MarkWRX

Twice in the last week my ABS has kicked in under braking when I wouldnt have expected it to.

I was braking resonably hard but it was in the dry in a straight line and in my opinion nowhere near to locking up. It happened both times at the same place on my journey home, slowing down from about 50mph for a roundabout.The first time it happened it completely took me by surprise as I wasnt expecting it.

Ive been out this morning to test it (in a deserted area) and the ABS seemed kick in a bit early the first few times I tried, then it seemed to be harder to provoke. I eventually managed to make the tyres squeal before it kicked in.

Funny thing is Ive had the car 6 months and never noticed it being intrusive before. Took it for a blast on the roads around TSL the other week after having springs and geometry done and it seemed fine then.

Is this a standard trait of the car, or do I need to get it checked out. It will be due a service in a month or so and I will get it checked out then, but would be interested to hear if anyone has had similar problems?

Nathan L

I have had my MY01 for six months and haven't even provoked the ABS to come on yet. Including some seriously hard braking for a badger that unfortunately didn't make it

Nathan..

navigator

i've heard of others having it occasionally and mine has done it once.
What you never know is just what is happening down at the wheels,on the tarmac interface.It may be just that bit of road surface especially if its bumpy or slippy.I have just been out on my mountain bike and you don't realise how horrible the road surface is until you ride a bike.
So i wouldn't worry to much, just monitor the situation.

P1Fanatic

You may find it kicks in more easily on uneven surfaces or perhaps when the discs etc arent fully warmed up. I find on my primera that when leaving work after a night shift and its been damp all night that the ABS kicks in a lot earlier.

Boost II

iTrader: (1)

I have seen this mentioned in previous threads as a bit of a bug on the MY01 - not sure what if anything people have done about it though.

simes

I have experienced this probably i.e. ABS kicking in braking vaguely hard , but not emergency stop hard, on a bumpy road or a road with a poor surface. It is extremely disconcerting as the car doesn't feel like it is going to stop, and you do wonder what would happen in a true emergency stop in this situation.

There is a place on my route to work where it does it every time braking from only 30mph unless I brake deliberately gently. I have in the past driven the same route regulary in over half a dozen ABS equipped cars including a MY99 scoob and none have had the same problem.

I was talking to 3 MY01 owners at Scoobysport the other day and all have experienced the problem, and there have been threads on this previously.

Nevertheless some people have never experienced the problem - whether that is due to luck or differences in the cars who knows.

Cheers

Simon

Lenny.

I started several posts on this a couple of months ago - it's a common problem, it seems.

Problem on my MY01 still persists.

Local dealership admit the problem exists, but so far have been less than helpful.

A couple of weeks ago performed heavy breaking on an even, dry road. Brakes gripped, ABS kicked in for a few seconds, lost breaking power. Brakes then really kicked in (? emergency brake assist) and the car came to a pleasing halt.

May be you should just get used to it.........

simes

Why should I get used it?

No other ABS equipped car I have driven does this.

At my "reference site" I can brake harder in my 1974 MGB and get no lockup for heaven's sake.

Cheers

Simon

bugwaan

SIMES....

Why should you get used to it?
B-COZ its your car....you own it .....
you have no choice...

get used to it..

Mine does it too......but generally only over bumpy sufaces, or hwere the road has been repaired with shoddy materials leaving a big lump in the road. Even at 35kmh the wheels will lock under light braking.
Gives me the ****s...but at least I know what to look for and know when to expect it.

happy braking

Lenny.

Simes,

You're absolutely right - why should we put up with it on a £22K motor?

I've driven numerous cars with ABS and not had this problem.

Have you complained to your local dealer?

Mine said that yes they knew the problem exists but Subaru did not acknowledge the problem.

Where do we go from here???

Lenny.

tmp

My ABS only kicks in when I would expect it - under really hard breaking and certainly not at the low speeds you mention. Of course as Bugwaan says, the road surface does determine when the ABS joins the party.

As to where you go from here, I would go down to the dealer and take out the demonstrator. If this car does not exhibit the same problem (i.e. ABS kicks in normally), then take out the dealer in your car. That should prove to the dealer the ABS in your car does have a problem and they should resolve it. If they are not willing, ask to speak to the dealer principle.

Tim.

Nigel H

No problem with mine in 6 months of ownership...

Jza

Mine does it!!!!

Its a lot worse now - the breaks are crap compared to when it was new. Seems (from other scooby shops) that this is a common problem... the pads are good until worn.

I had my pads scrubbed by the dealer and they were a bit better... but noticed abs kicks in in the dry all too often!!

Im just putting up with it and then buying a decent set-up when the crap ones wear out.

Jza

LoFi

I met simes at scoobysport, and yes the ABS is very aggressive on my MY01. Happens even at very low speeds, around 30mph, although not on dry roads. Very disconcerting. Never had a car where it comes in so often. I was wondering if is was the crap original tyres?

Piers LoFi

[Edited by LoFi - 3/18/2002 6:41:42 PM]

gareth

Mine too - usually triggered by a pothole or a greasy bit of road. It's always unexpected though... my old MY99 never did anything like this.

Got the P Zero Rossos and these performed very well in a recent emergency stop situation (ABS did not cut in on that occasion!). That said, the brakes are nowhere near as keen as they were when new, and only 3K on the clock!

G

AliWrx

Mine does it as well but only over crap surfaces when its wet. I have not noticed it in the dry as yet, but then the car has only done 5k so maybe it will get worse in time. Oh Joy!

Lenny.

Give it another 1K and the car will tramline as well!!!!!

(Unless you have changed tyres from the standard Bridgestones)

Something else to look forward to!

DaveUK300

Mine does it aswell...as said above it seems a common problem , especially with MY01's - and I agree you don't expect it from a car like the Scoob
In fact mine cut in this morning - at around 30 mph ish - and for a split second I though i was going to plow into the cars that had stopped in front - I didn't. Only seems to happen on really bumpy roads with mine.

Dave

Bugsie1

Guys, many WRX owners in the US have been complaining about exactly the same thing:

http://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102893

Many of these owners including myself, have reported it to SOA (Subaru of America) and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) It has been reported that the NHTSA (a Government agency) are calling WRX owners to investigate but they haven't called me yet.

There's definitely something wrong that needs Subaru's attention and so far we've not had much luck in getting any help.

-Richard

simes

Cheers for that Richard.

Please keep us informed as to how that goes.

The reason I have gone a bit quiet on this is I am in the process of changing the brakes on the car anyway. I doubt if it will have any affect on the problem, just want to eliminate the OE brakes from the scenario.

Cheers

Simon

AliWrx

Lenny,
Take your car to TSL, they will sort out the tramlining for you.
I had mine done, you won't beleive the difference.
Ali

Lenny.

Fitted Pirelli P Zero Rossos - have helped remarkably.

Still get the tramlining a little.

What did TSL do, Ali?

MarkWRX

After some 'testing' it appears that the ABs kicks-in in the dry over bumpy poor surfaces if the tyre is making poor contact with the road when braking.

It seems to be a common thing judging by other comments. Ive had several other lesser cars with ABS and have never had this problem.

Should this be treated as a 'fault' by Subaru? It could potentially be dangerous so could it even be subject to a recall?

Anyone actually complained about this yet?
Mark

scoobyskid

Some points to think about........

If you fit stiffer springs than standard, then the suspension will not soak-up the bumps as well and therefore the tyre is more likely to leave the ground thereby causing the wheel to lock and the ABS to kick-in.

I can remember reading a technical article regarding ABS and it stated that if you lower a car and/or change the spring rates, then the ABS control unit should be recalibrated to suit ie. there is more to it than just sensing when a wheel is locked-up via a sensor. Are there any ABS experts out there that can clarify this?

You may notice that standard cars tend to sit higher at the back, but sit more level on lowered spring kits - could this change in the cars "attitude" affect braking too?

Skid.

Blooscoob

Chaps,
It it's any consolation, my Mondeo ST24 had the same issue, but it was never a problem from a safety point of view so I didn't worry about it. Have a MY01 STi7 (Jap import) and have no ABS problems with that.
Blooscoob

Dr Lurve

I had a Golf GTi for 5 years and the ABS only activated 3 or 4 times (and I drove it like crazy). On the UK300 ABS is very common and often seems unnecessary and it is particularly prone to happening on wet roads (following a period of dry weather). I think it is a common problem.

The only car I have driven that is worse is a Vectra where once the ABS cuts in, there is very little chance of stopping this side of Christmas.

My twopenneth. Jen.

nigelward

The rear of the car is probably higher so that if anything heavy is stuck in the boot the car's suspension won't be running around on its bump stops.

Although I must admit the buy-eye does seem to sit quite high at the back compared to most cars (even after lowering).

Nigel

Eagle7

anyone had this on MY00?

my MY00 uk car ABS seems to exhibit this now and again (especially after just starting) and i am worried about the emergency stop situation as when it cuts in it takes an age to stop.

WRBlue

Simon,

What are you upgrading to?

JJ

simes

JJ,

I've put on the Scoobysport Brembo/AP setup that I bought recently secondhand.

Did Bedford yesterday, and as I'm sure my passengers will confirm was braking very hard, and the ABS came on only a couple of times all day, but then of course the track is dead flat.

I'll report back when I've had a chance to try them on a bumpy road.

Cheers

Simon

[Edited by simes - 3/31/2002 10:04:54 PM]