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How Do I Know If My Vehicle Is Equipped With ABS Brakes

Most newer automotive vehicles from Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Plymouth, Porsche, Saab, Saturn, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo offer ABS brakes as either standard or optional equipment. To find out whether your car has an antilock brake system, and what type, read your owners manual. You can also check your instrument panel for a yellow ABS indicator light after you turn on the ignition. And when you buy, lease or rent a vehicle, always ask if it comes equipped with ABS.

When ABS brakes are activated, you may experience a slight vibration or a rapid pulsation of the brake pedal, almost as if the brakes are pushing back at you. At times, you may feel the pedal suddenly drop slightly. The valves in the ABS unit may make a grinding, scraping or buzzing noise. This means your antilock brake system is working. Continue to apply firm pressure and steer. Do not take your foot off the brake pedal.

Other Considerations For Better Vehicle Braking

How effectively you can stop your vehicle can be influenced by many factors including:

Road conditions, since wet and slippery roads provide less tire friction and will therefore result in longer stopping distances than dry roads.
Vehicle condition, including properly inflated tires that have good tread, and a properly maintained brake system that is free from defects such as worn linings, air or dirt in the brake fluid, or leaks that reduce the available braking force.
Driver reaction time. At 60 mph, your car travels 88 feet each second. Reaction time, that is the time it takes a driver to identify a braking situation and then apply the brakes, will affect the overall distance to stop. A one-half second reaction time will result in a vehicle stopping 88 feet shorter from 60 mph than a one-and-one-half second reaction time. That is why it is important to always pay attention to the road and other traffic.
Type of brake system. When faced with a panic braking situation, ABS allows a driver to rapidly apply the brakes without worrying about wheel lockup, and the vehicle begins to stop immediately. Without ABS, a rapid, hard brake application could cause wheel lockup and loss of vehicle steering control, if the driver does not pump the brakes correctly or limit the brake pedal force to prevent wheel lockup. Therefore, more driver skill is needed to obtain short stops without ABS.

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