While I was driving the person in front of me stopped unexpectedly on orange and I had to brake really hard to avoid hitting him. I could feel the abs kicking in and all. I am a defensive driver and don't drive my car hard this is the first time I have braked so hard on my 08 tl. The speed may not have been 40-50 mph. My questions are:
1 would braking hard have damaged the brakes to a great extent?
2 what do I need to check to make sure everything is ok?

I did notice that the brake holds more than it used to.

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks guys

 

The brake pads and rotors get worn a little more than usual.

Seriously, you won't really experience much from a once-in-a-while panic stop, unless say you do three or more panic stops from 60+ in quick succession, then proceed to drive in stop and go traffic for a while. Just check for steering wheel vibration while braking.

 

I meant the speed may have been around 40 mph.

 

Your car is fine, braking hard just uses up the brake pads faster.

 

Im sure the rotors are fine too, I've had my fair share of 140+ braking to the point of fading many times and my rotors have no vibes

 

Thanks for the reply. Should I check for steering wheel vibration during normal braking or while braking from a higher speed?

 

Thanks guys! I will check for vibrations when I step out for lunch. I feel so aweful ant the whole thing!

 

I think I probably hit ABS more than anyone else on the forum. I hit ABS (on dry concrete pavement) a minimum of once per week and sometimes up to three times a week. I have never experienced any ill effects.

On the contrary, an argument could be made that it is helpful to periodically force the ABS to engage. The reasoning is that the ABS components need to be "exercised" periodically. Like anything else mechanical, it is not good to have it go for a long period of time with no usage.

Plus as you noticed, the brake pads will benefit from periodic "hard braking". I purposely engage ABS at least once a week for this exact reason. Being in a large city (Houston), I spend a lot of my commute in rush hour traffic which causes me to often brake gently. Always using gentle braking will form a glazed (polished) surface on the brake rotors, which is *not* conducive to good braking performance. The brakes need periodic hard braking to "scrub off" the glaze. Once the glaze is "scrubbed off", the brake pads will be able to better grab the rotors, which means better braking performance.

 

This is true...

Just make sure nobody is behind you when you test your ABS!

 

do it in the wet please, easier on parts than dry pavement
1 stop from 40 is nothing, that barely warms the pads and rotors, try 10, 80 to 30mph slow downs at max effort- just before abs engages--thats pad wear a little
Do a track day and use 50 % of the pads up~

Dont use ABS in normal braking- it takes longer to stop with it engaged
Its main purpose is you can stomp the brakes and steer around the accident in front of you
Made for untrained drivers and super slippery conditions only- not normal braking on the street or track
You should be able to feel right where it locks the wheels and stay above that

glaze can be removed with several 60-20 mph heavy slow downs then drive on freeway 15 minutes to cool fully

 

Thanks guys! I hope I dint eat up a lot of my brake pads :-)
anyways everything looks ok so far no obvious vibrations on the steering wheel.

 

the guys that max brake constantly still get 15kmiles on front pads

 

But definitely have a friend in the car and don't tell him your gonna do it. It's funny to see their heads bob around and the look on their face.

 

Hahaha I like that!!! :-)

 

what do you mean by max brake? should the ABS kick in a max brake scenario? Also, in ABS equipped cars, the wheels keep turning even if you put all your weight on the pedal right?

 

Yes, in my opinion, it was essentially developed for people who can't drive well or women.

ABS pumps the brakes for you so your wheels don't lock up under hard braking. Some people like it, others don't. I pulled the ABS relay in my old Jeep. The brakes were better after that. I wouldn't do that in this car though. The brembos are money.