- 2006 Pontiac Torrent
Occasionally, when coming to a stop my car seems to be engaging the ABS. I say seems to be because I can't think of any other system that would engage the breaks but then again I don't have detailed knowledge of all the systems.
One thing that might be relevant. The issue goes away if I have been driving the car for an extended period of time. In other words, I usually only drive my car from home to work which takes about 3 minuets, and this is when the problem is most likely to occur. However, if I take a trip that requires me to drive for more than 15 minuets or so then the problem goes away and does not occur again until the car has come a to a rest for awhile (at least 4-5 hours).
Some details of the problem: A noise similar to the sound an air compressor makes when you first plug it in can be heard as I press the brake peddle. The noise is accompanied by what would seem to be the ABS engaging; the brake peddle becomes slightly harder to press and the braking system seems to engage and disengage rapidly. I am assuming this is how the ABS system operates when it is engaged.
This is not a new problem. I am just recently able to address it. The ABS light used to be on and accompanying the braking issue until recently when I took it to a mechanic. He said there was a bad sensor in the front of the car on the driver's side so he replaced it. I figured this would fix the problem. Although the ABS light is no longer on, the braking issue I have explained remains.
My question is, what do I need to tell my mechanic so that he can make a proper evaluation of the right system in order to fix this issue? I would hate to take the car back into the mechanic and just say: "yeah the light's off now so thanks but the ABS is still engaging; the sensor hasn't fixed the major issue here" without having a clue as to what the major issue is myself.