ABS sound on ice, is it that bad of a grinding sound?

Hello,

We have a '17 Micra S, it's manual if that matters. My husband drives it and said today when he was coming to a stop it made a really loud grinding sound while the traction control icon came on. Our roads are really bad right now in Edmonton, and it's -26 degrees out today. He was hoping it's just the sound of the ABS engaging, but also said it's never been this bad of a sound before. He turned the traction control off and said he still heard it. Does/has anyone else have this experience?

The sound he heard was the anti-lock brakes = ABS. It's normal - if unpleasant sounding. Some cars transmit a lot more noise into the cabin than others when the ABS activates.

FYI: traction/stability control isn't the same thing as anti-lock brakes (ABS), so turning the stability control button off makes no difference when stopping on slippery surfaces. You can't turn off the ABS.

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Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The sound he heard was the anti-lock brakes = ABS. It's normal - if unpleasant sounding. Some cars transmit a lot more noise into the cabin than others when the ABS activates.

FYI: traction/stability control isn't the same thing as anti-lock brakes (ABS), so turning the stability control button off makes no difference when stopping on slippery surfaces. You can't turn off the ABS.

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Thank you so much, and I had no idea about the difference haha so thanks for explaining that also!

if the micra has one major flaw for me, it's the inability to disengage abs... :(

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Originally Posted by Azmodon

if the micra has one major flaw for me, it's the inability to disengage abs... :(

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Why would you not want ABS?

I know how to not lock brakes up on dry ground - it's terrible on ice - and I've avoided at least 1 possibly fatal collision because I was able to lock up my tires. In a 60 zone an on-coming car turned in front of me as I entered a very small intersection because they couldn't see past a transport (like, my front tires were on the white line when they decided to lunge forward and stop in my lane). A car to my right was stopped in his 'left turn lane', I turned my wheel and aimed for the gap - locked up my tires to initiate the skid, turned the wheel all the way to the left and "waited" to pass the front end of both cars, hit the gas, tires catch, and I don't end up taking out the light pole on the corner. The turn was so tight that with ABS I would have had to side swipe one of the cars nose or take my chances on the sidewalk.

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Originally Posted by Azmodon

if the micra has one major flaw for me, it's the inability to disengage abs... :(

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All it takes is one bad wheel speed sensor (or a piece of tape on a good wheel speed sensor) and it disables ABS ,traction control and stability control all off it so you can really feel how your Micra drives old school. I like it better but i'm old and like cars better without all that stuff.

I thought you could disengage the ABS with the lit up button low down on the dash on the left side above the gas tank and hood latches and below the vent (may be below the mirror positioning panel). When I push it it gives me a warning light on the dash stating ABS is off if I interpreted it correctly.

EDIT: that possibly is traction control I will have to check when I get out to my car.