Why does Dodge ABS S*@k so much?

[Batman]

Last night I almost rear-ended a truck in stop and go traffic. I was going between 10 & 15 mph, the guy in front of me jacked his brakes up, I was alittle too close, jacked mine up... ... ... ... and then the brake pedal pulsed and the braked faded, almost tagged the guy in front. Brakes were not even hot, I was one mile into my commute home. Truck has 26k, I replaced the front pads 3 weeks ago, pedal is normally fine. I have rear drums, they were supposed to be adjusted by the dealer 6k miles ago.

Sorry so long, any suggestions/opinions??

TIA

 

[socal_rattler]

I have been in the same situation as you describe. The ABS on this truck scares the h@#l out of me, I wish they would have let well enough alone and kept standard brakes... . I could see rear anti-lock, but these things suck. I have had a number of cars with ABS, and none of them act like these do, so there has to be a design flaw on the Ram ABS.



Has anyone discussed these in detail with DC?

 

[jwdeeming]

Interesting post. Now I don't feel so bad that my 2001 came without the abs.



I can tell you though that high speed, hard braking can still be a thrill. I got caught daydreaming in traffic, moving at about 60mph and when I had to pile on the brakes hard, the rear wheels locked up and felt like I was on ice. I didn't hit anybody but it was too close - I drive differently now!



(Very impressive cloud of smoke - rubber this time, not diesel)



Jim

 

[Pat_in_Utah]

Remember to steer during panic stop!

I keep trying to tell myself to steer when the ABS kicks in. From the old days, you didn't steer in a panic stop (well, maybe by being your own ABS?) Now-a-days, you can steer with ABS during a panic stop - wow, what a concept



Have only tested my stopping from 50 MPH, didn't feel the ABS kick in tho (straight, dry road. ) Maybe I'll have to try it in wetter conditions. I can tell ya that the 4-wheel disc brakes ROCK baby - yeah! I'll take these brakes over anything I've driven! Very firm, no adjustments...



Pat

 

[JR2]

I tested my ABS the other day. I got caught day dreadming too... . and slammed the peddle to the floor and steered for the curb. Luckly the guy in front of me was turning in to a parking lot and got after it or I would have smacked him good. ABS just feel like they are fadeing, in reality they are working fine. I got to go to a driving school for work and one of the things we did was take a car with 4 wheel ABS up to about 70 MPH and slam on the breaks. It is quite impressive to see and feel the back end of a chevy caprice lift that high in the air and not go end over end. But it does feel like the breaks are giving up.



Just as a side note we also did some uncontrolled breaking (read 3x360 on wet pavment) and simulations of loss of traction (locked the breaks) on the front and back of the pickups we were driving as well as some ditch dives and a road course on gravel.

 

[Michael Hughes]

I have RWAL only and have found that after hualing something (80psi in rear tires) the ABS doesn't seem to work as well. I think it has to do with the rear tires hopping more. I run 55 PSI in the rear when not hualing and the ABS works alot better. Pickup trucks without RWAL are just as bad if not worse when empty. You just got to remember that we are driving a 3/4 ton pickup and not a sports car

 

[Ramafid]

Funny I should read this post just now. I was out driving today on gravel roads and slammed on the brakes to see how it would stop. I have 4WABS and it took a long time to stop. I was only going about 40 mph and the ABS cycled three times. IE no braking power. I then decided to take out the ABS fuse to see what would happen. WOW what a difference!!!! I must have stopped in half the distance. No, I didn't measure but I can tell you it was nothing short of amazing. I have driven lots of cars with ABS and they performed just fine. The bottom line is that Dodge ABS just STINKS!

 

[Blu-meanie]

I've never tried to panic stop the Blu-meanie, but I have had to slow really quickly. I have the four wheel disc setup and it's absolutely the best brakes I have ever experienced on a truck. The other disc/drum brakes I have had (73 Chev, 86 Ford) scared the cr@P out of me on several occasions, however they were non ABS. I'd suggest taking it back to the guys that adjusted the rear drums, or do it yourself. Usually the self adjusters are useless and you need to adjust them manually after 5,000 miles.