How can I tell if my car has ABS?

without going really fast and slamming the brakes...





I have an '89 Toyota Cressida, and this model comes optional with ABS (anti-lock brake system). I know that newer cars have the "ABS" lights that show up on the dash, but my car doesnt show it. So, how can I find out if my vehicle has ABS?





Thanks, appreciate it,


-Richard|||The easiest way is to just go in a parking lot and slam on the brakes. If your wheels lock and you slide you dont have ABS, if you feel a wierd shaky feeling in the brake pedal and your tires dont slide you have ABS. I know you said not to but it won't do any damage to your car, you should only have to go about 25mph, if your car cant handle that then it shouldnt be on the road.|||Turn your key to the on position but not to the start ignition





If you do not have an ABS light then you most likely do not have ABS brakes








Look in the owners manual to see if it specifically states which model you have and which has ABS





Physically lie down near the front or rear tires and look for a thin cable (about half as thick as a television cable) that runs along the strut or shock and inserts into the back of the wheel. Do not confuse this with a hydraulic brake hose (which is a little thicker than a television cable). An ABS cable will not conjoin a steel tube or line as a hydraulic brake hose will eventually.








Disassemble a tire or look behind a wheel to see if you see a cogged ABS ring with a computerized sensor touching it. This sensor would be attached to the aforementioned cable and the location of this ABS ring would be on the back of where the wheel meets the hub. If there's a cable running there, you probably don't have to crawl under to see if there's an ABS ring that it runs to. It'll be there.|||If the breaks are in good condition, go to a large parking lot or vacant street. You can test the system to see if you have ABS by speeding up and slamming on the breaks. If you have ABS, you will not be able to make the breaks lock up and skid. The break peddle will "vibrate" under the pressure of you foot, which is the system "pumping" the breaks very quickly. This is why the breaks won't lock up.





Keep in mind that your car is 20 years old and even if it does have ABS, they might not work correctly.|||If the ABS light doesn't turn on for a short time when you first start the car, it probably doesn't have it. Look under the hood for the ABS pump, and hardlines going to what may look like a block into it. This might be a telltale sign of whether you have it or not.


If not go to the dealer and bring your vin number in, and they can tell you based upon the vin number whether or not your car had it originally from the factory.|||you will have a twin outlet master cylinder if you have ABS on an 89 model car





There will be a cylinder shaped gizmo between the front and back brakes in the hydraulic line.





All ABS systems work by operating the front/back brake circuits independently, so there will be two independent hydraulic circuits.





Conventional braking systems only need one brake circuit|||go under your car and look at the axle shaft, if it has teeth around the outter area of the anxle then yes its ABS, if not then no. also if there is a wire to the axle area where your wheel is, this would be your ABS sensor to the sensor ring.|||It will prolly say it somewhere on the car on the inside like on the steering wheel or on the dashboard, just look around and if you don't see it then you prolly don't have it.|||well if the light dont come up, you probably dont have it. look for an ABS fuse maybe. or take off the wheels and look for ABS components. or just go wicked fast and jump on the brakes. lol|||abs insignia somewhere on car





abs light on dashboard/ instrument panel|||Sometimes it will say abs on the brake pedal