Just a regular middle age mom here ... Had my first experience with ice this morning on the way to work ... cold and icy out ... warmed the car up before I left ... side street ... not driving fast ... a block from my home ... went to stop at stop sign and anti=lock brakes kick in ... major grinding! Mentally I tried to tell myself in the split second to keep applying the brake but I was skidding straight and instinct had me back off ... what frightened me the most was that my stopping distance was going to be longer! ... I quickly scan for traffic (there was none-good thing!) so I basically ran the stop sign and kept on going ... gearing right down ... I really need to practice! Anyone else find these brakes hard to get used to?

 

they are too sensitive in my opinion....just driving over simple bumps with your foot on the brakes activates the ABS, I NO LIKE

 

I agree, I come from a car with no ABS, but from other cars I've driven I've never felt it kick in so easy

 

My experience with the ABS has been good. Similar residential zone experience but I had to stop quickly because a car came out of an alley without looking. The key to ABS has never been the argument that you stop quicker, but that you maintain control where otherwise the car would have spun. In my situation, I was able to steer around the car that came out of the alley while braking (and not skidding out) on an ice patch.

I think the old "stomp and steer" technique works great. A change that would help is going to winter tires. Better grip = less slippage = less ABS action.

 

oh man... these brakes have saved my life from t-boning someone else.
i wasnt really paying attention to the lights...because it just got done raining, so more pot holes show up on the road. and i was being more aware for the potholes then a head of me.

well if it wasnt for the last minute fiance screaming STOP!....i would have t-bone a cadillac. no screach....but it did brake in time.


these are easy brakes to get used to. although the front takes a huge nose dive...but its still pretty easy.

 

The brakes are decent for the Fit
sensitive pedal

but when i was pushing the car through some backroads
when i first got it i've never had the abs come on

-Ricky

 

Brakes were sketchy to me at first but got used to them eventually and learned just how much pressure to apply in order to stop smoothly.

 

The anti-Lock braking system does not help shorten the braking distance of a car, it allows you to keep steering while on appling full pressure to the brakes.
It even says that in the user manual about the braking distance. Just be careful next time and give yourself a little more time to slow down. I have come from a car without ABS and its a skill to find the braking point where the tires will not luck up.
So keep practicing on the braking without letting the ABS system engage and you will drive with more confidence

 

Any brakes are hard to get use to in ice and those tricky road conditions you descibed.
I really like the feel of the brakes on the Fit in all weather conditions, although we dont have too much ice and snow here in norcal.

Tyler

 

ive found the breaks fine, i like where abs kicks in and i have great break feel

 

The Fit also has EBD which applies more braking power to wheels that are gripping to provide better stopping power. Just keep your foot on the pedal and let the electronics do the rest.

 

yeah pretty much same here.

 

yah, that abs noise is pretty annoying. i encountered a patch of
black ice a few weeks ago at a long right turn lane while my FitS was
going ~40mph.

at least i was able to keep the car somewat under control as it
struggled to slow down. i decided not to make the turn and just
steered away from other cars and median. im pretty happy with
the system.

the car is light so it doesn't take much to make the car slip out
of control in icy conditions.

 

i noticed that it's the first time you use them after you started up your car they are waaaaay really too sensitive. i think that's just cuz if you noticed a sound from your dash (other than gas sloshing) when you start going, it's your brake master cylinder filling with brake fluid and so after you drive off from a park on the street when you first tap them for that stop sign they freakin bite down super uber mega hard. then the pressure in the lines stabalizes. i've had to use the abs a few times already and scared the holy shit out of me. i wanna big brake kit up front and a rear disc conversion. lowering your car helps with the diving.

 

I pulled my fuse for the ABS. Stops much better in the winter. If you think about it, ABS is for people that do not know how to break and steer at the same time. I've been in a couple fender benders in my 17 years of driving knowing full well that they would not have happend if I did not have ABS.

 

i drive so slow and brake so smoothly nowadays that my ABS never gets the chance to kick in anymore.

 

My ABS has never kicked in. It seems like it takes alot to actually get it to kick in. Well it only comes on when you you lock the wheels up trying to slow down, never happened yet. Happened in my Teg over the weekend though, almost plowed into a van in front of me. If it didnt have ABS my Teg would be crushed. We were within a foot of the van..Scary.

Tyler

 

most new honda's have really touchy breaks. my 2005 honda accord is the same way.

 

Same, I nearly hit someone the other day that pulled out in front of me while i was going 60mph

 

i will admit that the first time it went off i was NOT expecting it to, so i was very confused.

now that i'm in a second winter with my fit, i have to say that the ABS has done fantastic in ice and snow-for example last week, i was driving through 5 inches of unplowed snow, well not so much driving as sliding around (go figure wisconsin doesn't plow their streets too often). the ABS was like my best friend.

once you get used to it you'll love it too