'99 silverado ABS problem

lidar99

I own a '99 silverado, 2wd, ext, 4.8, and have an
intermittent problem with the ABS. Seems the system
occasionally kicks in during normal braking (no
sand, snow, ice, water, excessive speed). Anyone
else have this problem? It never happens when the
dealer takes it for a ride.

Thanks,
Dave

zbad71

My truck now has about 9,200 miles on it. I am starting to experience the same thing. Mine seems to have something trigger it. Like today I was braking and not even very hard. I went over a bad spot in the road that bumped the rear of the truck up a little and the ABS kicked in. What worried me the most is that since it did that, I DID have to ride the brakes harder to keep from hitting a car in front of me, which caused the ABS to kick in again. Did not have enough stopping distance for that to happen with a comfort stopping zone.

Getting help from my dealer is a waste of time. I will have to wait and take it to another dealer that is further away and less convenient. I know they will find the problem though. They are a really good dealer.

Let me know what you find out.

z71bill

This sounds normal to me. Any time the system senses a problem it kicks in. This has happened to me several times on uneven surface (like over a bad expansion joint) or when stopping on a road that is bumpy. The anti lock system on the new Silverado is much more sensitive than last years model. My anti lock does not kick in when I am stopping on a smooth surface unless I am breaking very hard. Like last week some jerk in a Honda civic pulls out in front of me - then stops in the middle of the road. I almost T-Boned him in the drivers side door. We were both lucky I had anti lock breaks. It saved me a trip to the body shop and saved him a trip to the funeral home. I can only imagine what must have went through his tiny brain as 5,000 pounds of truck squealed to a stop just inches from his door. He then had the nerve to flip me off as he drove away..

zbad71

What you say is probably very true. I have only had it happen to me a couple of times and only recently. And yes, it happened when I was stopping on a bumpy or uneven surface too.

I will just keep an eye out for it.

mgdvhman

To me too in my 2500. it's just the way sensative ABS works. Every time it happens...it's in the same two spots...so what does that tell you?

Don't sweat it

- Tim

sandman9

Anytime the system finds a wheel spinning faster than any of the other 3, ABS will kick in to assist the stop

jaijay

The ABS sensor is designed to monitor the speed of each wheel and feed this input into a computer. Autos that have a traction control option use this input to determine which wheel is slipping and use the ABS circuit to apply brakes to the spinning wheel. On an open axle, the non spinning wheel will grab. This is a clever option that is used on a variety of GM products. I had this on my front wheel drive Pontiac Bonneville. It worked quite well and gave impressive results.

However during braking, an accelerometer is used to determine if the vehicle is slowing down (a braking condition.) In this mode the wheel that is NOT spinning has locked up. When this is sensed, it will use the electronics to release or pulse the locked brake. This eliminates a skid condition and allows the vehicle to be controlled in a heavy braking condition.

mgdvhman

Ain't they great!?

This is just one little spoof of having them. Overall they are a good addition though..

- Tim

cr3

i dont care for them.i do like my 99 3500 vans abs.these brakes feel normal until the worst of conditions.my silverado feels unpredickable,not confidence inspirering at all.and yes it is always triggerd by some thing, say braking over train tracks,irregular pavement.they dont go out of pulse mode after hitting smooth road agian.does any body know of a ajustment that can be made? i think i found the 1st thing i dont care for in this truck.

mgdvhman

You could go back to a 77 Chevy?

artp

I have two vehicles with 4 wheel ABS, one truck, one car (neither a GM). I've never had any of the problems you guys describe. You guys mention that your ABS systems are too sensitive. Could it be that too much braking is being applied to the rear wheels (with GM's 4 wheel disc brakes) causing them to lock too soon?

mckain

I rented a 99 GMC 2wd, 4.8L auto. I notice exactly what you are saying. Seemed to go into ABS during normal braking, I rented that same truck twice and it only happened once.

Since then I bought a 99 Silverado/ext 4x4 5.3L Auto. This one so far has not done what the rented one did. Althought I was braking over a (wet) manhole cover this weekend and it did kick-in. But it slid over it as well so that would be normal.

quadrunner500

There is a proportioning system regulating rear brake bias, when slip is detected.

You all need to consider these stopping distances are best in class in most magazine tests. I've felt it kick in on mine but always when supposed to.

It's not the primary purpose of ABS to stop faster. It's to prevent loss of control caused by a skid. Under some circumstances, it may actually extend stopping distances. That's not desirable, but neither is looping it during a hard stop in the rain.

When ABS brakes were first introduced on police cruisers here in Denver, officers has some crashes they erroneously blamed on ABS brake systems. Turned out the solution was to train them on proper use. Another way of saying, slow down, and allow a little extra distance from the car in front!

mgdvhman

Point out the rear proportioning system thing...but ya beat me to it..

Only happens once in a while....while stopping and hitting a bump just right.

Oh well

- Tim

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