spwolf had it right on the money. there might very well be a problem with the braking system, like the caliper locking up. saying that your anti-locking device just decided to lock doesnt make a lot of sense. it's like a door that only opens one way, that you say decided to just open the other way all of a sudden. the ABS will not cause your caliper to just clamp down and make you lose control, because the ABS's job is to open up and maintain control. SO i doubt ABS is the main culprit.

if your caliper malfunctioned and just clamped down the car would assume that you have just slammed on the brakes and try and activate the ABS system. hence the ABS light you say came on. however, if the caliper was indeed so messed up that it would randomly clamp down and cause your car to activate the ABS, i'd say there's a decent chance your ABS couldn't FIX the problem because your primary braking system had completely locked up. if this is actually how it all happened, sure blame the ABS is you want (because it IS the ABS's job to unlock the brakes), but it would seem to me that the real issue is your brake system locking up beyond repair in the first place. it sounds like your ABS system was working perfectly since it indeed activate itself, but the pulses the ABS sends to the caliper to relieve pressure weren't being received.

 

man this stuff freaks me out but you all forgot to ask some important questions.

1 did your low tire presure light go on. it uses the abs system to "see" if any of the tires are turning at differnt speeds.

2 weight transfer. you said it happend as you put in the clutch and started to hit the brake. in front wheel dive cars this changes the dynamics of the vehicle, its easy to go from understeer (push) to oversteer (spin) by just leting go of the gas.

3 was there anything on the road. water, i know you said none, dirt, oil or gravel even alittle can change the way a car handles

4 were you tires properly inflated. even acouple of lbs can really change the way the car reacts to imputs.

maybe it was/is a mecanical failure

i'm sure most of us would like an update on this

 

you dont quite get it - ABS LOCKED DOWN! No real questions need to be asked, rather blame it on Toyota!

There are gazillion things that could happen when you brake in the corner, it is simply uneducated guess that it might be ABS locking which is why the whole thing makes no sense.

and btw. who the heck clutches completly during the cornering and then applies brakes "slightly" at the same time? That makes no sense at all. After doing that, it becomes evident that the driver experienced at all which gives a lot of suspicion weather it was an car's fault or drivers fault.

I mean why the heck do you clutch in during braking, unless you are actually hitting the brakes hard and expecting to come to the stop (and thus by clutching in, preventing the car from shutting off).

In fact, if you dropped the clutch while braking, your car would jolt, you would upset the weight distribution where upon your rear would become much lighter and easier to get out and dance. During that while braking in the corner is serious bye bye to your back end.

 

you dont quite get it - ABS LOCKED DOWN! No real questions need to be asked, rather blame it on Toyota!

There are gazillion things that could happen when you brake in the corner, it is simply uneducated guess that it might be ABS locking which is why the whole thing makes no sense.

and btw. who the heck clutches completly during the cornering and then applies brakes "slightly" at the same time? That makes no sense at all. After doing that, it becomes evident that the driver isnt experienced at all which gives a lot of suspicion weather it was an car's fault or drivers fault.

I mean why the heck do you clutch in during braking, unless you are actually hitting the brakes hard and expecting to come to the stop (and thus by clutching in, preventing the car from shutting off).

In fact, if you dropped the clutch while braking, your car would jolt, you would upset the weight distribution where upon your rear would become much lighter and easier to get out and dance. During that while braking in the corner is serious bye bye to your back end and hitting the brakes even more after that happens wont help much.

Did you by any chance practice to double clutch while braking? Seems like an good scenario...

More and more i read about it, funnier it seems.

 

Would the "black box ", which is supposedly installed in the tC, useful in diagnosing the problem?

1manila

 

what problem?

 

Agreed! The problem here is driver error.

From what i gather he hit the brakes late in the turn and shifted in the middle of the turn. Those are two big no-no's. Part of being inexperienced is not being able to recognize mistakes, much less correct them.

 

are all da Tcz with this problem manual trans?....

if all tcz that have or had this problem are stickship..then i would guess that..

there might be a problem with how the driver drives the car...

i have a silv streak mica auto......no problems at all yet.. 700miles

 

That's classic... It's the manual people! It's the manuals fault! It lets you shift in turns and brake late at a high rate of speed! haha.

 

Just asking how long have you been driving...

I have been driving for 8 years without any accidents...

I clutched in and braked a bit because there were cars in front of me slowing down, I needed to slow down and maybe downshift, but when I braked that's when the car locked up...

It doesn't matter anymore Toyota legal claimed that because of wear and tear on the parking brake shoes...that I apparently caused my accident. I have never driven the car with the e-brake applied...

I did receive the car with 55 miles on it and 46 of those miles were racked up before it even got to the dealer...While it was at the dealer getting leather upholstery it racked up another 34 miles.
I don't know how the parking shoes got so warped but I know that it wasn't my fault.
F*ck Toyota...[/i]

 

looks like somebody took it for a joyride when it had work done and did something cruel and unusual to it... that would ____ me off...

 

Here was my response to the Toyota Legal Department...

(Joyride also occurred at the Port...because it had 46 miles upon arriving at the dealership.)

CC: Toyota Motor Sales, President; SCION

I vehemently oppose the claims stated by the report findings and the legal department based on the fact that the excessive wear/over heating of the parking brake shoes as noted by the report could have been caused by misuse/abuse before I ever took possession of the vehicle (55 miles) or when the vehicle was not in my possession; during the time when dealer options were being installed. My vehicle currently has 475 miles, 99 of which were not driven by me. 55 miles (mileage at time of purchase) + 34 miles (when vehicle was at Toyota of Glendale's Service Department) + 10 miles (during inspection process) = 99 miles. I have never been so insulted as to being accused of driving the vehicle with the parking brake applied. For the record I have never had an accident throughout my 8 years of driving experience, nor have I ever incurred a speeding violation. I don't feel that I am responsible for any repairs that are necessary to fix my vehicle because I feel that the parking brake system was already defective upon receiving the vehicle.

Dates and incidents preceding August 17, 2004:
24-Jul: Vehicle purchased with 55 miles
26-Jul: Vehicle dropped off with 112 miles for network car and leather install
31-Jul: Picked up vehicle with 146 miles. Complained about side mirror and leather and added mileage (34 miles)
2-Aug: Repeated the previous complaints to Toyota of Glendale Service Department
4-Aug: Vehicle dropped off again to fix side mirror and leather
7-Aug: Vehicle returned
10-Aug: Vehicle detailed in response to inconvenience

 

Could some of our "brake experts" explain what exactly happened then?
Did the parking brake somehow become engaged because the shoes were worn?

 

figures.. toyota is just like everyone else. I'm never buying one again.

 

You'll have to change your avatar to say IMNOTINABOXNOMORESOICANTHUMBMYNOSEATTOYOTA!

 

READ!

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/anti-lock-brake.htm

 

you didn't just get a carwash did you?

http://www.thedieselstop.com/archives/abol/PWRSTRK4/messages/$WEBMSG0000000005EC09914.htm

 

Done

 

When I had my xB, there were several times when something caused my brakes to be "locked", meaning that I could not depress them. It was very very scary every time!

I figured it was just a problem with my particular vehicle. I hope this never happens in my tC.

 

WOW!