Hey,

Im taking the car in for some work, and I want to fix the ABS braking system while its there. Over the winter the ABS system was working fine, in all the snow etc. Then a month ago I was approaching a stop sign under hard braking and hit a patch of sand/pebbles, which sent my car flying through the intersection with locked up front wheels.

Then it rained and I wanted to test my brakes and repeatedly I lock the front wheels and keep skidding. Same thing happened when I tried it today in the dry, I got a long pair of skid marks and smoke from the tires puff up when I come to a stop.

The brakes work fine up until lockup, and there are no ABS warning lights on the dash. What should I tell the mechanic to look for?

 

well....i can tell you a bit about my story...I have a 98 SE... i just figured a 98 max would have abs, especially an SE...some a** in front of me stopped crazy fast so I SLAMMMMMED on my brakes and skid like a **** praying nott o hit the guy...the car stopped in time, thank goodness...but my ABS didnt go off....I didnt look too hard but I cant find anywhere on my car that says I have abs....Im thinking now that I might not even have it.....or maybe I do and it needs repair cause it sure didnt go off when I need it....when I turn on my ignition, I dont see an abs light and there is no abs light on at all....so maybe I dont have, I cant believe that a 98 max se wouldnt have abs

 

Easiest thing to check would be if you have a fuse for ABS or not... or you can see if you have the components under the bonnet for ABS.. don't have my Haynes on me so can't be more help ...

 

Mine works most of the time but there are times when it doesnt seem to. When I turn on the ignition, the ABS light comes on for not even a second and goes away. Is that what it does on your max guys?

 

i dont think I have an abs light... when I turn on my ignition no abs light comes on .. I guess this means I dont have ABS, how could a 98 SE not have ABS? ... thats insane

 

Surely the ABS flash is just the self-test, If it stays on THEN you have problems.

 

i thought my 99 had abs but i doesnt,i would think it came standerd on the SE.

 

yeah man I feel ya ... I have a 98 se and I cant believe that there is no ABS....and im shocked to hear you have a 99 with no ABS! .. how do you know for sure that you dont have ABS?

 

ABS is optional on all models

 

wow I didnt know that ... even GLE's !?

 

If you're sure you have ABS, then check the ABS sensors. After several years, they get pretty worn and fragile.

 

It's not enough to see if the ABS light comes on when you turn the key, you need to open up the hood and visually inspect for ABS lines. It just happened that my abs light bulb blew out and I do have an ABS system. Is a couple of metal lines running around your gas filter attached to the firewall.

 

It's not just a couple of lines The whole system, including the actuator sits under the master cylinder, in front of the gas filter. The main brake lines come out of the master cylinder and go directly into the ABS system. You can't miss it if you have it.


blueice - Something tells me you don't have ABS in your car.

 

My ABS light just came on the other night on my 98 SE...what is most likely the problem? I never have dealt with it before.

 

2 words - cost cutting