Why do people intentionally disable the ABS in the 3rd gens?

So this post originally was asking about the ABS fuses and some grumbling about how the past owner intentionally disabled the system and the ABS warning light.

As I was researching about putting the damn fuse back in (the ABS fuse is bolted down btw) I came across numerous threads about people trying to do the opposite thing and remove the ABS.

Can someone tell me why disabling the ABS in 3rd gen 4runners is such a common mod?

Edit: In the 6 months since writing this I learned my ABS wasn't disabled, my 4runner never had ABS. ABS was optional on third gen 4runners. In fact ABS wasn't mandated by the government until Sept 1, 2013.

Adding it back in would require a different wiring harness plus lots of time and money. If you want ABS buy a 4runner that has it, its not worth adding it after the fact.

 

Put a fuse in and see what happens?

Make sure you have the right fuse in question.

Your prior owner wouldn't be the first person to disable ABS on these cars.

 

bump

 

I don't think it's just 3rd gen 4runners it's popular in. I was just reading an article that said ABS has been proven to increase stopping distances when road conditions are slippery. If you are comfortable with threshold braking ABS doesn't really bring much to the table. We spent a couple days on an EVOC course for work and spent a good amount of time in different patrol vehicles working on threshold braking. It was a fun and good learning experience about what the vehicles are capable of before sensors kick in. https://www.google.com/amp/s/auston...y-abs-is-dangerous-and-how-to-disable-it/amp/

 

Yes, ABS increases stopping distances by a small bit but by disabling it, you risk reducing your ability to control the vehicle in a skid.

I will say that ABS has saved my bacon a few times. I would never disable it.

No amount of threshold braking experience will allow you to control your car better than ABS in snow (or the first 5-10 minutes of a downpour) where you need it the most. On dry ground...sure...you can probably outperform ABS but ABS almost never activates then anyways.

 

I can honestly say i can't think of time where I've jabbed my brakes hard enough to activate my ABS without it being intentional. I live in the PNW where it rains constantly and snows once or twice a year. I could take or leave ABS.

 

Come to Charlotte, NC and enjoy the moron drivers. Then you'll get to test your panic stops every day.

Southern drivers lose their minds when it so much as drizzles.

 

Panic stops irritate the shit out of me. If it takes me 5 more minutes to get somewhere to not have to be irritated I'm good with that.

 

I am planning on moving to Hickory, N.C. in a few months. This information is useful and will make me more precautions. In Arizona we get snowbirds who love to come and enjoy the nice winter weather. We get fun drivers here who love to go 5-10 mph below the speed limit, don’t know where they are going, and drive all over the road. Talking with police officers and the accident rates spike during the winter months (obviously more people). ABS works great if you know it is coming and you want to keep control of your car.

I wish I had it when I was driving my motorcycle. I went over the handlebars because I had to much brake. But again I should have been further back but ABS and other technology would have stopped me and might have prevented an accident but if I didn’t stop in time I would have hit the car and that would have been worse.

 

Down here in NC...when it snows...they have no snow removal or sand trucks. They do "try" to brine the roads which helps the major roads.

But you get to learn real fast to just stay the heck at home when it snows.

No one has snow tires and with fresh snow and no sand/salt...it's slip and slide city.

Then because it warms during the day for a few hours and then freezes again, it can turn it all into a skating rink. Not to mention just small patches of ice hidden here and there on seemingly passable roads.

All that gave me mucho appreciation for the ABS (and Trac control) I have.

And this is from a guy who spent the first 15 years of driving in upstate NY where you get real snow!

 

Interesting you say that because that is why I bought my wife the Toyota Sienna AWD for when we move. I heard bridges over there are bad. I totally get how ice is a problem. I hit black ice when I was 16 up in the mountains. Cliff on 1 side and a mountain wall on the other. So glad there were no cars around. Landed in the middle of the road. Super scary.

 

FortNine did a video about how ABS can be worse when slowing down on low traction surfaces, but that was on motorcycles.

I have had scary experiences in the snow where the rear end swung around causing me to slide down the road sideways. I blame those experiences on improper braking technique; if I had known that I didn't have ABS I wouldn't of jammed on the brakes and locked up my wheels. Obviously I don't know how well the ABS works because it was disabled on my 4runner, but I can't imagine the ABS being so poor that everyone would be better off not having it.

If there is any improvement to be had by disabling the ABS, it requires that the driver have some level of skill. Otherwise an inexperienced driver will lock up their brakes, go into an uncontrolled skid, and run into something or spin out.

 

That's where I was going with the threshold braking. It takes a bit of practice but once you figure it out you really have no need for ABS. Especially in slick conditions. Once your ABS kicks in you are driving your vehicle outside of it's capabilities. I get shit happens and you have to jam your brakes, but if you know where that threshold is you are better off then just mashing them to the floor.

 

We have a cabin in the mountains with a steep gravel drive. Many times, especially when going down pulling my 4-Wheeler on its trailer, the ABS kicks in. NOT GOOD. at the bottom of the drive, it comes to a " T " at the gravel access road. Right across that road is the mountain side. Because of ABS, I almost could not stop in time before going over the other side.
Not talking about going too fast either. Just creeping because I know of this potential.
I want to be in control and be able to lock up the brakes if I have to!
This is a situation when I feel ABS is BS and totally UN-safe!

 

I am a Tacoma Owner, i just like snow drifting, and when abs is on, it makes it more difficult. My abs has never worked, I think it’s with a wheel component. I like it off, and never see myself turning it back on.

 

to each their own..in term of driving scenarios