GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

OK, Looking to buy a base Vibe. I've always had a car /w ABS. Base Vibe's are hard to come by. I finally found the exact car, however, it was a dealer trade. It had 200 miles, stone chips and the interior was really dirty. Obviously they would clean the inside. They also said they would fix the chips. ORI'm thinking about getting the Vibe w/o the ABS. Just wanted to see how many people had ABS on their base Vibes.

Since I've owned more than 40 cars without ABS and only two with, and have had no brake-related accidents in 40 + years, I figured the $$ could be better directed to the supercharger fund. Besides, this way, if my monster 275/40 tires that fit at the rear won't clear on the front, I can go down a couple of sizes without setting any ABS codes."Any idiot can make a car go slow. It takes a genius to make one go fast!" -Enzo Ferrari, circa 1964, re the drum brakes on his race cars.)

I ordered mine w/o abs, and overall I am glad I did. I had a lady dart from the far right lane to the far left lane ahead of a Grand Prix that was ahead of me, then decided to slam on her brakes to use a "turn around" on I-75 a couple weeks ago. It was a close one. I did not lock them up, but it was very close. Personally, I do not like the feel of abs in a "panic stop". A vehicle will stop in a shorter distance if the brakes are applied just to the point of almost locking up. If a person cannot sense this, then ABS may be a good idea. A positve note about abs is most insurance companies give a discount for them.

Had ABS on 2 cars for past 7-19 yrs. They worked, but these were alot bigger than the Vibe is.I choose NO abs only because all the Vibes with had been sold the night before!!!!! I feel they are not all that neccesary to a SAFE driver....

Two out of my five cars have had ABS. After fighting with intermittent ABS problems on my last car from the time it was new until 60,000 miles, I didn't really care if I had them this time. Finally after 4 left front wheel sensors, the ABS straightened out. Thankfully that was all covered under the original and extended warranties, or else it wouldn't have been cheap to fix. But it certainly was a hassle, more trouble than it was worth on my last car.But... Since I've driven a little over 200,000 miles in those two cars with ABS, I was used to it and didn't know how I would like to not have it. I appreciated the help it provided in snowy and icy conditions, but hated the way it made panic stops at higher speeds on dry pavement take that much longer. My dealership only had one Vibe with ABS, and it was a GT which was stickered beyond $22,000. More than I was willing to spend. The three base cars on the lot didn't have 'em. I was still a little worried about not having them, but my Dad made a good point... People have been driving many years without 'em so don't worry about it.I've found that the brakes without ABS do quite well. Didn't had much snow here this year, but the few times it did get messy it wasn't bad at all. The Vibe's brakes are very easy to modulate, I find them easy to keep from locking up in most cases. Just drive cautiously, go easy on the brakes, and slow down. You'll be OK without 'em.

Ordered my car with the safety pack. Love the ability to stop and turn at will on bad roads.

I ordered my Matrix XR with side airbags and ABS. Safety reasons, maybe. Insurance reasons, sure. I like them and would prefer to have them on any vehicle in the future I would have.-Slink

Since having three cars and a minivan with ABS, I consider them a MUST-HAVE for any new car I'm considering. Saved my bacon more than once on wet/snowy roads!quote:I was still a little worried about not having them, but my Dad made a good point... People have been driving many years without 'em so don't worry about it.Interesting.... did your Dad make the same observation about seat belts?

i went w/o the ABS....i had driven cars w/ and w/o ABS.....it is nice if you have to slam the brakes and swerve....very effective in that situation but i am very confident that in dry, straight line braking that i could get a non-ABS vibe to stop in a shorter distance than an ABS equipped vibe.and another thing is in winter driving i cant stand abs....ice and snow totally confuse those stupid systems and they take forever to "pulse" to a stop....non abs you can modulate more effectively and if you are talking snow you can lock up the wheels and they push against the snow creating a kind of small mound in front of the tires that stops you faster than trying it w/o locking the wheels........same technique is used in mud off-road....ask any veteran off-roader.......i guarantee that if their rig has ABS then they pull the fuse for off-road activities!-Phil i could go either way w/ abs....if it were a free option i would get it.....b/c it is nice to have and of course i would like the insurance discount!!!

whats w/ this poll.......firstly...side air impact had nothing to do w/ this thread and why do we need 2 "No ABS" options.....people, do you actually read the poll before you make up your own answers??? wow...this always amazes me....we manage to look so uneducated, or are we just computer illiterate???

could be, but its still not the topic of this thread...."ABS or NO-ABS"......and there is still no exuse for the two same choices.

OK, it was me!!! I did not realize that I had clicked the other choice link and was entering a duplicate choice. i only ment to add my 'no abs' to the original..

LOL!!!!! Way to be honest Strobo.....you got me laughing!!!Well i have to say its good to know it was just a mistake and not some purposeful stupidity....you are completely forgiven!!!!! hehe -Phil

I've had several cars with and without abs. I was skeptical when I got my first car w/ ABS - 96 s-10 2wd. ABS is really awesome on ice and snow. I've never had any problems. When they activate, you just have to keep your wits about you and not panic and let off.

We got the ABS and Side Airbags. Actually we wanted a SALSA vibe with NO moonroof but with the ABS and Side bags. Several dealers all tried to find it with dealer trades, They all said they "had it" and then suddenly didn't have it! It was interesting for 2 weeks. Finally we decided to take what we could get, so we got the moonroof and and LAVA. I was dissapointed that the ABS does take longer to come to a full stop, but all-in-all I think it is worth the ability to keep the car going in the direction I steer it on ice and snow. We love our vibe! Drove 2000 miles this weekend (philladelphia to kentucky derby) and didn't see ANY other vibe.JDF

I don't know if I got the safety option or not ... I just thought that, in Canada, you can't get an AWD without the ABS/side-air combo. So, I figured what the heck & bought it. And I voted for it because it was already there.I like ABS, and if you are taught or learn to use it properly, it'll save your bacon. Unless you have Superman type reflexes & can pump the brake pedal like 10 times per second, you can't get the same results. People lived for years without microwaves & remote controls too.

quote:ABS is a great thing.... People do not live without fire though. Right. What I meant by the above was, "Would you go without your microwave or remote control?" I know I wouldn't. I think if the technology is proven & is an improvement over the old version, you gotta get it. That is the mentality of our "bigger-better-faster-stronger" world.

ABS have saved my (removed) in several occasions, and I won't buy a car without them> I do regret not getting side airbags, but because there weren't any cars at the dealer, or in the local area, that had them, and god knows I couldn't wait several months for a custom build, I had no choice but to forego them.

i had ABS on our 94 GMC Safari Van and had a 17 year old slide through an intersection(Winter) i just caught the rear quarterpanel of his car i hit the brakes i was going about 35 mph i know if i had not had the ABS i would have lost control and hit oncoming cars head on ever since this accident i have had ABS on every vehicle i have owned i even went out of my area just to find a Vibe with a 5 speed and ABS also you get a discount on your collision insurance as well as the 5 star rating discount on your insurance.

I have ABS on my Vibe, but luckily have never needed them. Been a couple times when I needed the person behind me to have better brakes, but not sure if them having ABS would have spared me. Would have been better if they had been paying attention and also not tailgating. I recommend driving in a way to do whatever you can stay away from situations where you need to panic brake.

By now you probably know my vote is yes. I haven't needed them yet but did try them to make sure all is cool. Nobody stops faster in the dry on their own with the systems provided today. Once you get any lock without them it's very hard to regain control. In loose snow or offroad racing where the fasted way around a corner is sideways your better off without. Good trade for me.

Gotta have ABS in my car, it's piece of mind plus that little extra insurance discount is nice too.

One thing I noticed on my 97 Cavalier Z-24 was if I was braking while turning somewhat quickly, the inside rear wheel would become very light (or off the ground) and the ABS would kick in because that wheel would lock up. I found this VERY annoying, and somewhat hazardous because the ABS would "let up" on the brakes when I was not expecting it. Some people like them, some people don't.

Most ABS systems are "four channel", meaning they control the lock up individually at each wheel. Some older ones (e.g, I think, early Cavaliers) were three, where both rears got the same pressure pulses. This is one reason why under most conditions ABS can stop better than an all-mechanical system controlled by the best driver on the planet; he doesn't have a pedal to modulate each wheel, much less 4 feet to work them...

I have ABS on my AWD vibe. I wouldn't get a car without ABS now, and in a few years, I would expect traction control will be available for most cars as well. One thing about ABS, especially for new drivers, is to try it out in a safe area to feel the brake modulation. My son (a new driver) went through a driving course where they did this, so he could feel how the ABS worked. When he was driving and the ABS went on, he didn't freak and let up on the brakes like many people do. Since he had experienced the ABS, he knew to keep pushing hard on the brakes. He said that prior experience made all the difference. I recommend everyone find a safe place to try it out and then do a panic stop.Also, as we just got snow here, a couple of nights ago I did the same regarding the AWD I was driving on a deserted side street full of snow. I stopped on the snow and then started fast, to feel the AWD. It worked perfectly -- hardly any wheel spin before I got traction.Sensible technology is a marvelous thing. I only wish I could have found an AWD vibe with side airbags. Since they are not yet standard, they don't seem to build many with side airbags. In a few years, I am sure all cars will have them.

Quote, originally posted by cohocarl »One thing I noticed on my 97 Cavalier Z-24 was if I was braking while turning somewhat quickly, the inside rear wheel would become very light (or off the ground) and the ABS would kick in because that wheel would lock up. I found this VERY annoying, and somewhat hazardous because the ABS would "let up" on the brakes when I was not expecting it. Some people like them, some people don't. My 96 Sunfire GT would do the same thing. Under sometimes different situations. I would be coming to a stop and apply the brakes and the rears for some reason would "slip" and my ABS would activate. Now ABS is there to stop brake lock up. However with it on you can't apply your brakes any harder. So here I am trying to stop with my peddle not even half way to the floor, my rear abs just a throbbing away and I'm not stopping. Was rather annoying to say the least. It would do that on wet surfaces, damp to dry and quite a few stops in the winter time.I ordered my 2004 Vibe without ABS. I got nothing against them but I plan on changing tire sizes and such, do not need abs setting codes on me. And sensors are pricey when they need to be replaced and your out of warranty. And I doubt my insurance would be lower then $120 a month canadian if I did have ABS on the car.

I left off ABS. I couldn't bring myself to drive another silver car - the only Vibe on the lot with ABS. My last car didn't have it but my car before then did - I wouldn't mind having it but its not an absolute must.Interestingly - when I updated my insurance I got the ABS discount anyway. Apparently, the Vin# was grouped with others that did have ABS installed - that's what they told me anyway - I certainly not going to complain.

this past week we had some snow, and the roads were really icy. I was driving along, and needed to slow down for something, I just barely stepped on the brakes and felt/heard the ABS kick in. That made me realize just how little traction I did have on those roads, that I needed to slow down, I had been going too fast for the conditions. I figure that day the ABS kept me from joining the SUVs in the ditches.

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »That made me realize just how little traction I did have on those roads, that I needed to slow down, I had been going too fast for the conditions. I figure that day the ABS kept me from joining the SUVs in the ditches.I remember reading an article on safe winter driving where they advised using ABS as a way to learn how to drive and brake safely on icy roads - but not to rely on them as a gauge for how bad the roads are. Basically, if the ABS engaged, that you were overdriving the road conditions.My last vehicle had ABS - my Vibe does not (too impatient to wait for one with it). It is my first vehicle without ABS, and we can have slippery winter roads here for 5 to 7 months of the year. I am adjusting to braking without it - sliding around on ice, but I haven't locked up the wheels yet. I haven't had to panic brake yet, so I can't comment on the difference there.