[Guest]

My '06 MT has the habit of activating the ABS when stopping on bumpy or broken pavement. It's mostly annoying but when this happens I seem to lose some control over my stopping power. I can't help but fear that someday this is going to cause an unpleasant eventuality for instance if I'm having to stop in a hurry behind someone and we're on rough payment. Does anyone else ever experience this "overactive" ABS? Any thoughts as to what causes it. My dealer says "this is normal". This is the first Insight I've owned, but over the years I've had many cars with ABS and none of them engage as often or as easily as my Insight.

-JRH

 

[jbrasure]

I've had two Insights, and both of them did this. I believe it's normal.

 

[retepsnikrep]

Ditto

Both mine behave in the same way. Seems Normal. Peter

 

[Scott]

I agree it's normal, mine has always been that way.

 

[Guillermo]

Many cars made within the last 10 years are like this.
Some are more noticeable then others.
Never tailgate and start braking early and smoothly to avoid the situations you are concerned about.
If stopping more quickly is a priority, upgrading to sticker tires is an option.

 

[gomarlins3]

Mine does it when I am braking and cross railroad tracks. It concerned me at first, but then realized what was happening.

 

[bfivelover]

I thought there was something seriously wrong with my brakes the first couple of times it happened, but it does appear to be normal.

 

[Aaron Cake]

Mine has always done the same thing, until I pulled the ABS fuse. Now, the car is actually safe to drive in low traction conditions.

ABS sucks, period.

 

[joecvt]

My '06 MT has the habit of activating the ABS when stopping on bumpy or broken pavement. It's mostly annoying but when this happens I seem to lose some control over my stopping power. I can't help but fear that someday this is going to cause an unpleasant eventuality for instance if I'm having to stop in a hurry behind someone and we're on rough payment. Does anyone else ever experience this "overactive" ABS? Any thoughts as to what causes it. My dealer says "this is normal". This is the first Insight I've owned, but over the years I've had many cars with ABS and none of them engage as often or as easily as my Insight.

I have a solution for this

I am currently selling a small circuit board that will allow normal regen to continue even when the ABS suddenly activates. Please see the following thread in the Buy / Sell section.

http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/buy-sell-insight-related-items/15782-fs-abs-ima-regen-enabler-circuit-board.html#post150717

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

 

[talonmike]

I think it would be dangerous to bypass the "disable regen function" on snowy roads. Doing regen on a slippery road could make you loose control of the car.

There is a reason why Honda disabled the regen when abs is in use.

 

[joecvt]

I think it would be dangerous to bypass the "disable regen function" on snowy roads. Doing regen on a slippery road could make you loose control of the car.

So why aren't people getting into accidents on snowy roads when;

a) they lift their foot off the gas pedal (near full regen for a few secs)

b) they have full regen while lightly touching the brakes (when only the brake lights come on - not much brake pressure)

Full regen is nothing more worse than putting the car into a lower gear (something that is sometimes recommended)

The sudden unexpected release of full regen (when ABS kicks in) is more likely to cause a loss of control or confidence.

Think of it this way....ABS is monitoring each wheel and relieving brake pressure just before lockup. ABS does not work any differently if you have an MT model in 1st gear or 5th gear when ABS activates. Max regen can not cause wheel lockup on its own. There would have to be brake pressure as well and the ABS was designed to release the pressure just before lockup.

There is a reason why Honda disabled the regen when abs is in use.

Do you know that this is the reason Honda did this?

It has been discussed before on this forum as to why Honda did this and the most logical reason (IMO) that I read was in order to certify the ABS functionality, Honda had to make the car "more normal" in other words "a non hybrid" to meet ABS standards of certification. This does not mean that the disable was done for safety, it was done for certification IF that is the real reason.

I don't really know why but I can tell you that I don't like the feeling of max regen unexpectedly dropping out when ABS kicks in (even over light braking over some bumps in the road)

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

 

[BillR]

This quirk of the Insight has been discussed before.

When the ABS is triggered, and due to factors of high pressure tires, soft springs, and a lightweight car it triggers very easily, the regen braking is disabled. Some people have said that when the ABS kicks in they suddenly loose braking power, so they feel that the ABS is at fault. What we're really feeling is the loss of the regen braking. Depending on the gear you're in and the speed you're moving at, loss of regen braking can be quite dramatic and it feels like the car is surging ahead. This just demonstrates how little friction braking is being used. Once you understand what is happening, you can easily modulate the brake pedal to increase the amount of friction braking force to replace what was lost when regen braking is disabled.

I drive on icy roads for 5 months of the year. I'm one person who very much enjoys the directional stability that having ABS braking on my vehicles provides and I won't disable mine.

Bill

 

[joecvt]

What we're really feeling is the loss of the regen braking. Depending on the gear you're in and the speed you're moving at, loss of regen braking can be quite dramatic and it feels like the car is surging ahead. This just demonstrates how little friction braking is being used. Once you understand what is happening, you can easily modulate the brake pedal to increase the amount of friction braking force to replace what was lost when regen braking is disabled.

I drive on icy roads for 5 months of the year. I'm one person who very much enjoys the directional stability that having ABS braking on my vehicles provides and I won't disable mine.

Bill

I am not talking about disabling anything It is really keeping the IMA regen enabled during ABS activation so you don't feel that forward surge.

I am currently selling a small circuit board that will allow normal regen to continue even when the ABS suddenly activates. Please see the following thread in the Buy / Sell section.

FS: ABS IMA Regen Enabler circuit board

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner