1987 Pontiac 6000 STE 2.8 from North America
Summary:
Lots of bells and whistles, but an ABS Achilles heel
Faults:
I've had the car two years and am now about to give it away because the cost of repairs exceeds the value. I've spent about $200 on repairs, mostly maintenance, but now the ABS system has failed. Unfortunately, when the ABS fails, all the brakes fail. They say it could cost $1,000 to $3,000 to fix. From now on I am going to stay away from ABS. Who knew it was like having another engine in the car, in that it cost just as much if not more to repair or replace as an engine. I didn't realize that if the ABS pressure fails, you lose all your rear brakes and are left with 10% of front braking power.
I can live without A/C (which still works fine), but you gotta have brakes.
General Comments:
Worked fine until the ABS went out.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 2nd June, 2001
24th Dec 2008, 19:11
He's got the Teves II system, it's basically a big hydraulic pump that's electric and is EXTREMELY expensive, like 2500 bucks for a reman. Other old cars with ABS used a similar system, like a Powermaster III system that's W body cars used. But the individual parts are replaceable as long as the master itself isn't bad. Accumulator is the most common thing to go wrong, and are like $100 or so.
3rd Jun 2001, 04:30
When the ABS unit stops working your brakes still work 100%. The ABS unit doesn't have anything to do with the standard brake pressure, it just regulates on an on/off principle when needed.
There is probably something else wrong with the brake system.