Replacing Standard Breaks with ABS Brakes?

I am a first time car user as I have just recieved my license. I was given a Hyudai Sonata in which the original owner opted not to have ABS brakes. Being that I am used to ABS brakes, I was wondering if it is possible to change the break system of a car. The car obviously has the ability to have ABS breakes, but is their a company that can change them. Thank you for all your time.
-Anthony

To be able to find the ABS system would be a challenge in its own. There are several things that you would have to do that pretty much make it un-logical to do... Starting from under the hood you need several things... most expensively a pressure regulator. This distributes the fluid between each of the 4 wheels. You're also going to need the control unit for the system (provided its not integrated into the cars ECU). On the wheel side, you're going to need the sensors and and the trigger wheels. These are usually built into the rotor themselves, so you'll probably have to buy new rotors. Theres other things, but these are the main that I can think of. Its a pretty big endeavor that I wouldn't personally tackle. Learn to pump the brakes and drive without putting yourself into emergency braking situations...

probably be cheaper to get a new sonata with ABS. or learn to shake your brake foot real fast.

So what you are telling me is that it can be done but would be a big project. I am in no way a car buff or do I know much about a car at all. My question to you is, Is there somewhere I can get this procedure done for a price. Im not going to be able to take it to the local jiffy lube. :-). If you know of a place this kind of work can be done that is a chain (im not really willing to leave state) then I would be glad to know. Thanks a lot.

It's not worth it. Even with used parts, they alone would cost thousands of dollars. Learn to brake properly, you'll be ahead in the long run.

http://www.miata.net/garage/abs/abs.htm

Conclusion, buy a car with abs. Cheaper and easier. Also, personally, I would never trust my life to my own handywork, much less some garage technician.

I personally don't like ABS brakes. As RandomTask said, don't put yourself into emergency braking situations and you'll be fine. Always drive at a reasonable speed according to the road conditions and maintain a safe distance. Don't lock the brakes when it's not necessary but rather pump them.

umm... you need abs. Its like seat belts, it can, and mostly likely, will save your car if not your life.

You need abs... shut up girly man.

Any decent driver can stop faster without it.

danny350,

Watch it. You're not in a position to tell anyone to shut up, and especially since you're wrong.

As to the original question, I'm with most here that it will take too much money and effort to retrofit an ABS system. Driving with no ABS is not the end of the world, and you do need to learn to be able to do without it. The other option would be to get the car with ABS already installed from the factory.

I realize that a good option is to buy a new car with abs, but since I am a new driver and a teenager, I only have a couple thousand dollars, I am not at liberty to buy a new car. My grandfather has offered to give me his car (for a dollar) in which he opted to have non-ABS brakes (He is used to pumping brakes from previous cars).

That being said, It is a 2001 Hyundai Sonata with only about 10,000 miles and it is in perfect condition. For 1 dollar, I would be willing to drive a car without ABS brakes, but I was just wondering if it was possible. Being that I am not an automotive mechanic or enthusiast, I was wondering if I could have a company do the job for me. I highly doubt Hyundai maintenece would offer a service such as this because i would be willing to spend up to $1000.

If this is not a practicle job or it can not be done by a certified machanic in a well known company, then I will live with the car as it is untill i can afford a newer car in the future. Thanks for all the help.

As was mentioned earlier, the parts alone would cost you thousands. You could sell this car, add your $1000 and buy an identical one with ABS.

The noob called me a girly man. Well sir, you're gonna be a dead man when you slide out of control without abs. And tonight I'm going to the gym, so tomorrow when I wake up, I'll be a manly man... but you'll still be dead.

oh yeah, i agree with ales. Your car blue books at around $5k. You can get plenty of sweet cars for $5k to $6k. Miata, civic, e30, mustang, camry, the list goes on. Check out (for cars in that range) http://www.edmunds.com/apps/usedmatrix/UsedMatrix?searchtype=TYPE_PRICE&tid=edmunds.u.matrixsearch.typesearch..1.*&typeSelection=Sedan&priceRangeSelection=0%7C%7C10000&setzip=92660&FindmodelSelectionubmit=Search

danny350,

Watch it. You're not in a position to tell anyone to shut up, and especially since you're wrong. .

Would you mind telling me how i'm wrong? Do you have conclusive proof that he is in fact, not girly.

For everyone's benefit:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/equipment/ABSBRAKES.html

Arguing on the internet is like competing in the special olympics...

Would you mind telling me how i'm wrong? Do you have conclusive proof that he is in fact, not girly.
I don't know/care about that part of your post being true or not, it was just out of line. I was talking about the second part.

I was joking...But, Abs isn't designed to stop you faster, it's just so you can maintain control if you're to dumb to use the brakes appropriately.

Correct, sort of. On a dry road, in a straight line, with a good driver, a non-ABS car will have a longer stopping distance than an ABS car. But the real world is more complicated than that. ABS is standard on nearly every new car now because in the vast majority of real world situations, the ABS car will keep you out of an accident. Unless you're last name is something like Shumacher or Andretti, you probably don't have enough skill to stop your car faster than an ABS system in any real world situation (rounding a corner, in the wet, cresting a hill, dodging an out-of-control non-ABS car). Formula 1 even had ABS until it was banned because it helped even those drivers too much.

In short, an ABS car will outstop an non-ABS car nearly every time.

There surely are people who like ABS and people who don't. I don't, because I want to be the driver of my car. I don't want electronic systems to do part of the driving for me. In fact when I get myself a new car, I'll opt it to be without ABS, like the one that sold you this car.

By the way, my sisters Nissan Sunny car (with ABS) has crushed twice, because as the driver pushed the brake hard, the wheels locked and the steering wheel was not responding. All-right I'm a noobie, but isn't the ABS supposed to prevent the wheels from locking? And why was the steering wheel not responging? With these 2 crashes I've seen, I'm against ABS.

Never heard of that happening before. Maybe the system is malfunctioning. Also, the steering will firm up during rapid decel just from physics. Has the driver previosly practiced using ABS to familiaraize him/herself to it's operation?

Never heard of that happening before. Maybe the system is malfunctioning. Also, the steering will firm up during rapid decel just from physics. Has the driver previosly practiced using ABS to familiaraize him/herself to it's operation?

This Nissan Sunny car behaves like this. It's not a mulfunction; it is just the way it works and I hate it. Even from 40 kph if you brake hard, wheels lock, steering wheel locks. This does not happen in my old car that has no electornic aids.

And in fact, the second car accident with that car was like this: My sister had to brake hard due to a sudden obstacle in front of her. But she quickly realized that the car would not stop on time and tried to steer left to avoid it. The steering wheel did not respond and she instinctively kept turning it left a bit more. Then she remembered the cars behaviour in the first accident and decided to stop pushing the brake, so that the steering wheel will espond. And so she did, but when she let the brake, the car made an almost 60-degree left turn, as she did not realize that she had turned the steer "too much to the left". That was a very big crash when a car on the other side.

Then the problem is the Sunny. ABS in other vehicles does not work like this.

That definitely sounds like a malfunctioning ABS, but that would almost certainly make the ABS light on the dash come on. Are you sure that car is equipped with ABS? ABS is designed to prevent exactly what you described happened to your sister.

When I got my car back in 1999 it was the first car I'd driven that had ABS. And I would have crashed it pretty hard on my second day of owning it if it didn't have ABS. Someone pulled out in front of me from the side street (from the right). It was raining. I hit the brakes and swerved around the back of his car, missed the curb and got back on the road I was going. If the car didnt' have ABS I would never have been able to scrub off enough speed to go round that car and to continue braking while turning, which enabled me not to lose control and not to hit the cub as I was coming back onto my street. And all of this while not thinking about whether my wheels have locked and whether I'll be able to turn my car. After that I was sold. There is no way that I, or, I suspect, 99.9% of other drivers, would be able to outperform a 4-channel abs system, especially on a wet road. And actually, my Bosch ABS dates back to 1990, so you can be sure that newer cars equipped with more modern ABS systems will outperform anyone's pumping foot even on dry roads while offering the braking consistency and control that non-ABS brakes canot dream about.

Get that Sunny's system checked.

Get that Sunny's system checked.

The ABS system was checked after every crush and we were told that it was OK. They just told us we need to get used to its kind.

Then the problem is the Sunny. ABS in other vehicles does not work like this.

That's what I think as well. We bought it in mid-1995 and probably it has an early version of ABS (full of bugs, as I'd say in computer language).

... My grandfather has offered to give me his car (for a dollar) in which he opted to have non-ABS brakes (He is used to pumping brakes from previous cars)...then I will live with the car as it is untill i can afford a newer car in the future. Thanks for all the help.


Well, Crazy, it looks to me like the consensus is that you'd be best off learning to pump the brakes until you are ready to get a car with ABS installed.

My present vehicle (2000 Sonoma) was my first experience with ABS, and I was pleasantly surprised. But in 5 years I've only been in a few situations where I am sure that the ABS has made a difference (most noticably on glaze ice).

I also find myself pumping the brakes anyway; not so much to guarantee a stop, but to alert those behind me to the developing traffic situation. Drive carefully (especially on icy days) as you've been advised by earlier posters, and ask gramps to show you how to pump the brakes to a safe stop.

Good luck.

Fuck pumping the brakes! Hasn't anyone heard of threshold braking!

Just because you are using the brakes doesn't mean you have to lock them up! It's simple, If you are on ice you should know the brakes will lock up easily, so don't stomp the pedal to the floor. Just apply slight pressure, if they start to lock just let off a tiny bit. Seriously, it's not too fuckin hard to do.

It's pretty hard to do when Bambi suddenly jumps out in front of your car in hte middle of the night.