I dunno, check your manual. But they usually disengage at like 15 mph and re-engage at 8 mph. The tC might be different, but I highly doubt it.

 

i was coming onto a exit ramp at 25mph and it opened to two lanes, so i shifted to the left lane and went around van that was in front of me. coming to the bend in the exit, my car just skid out (dry asphalt) and i held the break, but i just circled and circled and skidded across 7 lanes with a median inbetween and over to the shoulder on the other side of the road facing the opposite direction. After discussing this with my passenger, we both agree, there was something really wrong with the breaks. I had a honda a 6 years (civic) and took turns at 50mph and higher and never had any such problem. Mind you, that wasn't the smartest way to drive and i've grown up and drive sanely now, but, this car should have been able to take that turn. Reading this forum is making me rather nervous that my tC is internally defective. I have reported my accident to SCION and put them in contact with my body shop. It'll be interesting to see what is said. I really love this car, but i'm ready to trade it in as soon as it is fixed if faulty mechanics is what could have killed my passenger and myself. Amen no one was on the road and i missed hitting all signs and guardrails.

 

Oh man I gotta go test my ABS now.

 

Well ABS does it's job on my car. Very smoothly too.

Anyways, learn to heel-toe and rev-match down shift. It's less wear on your car and it's safer, once you know how to do it right.

 

I'm sorry, no.

There is NO way possible for your car at 25 mph to "skid across 7 lanes." Even if it was on its roof (with a much lower friction coefficient than your tires) it wouldn't have enough energy at 25 mph to travel 70+ feet.


I've got 18 years of driving experience, 12 of them professional. Everything I've read about these incidents so far indicates driver error and/or hyperbole on the part of the author. The fact is that at 17 your driving skills are FAR from honed, whether you want to think you're a superior driver or not.

 

I'll have to agree with pramjockey. All the electronic stability controls, traction controls, ABS' in the world can only do so much when you're driving beyond your limits. As for the Honda Civic, they have heavy understeer built in to prevent this, but this also takes away alot of the sportiness.

 

I'm sorry, no.

There is NO way possible for your car at 25 mph to "skid across 7 lanes." Even if it was on its roof (with a much lower friction coefficient than your tires) it wouldn't have enough energy at 25 mph to travel 70+ feet.


I've got 18 years of driving experience, 12 of them professional. Everything I've read about these incidents so far indicates driver error and/or hyperbole on the part of the author. The fact is that at 17 your driving skills are FAR from honed, whether you want to think you're a superior driver or not.[/quote]

Let me clarify: I didn't say i was going 25mph when i skid out. I was doing 25mph before the exit. On the ramp i got clocked at 43mph by a cop. When i came to the bend, i hit the breaks, fishtailed, then spun out. Probably hit gravel. The fun fact i just found out from the autobody is the ABS never engaged. If it had, there would be a certain pattern on tire.

And...i'm not 17. I'm 25, i've been driving since i'm 15. I've never been in an accident or wreck before. I just posted here because i'm reading stories similar to mine and would like to put it out there. If there is a manufacturing defect, more people need to report their issue to SCION. And, i didn't mention this before, but i love this car. I love it more than my former honda. I got every option on it down to leather heated seats tinted windows subs yaddy yaddy. I'm not badmouthing the car, my BF drive the same thing. But as stated before, if there is a defect, it needs to be remedied. Or perhaps it was just Toyota service messing something up in my car * it was just there a week earlier for oil/filter change, tire rotation, fluids, bleh bleh* Toyota service station has screwed up before by deflating my tires to a PSI that was wayyyy below what it should have been. So we shall see what the verdict is. I just know a car shouldn't do what mine did when i came around that bend and braked.

 

ABS would only come on when you slam on the brakes... but why did you slam on the brakes around a turn?

 

I've never used that exit before and it was dark and it was smooth then suddenly there was a bend that was unholy to be on a exit. it was a long exit.

 

i dont slam my brakes and my abs comes on, theres a big bump towards the end of my block and i hit my brakes goin over it at ~15 mph and tap the brakes and feel the abs come one....

maybe its the EBD(electronic Brake Distribution) malfunctioning?

looked on the scion.com website and it looks like it doesnt come on the 07's...

 

the only time i've ever had abs alert me is when i was going down a slight hill that had just been repaved. i guess the smoothness and the lack of stickyness of the stock tires engaged the abs. i was going about 20mph, slowing down for a stop sign.
a truck in front of me skidded to a stop also, so i know it was the road surface.

it kinda scares me to read these stories about people that still can't drive properly

 

yeah well with my car ive tested it and ive never felt it ever engage. all i feel is my tires slide and screach.
yeah it might be the EBD not working idk its hard to say anything at my age and not get flamed by someone.

 

I've played with the ABS some on my '06 tC and it seems fine, not as quick in pulsation as a BMW (subjective), but as good as any other Japanese car I've ever driven. About equal to my old Volvo that I use in this post-apocalyptic city with streets to match. Personally, I don't like ABS (except maybe on the BMW! what an incredible car!), but then I have uh... close to 30 years of driving experience and easily transition between either.

I think what is most likely is that a lot of you folks just don't have enough driving experience (means you havn't screwed up enough yet, believe me, I've screwed up enough myself, and continue to do so weekly). You'll look back in 10 or 20 years and understand what I'm talking about.

However, I don't discount the possibility that there may still be something really screwy in the ABS system in the tC that only rears it's ugly head once and a while. I think there's definitely something not quite right with the suspension that Toyota is compensating for with their weirdly uneven tire pressures, and maybe that is contributing to the problem, so I'm glad this thread pops up from the dead once in a while.

Toyota is far from perfect, and their quality has been slipping recently. Who knows where this will all lead.

 

^^ totally agree....

21,000+ miles, had the car 16+ months, ABS, brakes, EBD, etc....all work as they should.

sorry to hear you guys are having probs!

driver error or not, get it checked out. doesnt hurt. but experience is everything....

 

I've only had ABS engage once, and that was under HARD SLAMMING conditions... basically my pedal went full down, then continued to sink even further

slight grinding noises, and an intermittent tire squeal (ABS engaged at this point) and I was able to stop. Stalled though =(

But didn't hit the person in front of me which is what counts!

ABS ftw, folks