ABS kicks in during slow stop

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
I have an ABS issue, when pulling up to a stop or turning into a parking space the ABS kicks in.

I noticed it does it under the following circumstances:
1. Vehicle is moving slower than 10 MPH
2. It doesn't matter if I am going straight or turning
3. It doesn't do it all the time (probably 90% of the time though)
4. When it does happen if I quickly let off brake and then reapply them it goes away
5. No ABS light on
6. Brakes were changed some time ago but have plenty of pad life left

I thought maybe it was because I needed to have my ball joints replaced but it still does it after replacement. I read an earlier thread where some people have had luck dickering with the ABS sensor, but I am unsure how to tell which wheel it is. It seems like the front driver's wheel but I think that's only because that's where the master cylider and ABS hardware is.
Any thoughts? Would the tires being low on air cause this? I just checked them and they're all between 35 and 38 PSI.
 

Robbabob

Member
Dec 10, 2012
1,096
Classic dirty sensor in the hub. Need to figure out which one, though. A high end scan tool will be required.

Remove the wheel to gain access to the ABS sensor screw to remove.
Wipe the face supper clean and clean off the mating attachment surfaces.
Attach using the same screw...

Good luck!

Edit: For ours, it would happen if we babied it to a stop. I think your taking the foot off (when babying) then reapplying (was probably at a harder pressure).
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Mine was doing that intermittently for a while. I had a hub bearing go bad and after I replaced it the random ABS triggers went away. In my case the hub had actually developed just enough play to throw off the sensor, but initially wasn't quite enough to make any noise.

Clean the sensors first as Robbabob suggested.
 

Wooluf1952

Member
Nov 20, 2011
2,663
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Filling in your vehicle info might help. Depending on the year, you will have three or four ABS sensors.
 

neohio

Member
Nov 11, 2013
85
Grab a code scanner that is ABS capable as other mentioned. It will point to the sensor or wheel that needs attention.

I don't think the local autozone people will read ABS codes.

I am in agreement with Sparky, Chances are you have some hub bearings on the way out. I had problems with stabilitrack on my truck. I had a slight noise in my truck and replaced both front hub bearings. Issues went away.
 
  • Like
Reactions: loondog33

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
neohio said:
I don't think the local autozone people will read ABS codes.
And even if they did, you can't trust them for much. Many of them won't even share the exact code, they play keepaway with it.

Every group of buddies should have SOMEBODY who owns a good code reader. The one who invests in it will pay it off in a year or less by charging a six-pack for each use. I love getting paid in beer - it's a currency Mrs. Roadie can't spend (unless it's gluten-free beer).
 
  • Like
Reactions: C-ya

neohio

Member
Nov 11, 2013
85
I will make this public then. I own a couple scan tools. Old school snap-on "red brick" current to 06(asian/domestic), and a newer solus updated to 2012(asian/domestic), if anyone within reasonable distance to me wants to read codes or just play around with one, feel free to send a pm and we can meet up somewhere.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesL3

6716

Member
Jul 24, 2012
821
Mine's been doing that since I pulled the sensors out of the hubs during some front end work almost two years ago. The fix never made it up to the top of the priority list, so now it's just sort of, like, y'know ... character.
 

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
Wooluf1952 said:
Filling in your vehicle info might help. Depending on the year, you will have three or four ABS sensors.
Oops I thought I had, must have disappeared with the site upgrade. Done.
Thanks for the replies, I will get to cleaning the sensors this weekend and will post results.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
I doubt that cleaning the sensor will do anything. Had that issue on my 00 Jimmy after replacing a wheel hub with a cheap Chinese one. Replaced the sensor with the one from the original hub, no change so it was the reluctor wheel inside. I pulled the ABS fuse until I had the replace the hub 6 months later when it died again. Your hub is probably on its way out even though it may not be doing any noise yet.
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
Mooseman said:
...cheap Chinese one. ...it was the reluctor wheel inside. ...I had the replace the hub 6 months later when it died again. ...
Just to reinforce the message in this post. Some Ebay junk parts are not worth the attractive low price. Everybody seems to try them once, me included. Save up for quality if you have to - there are plenty of analogies for choosing girlfriends, parachutes, or condoms on price alone. Cheap isn't necessarily gonna keep you satisfied or safe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: loondog33 and C-ya

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
Wooluf1952 said:
Depending on the year, you will have three or four ABS sensors.
I know I only have three sensors because I don't have Stabilitrak but where would my third sensor be, on output shaft of trans?
 

neohio

Member
Nov 11, 2013
85
Usually each front hub bearing assembly incorporates a speed sensor into it. Your 3rd sensor might be attached to the rear differential.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
And like my mom says, "we can't afford to buy cheap". Just had to try them once.
 

BRomanJr

Member
Dec 9, 2011
371
gmac310 said:
I know I only have three sensors because I don't have Stabilitrak but where would my third sensor be, on output shaft of trans?
With 2WD it is in the tail housing of the Transmission, On 4WD it is in the tail housing of the Transfer Case.
In both cases just in front of where the drive shaft connects.
 

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
BRomanJr said:
With 2WD it is in the tail housing of the Transmission, On 4WD it is in the tail housing of the Transfer Case.
In both cases just in front of where the drive shaft connects.
 

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
And I suppose it's different than the fronts? I ordered a sensor for the front wheels just in case there's a bad one.
 

IllogicTC

Member
Dec 30, 2013
3,452
The_Roadie said:
Every group of buddies should have SOMEBODY who owns a good code reader. The one who invests in it will pay it off in a year or less by charging a six-pack for each use.
With the prices of even just a code-reading at some shops, getting a couple uses out of something like the $100 Actron unit I have has made it pay for itself in shop cost alone, not including time and gas to get there. It's a very smart investment, though if one can't afford it I would try the group of buddies system (could even all chip in for it if that helps).
 

C-ya

Member
Aug 24, 2012
1,098
TC, what model is yours and what is it capable of? I have a couple of units in my "saved for later" basket on Amazon that are supposed to read ABS codes. The OTC 9450 is right at $100, and the Innova 3160 is right at $200.

Anyone else with any feedback on those or their own unit feel free to chime in. (If we need to branch this off to a new thread, feel free.)
 

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
Well, I disassembled sensors and they looked ok. Pass side reluctor wheel was covered in grease so I took some q-tips and cleaned off what I could get while keeping cotton out of hub. Seems like it's worse now than before. After a test drive it seems to do it all the time now, which helps with troubleshooting. I did change out my hubs about 2 years ago but can't remember make of them. Maybe it's time to replace them again although they don't appear to be worn, loose or grinding.
 

neohio

Member
Nov 11, 2013
85
If the reluctor wheel was full of grease, something internal to the hub assembly has failed. The sensor senses the gaps in the reluctor wheel to determine speed and when a wheel locks up.

Throw a new set of bearings.
 

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
neohio said:
If the reluctor wheel was full of grease, something internal to the hub assembly has failed. The sensor senses the gaps in the reluctor wheel to determine speed and when a wheel locks up.

Throw a new set of bearings.
Good to know! That was my first time looking inside a hub, didn't know if that was normal or not. Thanks!
 

IllogicTC

Member
Dec 30, 2013
3,452
C-ya said:
TC, what model is yours and what is it capable of? I have a couple of units in my "saved for later" basket on Amazon that are supposed to read ABS codes. The OTC 9450 is right at $100, and the Innova 3160 is right at $200.

Anyone else with any feedback on those or their own unit feel free to chime in. (If we need to branch this off to a new thread, feel free.)
Actron CP9575
Read/Erase codes - provides generic descriptions with each code
View emissions status (Funny enough, my PCM reports the SAIS checks out even with my P0410)
View live data - currently a little over 300 PIDs installed on it (supplied by the company, more may or may not become available via update later). Missing some things like voltage, but has the basics covered, updates every 0.5-0.33 seconds.
DOES NOT DO ABS/SIR
Cost was $100.
 

Pittdawg

Member
Dec 5, 2011
538
gmac310 said:
Well, I disassembled sensors and they looked ok. Pass side reluctor wheel was covered in grease so I took some q-tips and cleaned off what I could get while keeping cotton out of hub. Seems like it's worse now than before. After a test drive it seems to do it all the time now, which helps with troubleshooting. I did change out my hubs about 2 years ago but can't remember make of them. Maybe it's time to replace them again although they don't appear to be worn, loose or grinding.
I had this same issue. Replaced hubs with Timkens. No change. Now I'm thinking it's slightly warped rotors
 

C-ya

Member
Aug 24, 2012
1,098
Thanks TC.
 

rodehawg

Member
Jul 19, 2012
13
I had the issue as well. ABS engaging once in a while when slowing to a stop. Also service stabilitrak message would show up a fair amount. Reluctor ring was not clean looking when I tried the sensor/mount cleaning procedure.

Ended up putting in some Moog bearings and all has been good for over a year now.
 

loondog33

Member
Jun 25, 2014
84
Older thread, but I figure I add to it for people who search through it. My truck was doing as OP describes, from the day I bought it. No noises for roughly 15k more miles and then I got the tell tale hum. Replaced right side wheel hub and now brakes act as they should.
 

gmac310

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
174
[SOLVED] I finally got around to replacing the hubs on my truck and it seems to have solved the ABS problem, now onto the service 4WD light problem! :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mounce

kmb

Member
Oct 21, 2012
9
When replacing the left front abs sensor on my 05, I noticed that the sensor appears to bottom out on the tan o-ring about 1/16" above the mounting surface on the hub. It looks like there's some rust built up in the sensor hole on the hub. Can somebody tell me if I should clean up the rust to seat the sensor so it's sitting on the hub, or am I missing something? Thanks!
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Could be one of two things. Either there is rust as you say or the sensor you got is different than the one that came with the hub. I've seen sensors that would not swap between OEM and aftermarket hubs. You could clean out the rust and put a bit of grease on the o-ring.
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,273
Posts
637,498
Members
18,472
Latest member
MissCrutcher

Members Online

No members online now.