ABS Faults: Can You Still Drive Safely?

 The anti-lock braking system, or ABS, is a vital safety feature found in most modern cars and is designed to prevent the car’s wheels from locking up under an emergency brake application, which could send the car spinning out of control. What should you do when an ABS fault message appears on the dashboard and that little ABS light starts flashing? Can you keep driving?

 Drive with the warning light on, and you place yourself at increased risk of one very specific death. This article identifies the risks, sets out the prospects, and spells out steps to be taken.

What Happens When the ABS Fails?

 An ABS system that was working properly would activate during emergency braking to stop the wheels from locking up. This means that the vehicle is able to be steered when in a state of, and therefore is less likely to jack-knife.

 However, in case, the system is disabled. This means that your anti-lock braking. While the brakes themselves will still be functional, your car will be without ABS functionality in

Can You Drive with an ABS Fault?

 It technically still allows you to keep driving with a parameter fault on the ABS – which just means that the special braking system won’t work any more, but the normal brakes are still functioning as usual – but the truth is that you oughtn’t carry on driving.

Here’s what you need to consider:

Reduced Control in Emergency Braking

 The first and most important job of ABS is to let you steer while braking hard. Without ABS, your car’s brakes can lock up the wheels in a panic stop, especially if there’s rain or ice on the road. If this happens, the car can skid all over the place and crash.

 Braking Risk: If you have to brake fast to avoid a collision or evade a hazardous situation, having no ABS could very well make such control much harder to achieve.

Longer Stopping Distances

 ABS reduces braking distance by preventing wheel lock The simple truth is that you are likely to go further than the stated maximum distances, that is if the tyres lock up when the ABS is switched off, then you will experience reduced braking performance, especially on a wet or bumpy road. This in turn will result in longer stopping distances.

 Risk on the Road: It’s a truism that if you have 500 people, one of them will stop shorter than most. In an emergency, when you use your brakes, maybe you’ll be one of the outliers or maybe the inlier, but you must always be ready. So you need that braking system that stops you as fast as possible. ABS could potentially cost you an accident that you’d otherwise be able to avoid because it would allow you to stop a fraction of a second sooner.

Challenges in Poor Weather Conditions

 ABS turns out to be most useful in poor weather, or on roads coated in liquids such as water or ice. When you are braking on a slippery surface, it tends to ‘lock’ your wheels, which effectively stops your car, but can mean you have no control over the direction it goes in. ABS doesn’t let your wheels lock up, so you can steer. Without ABS, braking in the wet, on ice or on similar slippery surfaces becomes far more dangerous – your wheels are more likely to skid.

 Driving hazard: Driving in poor weather without ABS dramatically increases the risk of an accident, in part because the handling changes that come with a non-ABS system may not be familiar to you.

When Is It Safe to Drive with an ABS Fault?

 Although it’s obviously best to get an ABS fault fixed as soon as possible, there are some situations where driving without ABS might be safer:

 Clear, dry roads: if the road is clear, dry and in good condition, there is less risk that wheel locks will occur than when the road is wet or icy. Driving without ABS at low speed might not actually be much more dangerous than on a well-maintained road. However, several points must be kept in mind: drive at a safe following distance and slow down if necessary.

 Low-Speed Driving: Unless you live in a city and often find yourself in stop-and-go traffic, there’s a good chance that low speeds won’t be a concern when you put your brakes on, and therefore you probably won’t need ABS. But you should still be aware of how your vehicle behaves under braking, and of course try to avoid ever having to do so with single-foot hard stops.

 And regardless, you ought to be driving more carefully when your ABS is disabled anyway – this preventative benefit has just been taken away from you.

What Should You Do When the ABS Light Comes On?

If the ABS warning light appears on your dashboard, here’s what you should do:

Pull Over Safely

 As soon as it’s safe, pull over and switch off the car. In some of these systems, restarting the engine ‘resets’ the system, turning off the ABS warning light. If, after restarting the car, the ABS warning light stays on, then it is clear that a persistent fault exists.

Check the Brake Fluid Levels

 One of the more common fault codes for an ABS is low brake fluid. Open the hood, and check to see that the brake fluid reservoir is within the allowable level range. If the fluids are low, top them off with the appropriate type of DOT or ISO grade brake fluid for your vehicle.

Inspect Wheel Speed Sensors

 The ABS monitors the speed of each wheel using a wheel speed sensor. If one of these sensors has dirt on it or is damaged, it could set off an ABS fault. Look for dirt and debris around the wheel speed sensors, which are usually positioned near the brake rotor. If the sensor looks dirty or has visible damage, clean it, or possibly replace it.

Use an OBD-II Scanner

 A simple scan of the ABS fault codes from your vehicle’s computer via an OBD-II scanner will provide more detail about the source of your ABS fault – is it a wheel speed sensor, the ABS control module, or something else?

Drive Cautiously

 If you can’t get the ABS to activate, that doesn’t mean you need to pull over and call for a tow truck. With an ABS fault activated, you’re still safest driving slowly, not suddenly braking, not aggressively braking, and ideally out of the rain. However, you may wish to consider increasing your following distance to a safe 5-second interval.

When to Seek Professional Help

 Most home-based checks can be done only so far. If you suspect an ABS problem and smell brake fluid or notice a liquid puddle in the morning, get your car to a mechanic. Of course, you don’t want or need to do it yourself in most cases, but ABS problems are not as easy to diagnose as a failed headlight, for example. If you’re not comfortable doing even the basics listed in this article or can’t make the final diagnosis and repair, don’t hesitate to take it in.

 The longer you leave an ABS fault unattended, the more damage there will be. That will add to the cost of fixing your car, while driving without ABS for a time will also put you at greater risk in an emergency situation or if the weather is bad.

The Legal and Insurance Implications of Driving Without ABS

 Finally, you might be aware that if you are unlucky enough to have a faulty ABS unit, you can still drive but, with insurance implications.

 MOT Failure in the UK: Any vehicle with its ABS warning light on will fail its MOT test. A failed MOT test also means that the vehicle cannot be driven on public roads until the fault is repaired.

 Risk of Insurance Claims:Recall, you’re not supposed to drive your car if you know the ABS is faulty, and some insurers will cancel your insurance policy if they discover you’ve been driving on an ABS fault. If you get into an accident and it turns out the ABS fault was the cause of a collision, your insurance may not pay out.

Conclusion

 It is safe to drive your car for a short distance if you get an ABS fault, but you shouldn’t leave it like that for too long. ABS can mean the difference between losing control during an emergency brake and staying safe, or between just stopping in time and skidding uncontrollably. Without ABS, you’re more likely to skid, it will take longer to come to a stop, and braking will be dangerous in bad weather.

 If the light comes on, the ABS warning light, get the problem seen to immediately; do some checks – look for air or water in the brake fluid, check that the wheel speed sensors haven’t gone mobile – but if you can’t be sure, make sure you get the car to a specialist. By getting the ABS fault fixed early, not only will you keep yourself safer on the road, you can also protect yourself should your ABS fail while you’re driving by negating many potential problems with your insurance.