'05 Tucson ESP or ABS problems?

I hope Hyundaitech reads this, we really need some direction with this:

Sunday morning the ABS kicked on for no apparant reason, and naturally
we were unable to come to a complete stop. Road conditions were dry,
no sand or dirt in the road. As a result, we bumped the rear bumper a
gentleman in front of us. Our initial thought was the brakes failed.
But we heard a grinding noise while trying to stop, and the front end
was bucking up and down; which I interpret as the ABS noise (grinding)
and the bucking as the vehicle trying to stop on dry pavement (ABS
doing its job pumping the brakes). We had it towed to the local
Hyundai dealership, they were unable to find anything wrong.

So the question that is eating us alive is - "why?" Again, roads were
clean, no dirt or sand. We think it is possible there could have been
oil in the road (it did happen next to a Pep Boys and a Nissan
dealership, but let's be clear here - I am certainly not placing
blame). Obviously the ABS were doing their job, but nothing was so
apparent to set them off. There is a set of railroad tracks on this
particular road, but the distance between the tracks and the incident
is, say, 20 yards (I am the previous owner of an '02 Saturn L300 that
would apply the traction control if I hit railroad tracks, manhole
covers, or pot holes). So our thinking was the railroad tracks set off
the ABS - and set them off for another 20 yards?

I noticed there is an NHTSA recall out there # 05V119000, Hyundai
Recall # 068 for the ESP. Is it possible that over a year later, this
is an issue?

Please help!

-M

 

You'll hear the ABS motor/pump and may be able to feel a vibration in the
brake pedal. But this wouldn't normally make the front of the vehicle
buck.

Later in your post you mention that you thought you might have run through
some oil. And actually, based on everything you list, I find that more
plausible. If you've ever tried to stop a vehicle when just one spot of
the tire had something slippery on it, you'll know that it makes kind of a
jerking brake-slip-brake-slip type of reaction.

I tend to think, like you, that the ABS was probably doing its job. I
hope you're not learning this here, but it's important to review. The
first time my ABS activated when I went over something slippery with one
wheel, I didn't stop very well. And that was because I didn't apply any
further brake pressure when the ABS activated. I've since learned that
applying further brake pressure not only can be done, but is imperative.
The ABS was only activating on one wheel. The others had much more
braking power left. Since I've learned this, my stops with one wheel on a
slippery surface have been much less harrowing. In fact, once the ABS
activates, the best option in many circumstances is to depress the brake
pedal as hard as possible.

If you don't have a good feeling for how your ABS system controls your
braking, I wholeheartedly recommend taking your car to a safe area (won't
run into anything) with a slippery surface to do some trial stops.

The recall you mention, Recall 068, was for reprograming the ABS/ESP
module. If your vehicle was eligible for the recall and it hasn't been
done, then this can still be an issue. But I don't think it was an issue
in your case. The recall addressed unintended ESP activation, which would
normally feel like one sudden jerk turning the vehicle to the left or
right.