I have a 2007 Honda Accord VP. Recently the ABS light came on. I ignored it for awhile because was told ABS won’t affect manual breaking system (break pads and fluid were checked and fine). While driving one day, the brakes went to the floor, made a noise (can’t describe) and the pedal kicked back up. I applied brakes again and they worked fine the rest of the way home. I was very shaken as I almost hit another vehicle. The dealer said it would cost around $1500-2000 to fix if it is an ABS control module failure. I took it to another place where it has sat for a month. They can’t figure out the problem from the codes they are getting and said probably a control module. My question: If ABS is not needed to stop a car, what caused the brakes to fail and then work again? Is this something that can be “disconnected” so as to have only a manual breaking system?
There are 2 things I know about your problem-
- You depend on your brakes for your life
- Modern braking systems are very complicated
With those 2 facts, I can state very strongly that you must get your brakes repaired to factory specification. No short cuts, no modifications. Are you not still under warranty? You might use the mechanic finder on the Cartalk web site to find a good Honda mechanic in your area.
I an not at all sure it is an ABS related problem. However yes or no, I strongly suggest that you had a good shop find out what the problem is and to fix the ABS problem even if it is not related to the incident you had.
ABS is worth the cost, at least to me. I guess you can decide what your life and the lives of your family may be.
ABS isn’t supposed to do that even when it is working wrong. Master cylinders (not part of the ABS system) aren’t supposed to do that either, but they sometimes they do. I’d at least consider the possibility that you have two problems – a broken ABS system and a failing master cylinder.
I am not a fan of ABS which is expensive, complex, and – insurance companies tell us – just about totally ineffective as a safety feature. So, what I personally would probably do is disable the ABS entirely (by removing the fuse?), and replace the master cylinder just in case. The master cylinder won’t be cheap, but it won’t be four digits worth of expensive either.
You might want to find a good independent (non-dealer) mechanic and see what he/she thinks about the whole situation and your options. He may be able to come up with a used ABS control module at a more modest price. $1500-$2000 seems to me a bit steep for a parts hanging (“Let’s replace X and see if that fixes it”) expedition.
2007? Shouldn’t all this be under warranty?