It was raining a little hard earlier. Nothing too heavy to cause hydroplaning. What had happened was I was going no more than 20 toward a stop light. I was caught in between the yellow light, so naturally I slow down, a little hard actually. And to my surprise my breaks started freaking out, or in other words started either stuttering or slipping if you will.

Anyone know what could be the problem?

ef9

iTrader: (8)

ABS working like it supposed to?

bnrz

Is that what it is?
Is it supposed to feel like it's grinding or what ever? (that description might be a little off) It's a little discomforting.

99greddymax

iTrader: (7)

no grinding should be felt.. if so replace your pads. All you're supposed to feel is the brake pedal pulsating as the abs kicks on.

bnrz

well.. yeah i guess grinding was a bad description. i guess it feels like the pedal sinks and it shakes a little. and it sounds like its sorta having trouble.

99greddymax

iTrader: (7)

ehh i have abs on mine.. when the abs kicks in the pedal pulsates, and kicks back.

Trini Boom

iTrader: (5)

It just sounds like you had a bunch of water get to your pads before attempting to brake. I am pretty sure if it was normal rain, you wouldn't get that problem again.

ampire

iTrader: (12)

are your tires in good condition?

Zalley

look at the caliper , today my brakes were doing that and I got out looked and one of the caliper bracket bolts just popped off I guess. my caliper is halfass on the pad.

took about 15 min to fix.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

if it sounds like those spring door stoppers in houses that kinda make the BZZZRRIIINGGGG noise when you kick them, thats ABS kicking in and you will feel the pedal kinda pulse, if thats not it its your brakes

j-dawg

Next time you're on a (totally) empty road, just slam the brakes as hard as you can. If you hit them hard enough to lock the brakes, you'll feel the ABS kicking in. It feels sort of like there's a can of bees or a Metallica concert going on at the other end of the pedal, pretty much what you describe.

I'm not sure how, but my sister and I both have fairly well-optioned 4th-gens, and neither has ABS. Nissan somehow didn't see it as a priority, even as late as '97.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

ABS does give the feel of grinding because the computer is pumping the brakes to keep them from locking up. Please get use to ABS because if you don't know how to compensate while using them, you will have an accident. Just ask my wife when she rear ended someone in her Durango. She's lucking it wasn't a person on a motorcycle.

tallica62

i thought most gen 4's dont have ABS..i have 97 with no ABS...you gotta do the pulsing when braking

MaxiNone

iTrader: (1)

what year is your maxima? is it a gxe?

its just that you were driving and you braked like you normally would on a dry surface but because the road was wet your brakes "locked up" and you skidded. its like walking on a wet floor and when you suddenly stop you foot/shoe slips. same concept but just with a car. that what i think happened because it happens to me every now and then when i brake on a wet road...

bnrz

well. at the time of this scary event, i had JUST gotten off work and was driving down the street. the pressure i gave it was pretty hard compared to the first couple times. maybe like 4 fold.

that was another one of my guesses. there was water on the pads or what ever until i braked that hard.

the remainder of the trip there were no problems with braking. and it was the same wetness.

*edit* on a more important note.
when i turn the key to the second position it says ABS and then turns off. is it supposed to stay on like the rest of the lights?

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

i'm fairly sure the ABS light stays on at startup for a few seconds like the airbag light etc.

i would go check, but ever since my drop, the ABS light is constantly on

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

The root cause is within your post.

bnrz

mine goes off within 1-2 seconds. but a few? this might be trivial but it's not matching up with what you're saying.

silencecalls

iTrader: (2)

sound like just your ABS kicked in. Maximas were all pretty well optioned so ABS is very common (every car in Canada has them for example)

Swazey

if i SLAM on my brakes while the pavement is wet my tires will lock up and the car accelerates. i have a 96 no abs.

abs can sound real funny at times, but there should be no grinding at all

bnrz

sorry but we covered this. the grinding was a bad descript.

Trini Boom

iTrader: (5)

ABS very common huh? Like you said in Canada but not US versions...

Swazey

my bad, i must have overlooked that.

bnrz

i think his side note about Canada is a generalization. ALL cars, not just maximas. (i think)

i have another question and i figured i'd put it in here.
ABS + rain = hard to stop still?
it wasn't grinding but it sounded like it was having trouble.
my question is: is it normal for the car to have trouble stopping in the rain even with ABS?

sorry, my initial question only skimmed my inquiry.

ef9

iTrader: (8)

My 2006 Xterra has a "grinding" like sound/feeling when the ABS is working.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

WTF are you talking about all cars or Maximas? they all dont have ABS here, at the junkyard about 1/4 if not less of the Canadian-spec 3rd gens have ABS, and most 4th gens i took a look at that were Canadian spec didnt.

its the same here as pretty much the whole world, newer cars have ABS and most older ones dont.

Ultrastar

iTrader: (1)

hey man,

its funny but what you describe is exactly what happens to me when i hit the brakes hard on wet roads, the brakes pumps and you feel it in your feet, but its the grinding noise that is leaving me with an uneasy feeling.

i mean i know its the abs kicking in, but im not sure if it's suppose to feel/sound that way though....

pretty scary stuff....! i dont dare braking hard no more, it feels like the brakes are gonna snap or something