I just purchased a 2007 TL Type-S about 2 weeks ago and I find that the ABS kicks in very easily even when doing moderate braking. Is this normal? I know when I bought the dealer changed the rotors with cheap rotors and pads, so maybe could that be causing it?

 

On dry pavement? Not normal at all, on snow/ice with crappy tires yes. I honestly didn't feel the ABS until almost all the way through the first winter with the TL, had decent tires and was used to not having ABS on the previous car so I always braked easy and early.

 

Are you sure it's ABS? If it really is ABS and it doesn't happen just at a certain speed it's the tires.

 

is there some kind of indicator? other than a pulsing pedal.

if so, i havent activated it in my 2 years of driving my TL. Neither through pedal or indicator.

 

Maybe ure mistaking ABS with improperly bedded brakes?

 

I tried braking the brakes in after getting the vehicle and no luck. They aren't high performance pads or rotors they put on. Hence probably why it sucks. No to mention it has really cheap Maxtrek tires which I really have never heard of. It's probably just the combination of the cheap rotors and pads and tires. Yes the pedal is pulsating easily, dry pavement too.

Thanks guys, just wanted to see if it is just a TL problem or cheap part problem. Stupid dealer lol.

 

If it is the abs kicking in it's not because of the pads or rotors. Abs only kicks in to keep the tires from locking up. The pads and rotors are doing their job because they are able to make it hit abs. If the brakes themselves were really weak you wouldn't be able to hit abs. The TL with good tires stops surprisingly well. Mine is in the 90' range from 60mph which is well within exotic territory which makes no sense being as nose heavy as it is but I'll take it.

 

What you describe doesn't sound right. The ABS in our '05 TL isn't overly sensitive (unlike the system in our '08 Civic, which seems to come on when braking over any surface imperfection). There's nothing on the dash, for example, to indicate that ABS has been activated, that I recall.

Are you sure what you're feeling isn't some sort of brake disc warpage? You say that you feel this when braking from moderate speeds. Disc warp will cause pulsating of the pedal. Often it's felt when braking from a higher speed, as opposed to a lower speed. The dealer says he/she replaced the rotors, but are you sure that happened?

 

The only time I notice ABS on dry pavement is when a tire decelerates too quickly. Typically this is only going to happen when braking hard over a really rough road and one tire briefly looses contact. Or going over a threshold on a bridge or something.

However, stomp on the brakes and yeah of course the ABS will kick in.

 

I really wish it's true but under 100 ft is def in exotic car territory and the TL is far from exotic car level. Perhaps there's some other factor in play?

I have noticed that the TL actually stops fastest without abs engaging. It's tricky though as that means you cannot slam on it super hard. Well, maybe letting it engage mildly with a very slight pulsation.

 

Look for my Stoptech thread. It has measured stopping distances.