Modern cars - putting the frighteners on

[Leveret]

Why does something that is not particularly useful (and in Mrs L's case would probably never be called upon) create such a scary scenario when it fails? While trundling along in her 5yr old 30k mile Peugeot 2008 at her usual cautious pace the dashboard suddenly launched into an alarming son et lumiere with beeps, red warning lights and 'STOP THE CAR'....'Take to a garage' messages! Cue for rescue mission. After inspecting the car and consulting Professor Google, it seems that the most likely cause is a failed wheel speed sensor causing the ABS light, the wheel brake pic, the skiddy line pic (ESP) the tyre pressure light and the service spanner to appear. Assured her that trailering to a garage was completely unnecessary and it was still perfectly safe to drive (thankfully the loud beeps stop after a bit). Booked into indy for diagnosis and repair next week. But I can well imagine a more cautious and less competent person calling for an expensive rescue and abandoning their plans for the day.

[Pit Pony]

But the brakes don't work. Properly. If she hasvtonemergency brake in the rain, she's toast.


Right ?

[Art Keller]

No..........cars didn't have abs or traction control etc...........we had to drive them

[Sporky]

Art Keller said:

No..........cars didn't have abs or traction control etc...........we had to drive them

We were fine without antibiotics too, right?

[LesXRN]

I've found that most times multiple warnings flash up, it's due to a low / failing main battery.

[Vsix and Vtec]

Sporky said:

We were fine without antibiotics too, right?

Pretty weak comparison. Having driven lots of vehicles without ABS and Traction Control (i mention this because generally if you lose one, you also lose the other) and coming from an era where my first car had a manual choke, there's no perceptible difference. I can't think of the last time I drove in such a manner as to experience ABS cutting in. Furthermore, were I to lock up in an emergency stop, cadence braking still works fine in the OPs situation. I can appreciate that in this day and age where the first car people drove was a brand new Corsa with hill start assist and an electronic park brake this might all sound alien, but I promise that middle pedal will still stop you just fine. Heavens, it wasn't until the 90s that it even became standard on most cars, my Ford Capri 2.8i ended production without it ever having featured in the model line-up. Brakes are generally to stop you hitting something or someone, I suggest it's that modern brakes are so good that people are so comfortable with driving half an inch off the bumper of the car in front, so possibly the advent of ABS has allowed driving standards to decline, in much the same way as automatic headlamps and lane assistant. People use the safety system as a crutch for bad driving habits and then panic when they have to be responsible for their own safety and standards.

[trashbat]

Having had various ABS sensors fail, the diagnosis sounds right - sensor or module.

You can replace ABS sensors yourself, one of the easier jobs. The question is which one.

You could get a slightly-better-than-basic code reader and find out which one provides bad/no values. As an aside you can probably narrow it down to / rule out one of the sensors depending on whether the speedometer works or not. Often only one of the four is used for speed.

[Baldchap]

LesXRN said:

I've found that most times multiple warnings flash up, it's due to a low / failing main battery.

Also my experience.