ABS and Anti-Lock Brake Repair
ABS is the system that keeps a wheel from locking up and skidding when you brake hard. When the ABS light comes on, that system has found a problem and shut itself off. Your regular brakes still stop the car. What you lost is the anti-skid help, and it stays off until the fault gets fixed.
What the light means, and what it does not
A yellow or amber ABS light means the anti-skid system is switched off and the car has stored a code saying why. A red brake light is a different and more urgent message, usually low fluid or a problem with the brakes themselves, and that one means stop driving. If your traction control light came on at the same time, that is normal: both systems read the same sensors, so when one sensor quits, both features turn off.
Nine times out of ten it is a wheel sensor
Each wheel has a small sensor that counts how fast that wheel is turning. They live down by the brakes, in the dirt and the heat, so they fail for boring reasons: a corroded plug, a wire rubbed through where the suspension moves, metal grit stuck to the tip, or a cracked ring on the hub. The catch is that a bad sensor often reads perfectly fine sitting still and only drops out once you are moving. So we watch all four wheel readings live on a road test instead of testing one in the shop and calling it good.
When it is the pump unit instead
If the sensors and wiring check out, the problem is inside the ABS pump and valve unit, the box that does the actual pulsing. We test that by commanding it with a scan tool and watching whether it responds, rather than replacing an expensive part on a hunch. Worth knowing: old brake fluid that has taken on water is hard on that unit from the inside, which is one more reason we check fluid condition during a brake inspection.
What's included
- ABS and traction control codes read
- All four wheel speed readings compared on a road test
- Wheel sensors, wiring, and hub rings inspected
- ABS pump and valve unit tested with a scan tool
- Parking brake service
ABS Repair: questions we get asked
Is it safe to drive with the ABS light on?
Your regular brakes still stop the car, so this is not the same emergency as a red brake light or a leak. What you have lost is the anti-skid help in a hard stop, and on most vehicles traction control along with it. Drive it in to get it looked at rather than living with it, especially before a road trip.
Why did my traction control light come on too?
Traction control uses the same wheel speed sensors ABS does. When one sensor stops reporting, every feature that depends on it shuts off, so one small failure lights up two or three warnings at once.
My ABS kicks in at low speed on dry pavement. Is that normal?
No, and it is a common complaint. The pedal pulses and the system grabs when it should not, because one sensor is reporting that its wheel is slowing faster than the others. It feels alarming, and it usually points at a sensor or its wiring rather than at your brakes.
Will the ABS light fail a California smog check?
No. The smog test looks at emissions, and ABS is not an emissions system. A check engine light is the one that causes an automatic failure, so if both lights are on, the engine light is what stands between you and your certificate.
Can you just turn the light off?
Clearing the code when the cause is still there only buys a few miles before the light returns, and we are not going to charge you for that. We find the fault, fix it, and the light goes out on its own and stays out.
Family-owned since 1981
Three ASE Master Technicians
12-month / 12,000-mile warranty on qualifying work
32125 Arbol Real, Thousand Palms, CA 92276
Monday – Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
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We serve drivers across the Coachella Valley: