Hey everyone -long time reader/first time poster here. Last week my ABS light came on during my drive home from work. Since that time it has come on and off at random times (sometimes when I start the engine, sometimes while I am driving, sometimes not at all). It has been snowy here lately and it seems that when the light is on my ABS doesn't come on (I don't feel the pedal pump itself).

So I took the car to my mechanic and he ran a diagnostic test that said the speed sensor was not working on the front driver's side. He said it looked rusted and/or corroded around the sensor and that he'd order me a new one and put it on next week (after Christmas). He said that he couldn't remove the sensor because of the aforementioned problem.

It is the week of Christmas and I'll be doing quite a bit of traveling. Is there any danger for me to drive the vehicle? Does the mechanic's advice seem sound? Are there any other things I can do on my own to make it work properly again?

thanks.

 

You'll be fine, but wouldn't hurt to be extra vigilant about braking early and keeping enough distance between you and the car in front.
With ABS the car may stop sooner in some conditions, especially if all a person does is mash the pedal down and keep it there, but in others (like snow over dirt or dry pavement, or gravel) it's actually possible to stop sooner w/o ABS. When the light is on your car's braking system will still work the same as a non-ABS car, it's still safe to drive.

If you've driven cars w/o ABS before, when the light is on, that's what you'll be dealing with. It's unlikely that the system will actually cause you to have trouble stopping, it should either work and give you anti-lock, or shut itself off - however, if it was me (keeping in mind I have experience driving w/o ABS in snow & ice, even on my current ABS-equipped car) I would disconnect or disarm the ABS until I had the sensor fixed, just in case.

Either that or you could leave it disconnected (and not get the sensor fixed) if you find it brakes predictably w/o ABS in slick conditions. Either way, the point of disarming it would be so that you'll have a consistent car when braking, so you don't have to deal with varying or unpredictable braking situations. Not necessary though.