brake failure over pot holes

stabler [OP] · 05-04-2009, 11:22 AM

This morning I tapped on the brake before approaching a red light stop and there was a small pot hole there. Once the front wheel hit the pot hole, the brake effect was COMPLETELY GONE. I almost hit the car in front of me due to this momentary loss of brake. It was really a scary moment.

I am really pissed about this problem. ABS came out at least 20 years now, why are we still having this kind of problem? Toyota , are you listening?

***Fjamming*** · 05-04-2009, 11:28 AM

That's natural. When you hit the pot hole, the tire briefly loses contact with the road. You probably heard a beep and VSC came on too. Avoid braking when you have limited friction. ABS is great, but you still can't conquer physics.

**Macleod** · 05-04-2009, 11:37 AM

It's not just Toyota. I've only had that happen once in the FJ, but in my 02 Saturn I experienced it EVERY time I took the freeway entrance by my house, to the point that I got used to trying to swing the back end around in the skid so I could make the ramp and not jump the curb.

I have to echo Tony. Try to avoid braking in limited traction situations, and try to leave a safe following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. That alone can help prevent "almost hitting the car in front of you due to momentary loss of braking."

stabler [OP] · 05-04-2009, 12:03 PM

I understand the only work around is to avoid braking under these or similar situations. What I dont understand is that I lost all braking power when I only had one wheel lost of ground contact? i.e. why the other 3 wheels gave up too? What makes things even more bizzard is that the braking power on normal street speed and on dry pavement is really good. In fact the stopping distance is significantly better than most cars I have had. I guess this factor makes me more difficult to anticipate occasional suprises.

***Fjamming*** · 05-04-2009, 12:16 PM

ABS is quick, but still takes time. Hitting a pot hole and coming out of it doesn't take much time at all. Try out your ABS on some loose gravel. Approach at speed and hit the brakes hard. It does work. I'm glad you didn't hit the car in front of you. I bet that was unnerving.

stabler [OP] · 05-08-2009, 02:33 PM

This morning on my way to work, I saw the same pot hole was patched up. Guess I dont have a brake problem then. Ha Ha

FJ-Fred · 05-08-2009, 02:44 PM

A lot of people on this forum will think you are nuts or tell you that there's no problem other than the driver.
Check my post about your problem here:
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forum...akes-ever.html

**proinv** · 05-08-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

stabler previously said:

This morning on my way to work, I saw the same pot hole was patched up. Guess I dont have a brake problem then. Ha Ha

That's the new government GPS system at work. If your car hits a pot hole, the White House is immediately notified and Obama sends someone out to fix it.

They are testing this RRSVGPS (Road Repair Via GPS) in California first.

stabler [OP] · 05-08-2009, 03:21 PM

Quote:

proinv previously said:

That's the new government GPS system at work. If your car hits a pot hole, the White House is immediately notified and Obama sends someone out to fix it.

They are testing this RRSVGPS (Road Repair Via GPS) in California first.

If they beef up this technology and use it to issue speeding tickets, we can wipe out the deficit in no time.

stabler [OP] · 05-08-2009, 03:32 PM

Yes, I did.

Seriously, this is a problem that will not likely be addressed by Toyota. Perhaps it just does not have enough reported cases out there. We all just have to drive more carefully.