Hello, I have a 2003 Black with under 3000 miles on it and Im wondering about the Anti-Lock brakes on this car, or perhaps just the brakes that are on my particular car. Having just seen the first real snow in the past couple weeks here in Illinois im having a "weird" experience with the effectiveness of the braking system. I noticed that when I was driving in a light amount of now and I hit the brakes I can feel the pulsating of the system but i also hear a sort of grinding noise as its pulsating. To test this I drove my friends 2003 Mustang and it also made a sort of grinding noise as it was pulsating maybe just not as loud, but it was evident. I also dont know if the car is stopping as well as it should even if it is on light snow. If i slam on the brakes on the dry pavement i feel the pulsating but the noise is not there so is this just a issue with there being snow on the pavement? I apologize if this is hard to understand as I am at work and preoccupied. Thank you for your help.

 

Are you sure it's not just the sound of the tires grinding against the snow, ice, salt, etc.? When it snows, there's likely a lot of little particles on the ground that aren't there when it's dry.

 

I would have to go back out again but I dont think it sounds like its the tires slipping on the pavement unless theres a lot of slippage, i dont claim to know much about cars????

 

Based on your description I would say it's normal. What you're likely hearing is the ABS system working as it should. The reason it's louder than you might expect is because of the short wheel base, thin cloth top, etc. ABS is louder in some cars than others, so it's hard to compare cars.

 

Have you ever heard the ABS system working like this? I think that it is probably just the system working normally and the extra noise is just coming from the snow and particles on the road like the other person said because i tried on just wet pavement and got the ABS to kick in and there was no "grinding" noise.

 

I would say the sounds you're hearing is normal. The first car I owned that had ABS was a 96 Civic. The first time I got it to kick in was on snow. It worried me at the time too, but I've learned that depending on the conditions, you may hear different amounts of noise.

 

i just went out and drove again in wet conditions and i felt the ABS kick in but no noise so i think that its safe to assume it was the conditions that caused the noise. thanks for your help to those who replied.

 

if you want to check out some really funky abs noises... drive a mid-90's pontiac. a dentist drilling your teeth while driving over rumble strips is how it can best described.

 

YES IT'S NORMAL

The brakes vibrate really fast when the car senses slippery road, so that sound is normal, don't freak out