ImWildBill

In the morning heading home from work I had to hit the brakes at a red light. When I was stopping, I hit a small bump and it felt like the anti-lock system kicked in and it felt like I had almost no brakes. About a second later the brakes went back to normal and I got stopped, but it sure had me freaked for a bit there!

I don't think it's supposed to feel like that, are they? I mean, it really felt like there was almost no brakes there for that second or so.... could a sensor or something be out? I really don't want this to cause an accident or anything...

Kansas

What you experienced is completely normal ... weird but normal. Am I correct in my assumption that you have not had your LS very long?

robert1408

Sounds exactly like ABS normal operation. I believe the "no brakes" sensation is caused by the mental expectation of braking being confused by the reduction of overall braking that is normal during ABS cycling on a slick surface. The main purpose of ABS is to help keep the car controllable, NOT to shorten absolute stopping distances. The "no brakes" effect is most apparent at lower speeds under the conditions described by ImWildBill.

Kansas

Bill's situation is different. When he hit the bump during braking, one front tire completely lost contact with the pavement for a split second resulting in zero friction between the tire tread and the earth. Zero friction is different than braking on a surface slick from water, ice or snow. When braking on a smooth slick surface, there is still friction between the tire tread and the slick surface.

The issue Bill is talking about was much more noticeable on the early LS400 like the 90 LS I drove for 13+ years. The later LS ABS systems were significantly revised and do not seem to get "confused" like the early LS ABS system did.

I frequently noticed the bump/no brakes feeling on my 90 LS but I don't think I have ever experienced it on the 00 LS I've been driving since 2003.