so im just curious... i have a 01 ex cpe.... yesterday i was driving out to a house and had to slam on the brakes so i didnt miss it... my left front brake locked up.... it also locks up when i slow down to turn in my driveway(i live on a dirt road).... that is on a slight braking... i thought abs was supposed to prevent locking.... anyone have any suggestions?

 

bump because its happening more frequently

 

Is the ABS malfunction light on?
The Civic's ABS system isn't really all that great.

 

no its not .... is it possible to replace with the rsx abs or no?

 

My ABS hasnt been working for 8 months, I just pulled teh fuse. with winter coming I should probably fix it. for some dumb reason ABS wont throw a code to OBD and just tell me what's wrong.

I forgot, how else can I get it to tell me what's wrong with my ABS? it's probably one of the sensors but which?

 

inspect the wheel speed sensors

 

Mystery solved.

My ABS has only seemingly failed one time. It was while coming to a stop on compact snow at an intersection. My right front wheel locked up under light braking.

Although gravel/dirt isn't as slippery as compact snow or ice, it does not provide enough friction between the two surfaces (tires and gravel/dirt or snow/ice) to allow the ABS to function properly. Even though ABS is supposed to prevent skidding; sometimes it still happens.

Now, if you heavily applied your brakes on a dry, paved road, and your wheel(s) still locked up.. then I'd consider ABS failure.

 

its not always on a dirt road. it happens a lot on pavement also when i am doing a lot of spirited driving

 

i couldnt tell you what is wrong with it, but this is a perfect case of why you should always drive like you dont have it. ABS gives you a false sense that you can just put the pedal to the floor and the car will stop in the shortest amount of time. this is why you should always use the abs between your brain and your right foot rather than the one in your car. Common sense tells you youre gonna lock up if you floor the brake (ie think back to when you were 10 and riding your bike and you would slam the brakes to get a sweet skidmark on your driveway) but people that have only driven with abs seem to forget this and rely too heavily on it

 

well i kinda of already think this seeing how it never works. im just trying to find out if i should just replace something or not

 

if it seems like its stopped working, its worth getting it looked at. considering you locked up on a dirt road, that tells me its mainly just driving habit rather than abs malfunction. does it lock up on paved roads as well?

 

what's considered as locking up? I think I may have the same problem on my 05 civic ex coupe ...