Carmakers fret while feds ask why antilock brakes generate
          so many complaints
  
             By Janet L. Fix
             Detroit Free Press
      
Antilock brakes are touted as the greatest safety advance since the seat
belt.  Engineers and safety experts say they're even better than air bags
because antilock brakes help drivers avoid  accidents, not survive them.  But
the highly praised computerized antilock braking system, or ABS, as it's
commonly called, has hit the skids.  Recent government studies suggest that
antilock brakes       may contribute to as many accidents as they prevent. An
insurance industry study found that ABS did not reduce  accidents.
              
Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute  (NHTSA) is investigating
7,350 consumer claims of ABS malfunctions and failures on General Motors
Corp. light trucks and Suburbans built in the early '90s.  It is
investigating another 2,194 complaints involving 1990-1993 Chrysler passenger
cars and minivans. More than 9,500 consumer complaints for all makes of
vehicles blame ABS failure for more than 2,080 accidents and more than 578
injuries. So far, no deaths have been blamed on ABS failures.
              
Automakers insist that antilock brake systems are not flawed. But Brian
O'Neill, director of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says that
``when something produces as many complaints as ABS has, there's something
wrong somewhere _ it's not a consumer conspiracy.''  

         FAULTY SYSTEMS OR DRIVERS?
              
Finding out what's wrong may prove one of the biggest challenges NHTSA has
ever faced.  Neither the problem nor the solution is clear.  Drivers blame
carmakers for making faulty systems.
Carmakers and brake manufacturers blame drivers for not using ABS properly.
And, indeed, many drivers don't use  antilock brakes properly. Too many pump
their brakes when ABS requires them to stomp on the brake pedal and hold it
down during an emergency stop.  There are increasing reports, however, that
some  antilock brake systems may have technical flaws that result in complete
or partial brake failure. Often, when the ABS fails, consumers claim their
regular brakes don't kick in as they're supposed to, leaving the panicked
driver with no way to slow their car.
              
There's also evidence that suggests General Motors and Chrysler Corp. have
not been forthcoming with consumers.  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently
reported that GM has
quietly tried to fix problems with its antilock brake systems for years, and
that Chrysler has privately resolved individual ABS complaints with some car
owners, even as the automakers publicly denied that any problems exist.  At
the very least, NHTSA could find that the problem
with antilock brakes is that they just  aren't consumer-friendly. Even if
they work right, the noise and feel of some systems can scare the heck out of
unsuspecting drivers, causing them to pull their foot off the brake.  ``In
some, the pedal shakes like mad, as if you're going over a railroad track,''
says Robert Knoll, automotive editor for Consumer Reports.  
             
             ABS RECALL UNLIKELY
              
For carmakers, the stakes are high. The cost of an ABS recall would be
enormous. Antilock brakes are on more than 15 million cars and trucks.  ABS
has been an option on U.S. cars for 10 years and is increasingly standard on
many new cars. Carmakers expect ABS will be standard on all cars by the year
2000.  The auto companies and safety officials privately say an NHTSA recall
is unlikely. They expect NHTSA to find driver error is to blame and better
ABS education is the answer.  That would anger Carey and Elizabeth Hidaka of
Glenview, Ill. They say the antilock and conventional brakes failed on their
1993 Plymouth Voyager as Elizabeth, with their four children in tow, backed
out of their driveway.  ``It's sheer panic when nothing happens when you hit
the brakes,'' she says. At other times, the Voyager's ABS warning light has
flashed intermittently, indicating a problem. Because their car manual warns
the van should not be driven when this happens, they've had it towed to the
dealer for repair.  But repeatedly, the mechanics found no problem. Now
Elizabeth Hidaka is afraid to drive the van and Carey Hidaka's not sure he'd
buy a car with ABS again. ``I'm having second thoughts,'' he says.  Attitudes
like these mean even if there's no ABS recall, carmakers may  still have a
public relations problem.  Carmakers and safety officials want consumers to
embrace ABS as they have seat belts. But first, automakers and officials have
to convince the public that antilock brakes are dependable _ 100 percent of
the time. If they can't, consumers may resist other computer-based advances,
from collision warning systems to computer-controlled steering.  ``We're
shifting to a vehicle fundamentally tied to electronics and there's no
turning back,'' says David Cole, director of the University of Michigan's
Transportation Institute. ``But if consumers are left feeling suspicious or
fearful, consumers won't buy it.''
              
             10,000 COMPLAINTS ON ABS
              
Among the thousands of safety problems NHTSA has confronted, ABS ranks among
the biggest.   Typically, NHTSA gets a few _ or a few hundred _complaints
about a problem. It has received almost 10,000 complaints about faulty
antilock brakes since their inception.  Most safety concerns are resolved
between NHTSA and carmakers. Most problems are mechanical, and therefore
fairly obvious. Indeed, the majority of problems are caught by the car
companies themselves, and fixed without action by NHTSA.  Earlier this year,
carmakers voluntarily recalled about 8 million seat belts because the
push-button on the buckle didn't work. Just last week, GM recalled 2.4
million cars with defective seat belts.
              
Sometimes NHTSA investigates consumers complaints, identifies the problem and
works out a way to fix it with the auto companies. The rare exceptions are
the ones that get the most public attention. A good example: The allegedly
fire-prone, sidesaddle gas tanks in older GM pickups. The case was long and
contentious before it finally was settled without a recall.  Already, NHTSA's
ABS investigation is more than a year old. Privately, safety officials say
they're still not sure what the problem is. But chief investigator Michael
Brownlee says, ``Hopefully, we can bring the Chrysler minivan investigation
to a resolution in the next several months.''
              
             DRIVER EDUCATION IS KEY
              
NHTSA is focusing on three factors: driver error, mechanical flaws or
electrical glitches, and design flaws.  Each, to varying degrees, may be part
of the problem and,  ultimately, the solution to the ABS dilemma.  The first
is driver error. ``In cases like this, drivers and how they operate a system
usually (are) an issue,'' says NHTSA's Brownlee.  With a firm stomp on the
brake, the ABS kicks in. It automatically and rapidly pumps the brakes. This
keeps the wheels from locking and allows the driver to maintain control. If a
driver pumps his brakes, the ABS won't work properly. But many drivers don't
know this because they don't read their driver's manual.            ``It's
amazing how few people read their manuals. I see this at my own house,'' says
U-M's Cole. ``My wife and kids want to get in the car and just go.''
              
But car companies also haven't done a good job at educating drivers, in
owner's manuals and in auto showrooms, about how antilock brakes work.
  ``You have to experience antilock brakes,'' says Lindsey Brooks, Chrysler
engineering spokesman. ``It's up to us to do a better job of educating
drivers. Before we give you the keys, we should get you to try the brakes on
a strip of 
wet asphalt.''
             
Antilock brake manufacturers recently formed a group whose sole goal is to
teach drivers how to use ABS safely.  Some dealers are starting to put ABS
videos in the glove compartments of light trucks.
              
Drivers also expect antilock brakes to do things they can't. They can't work
miracles. They can't steer if the driver, in a panic, forgets to. They can't
reduce stopping distances, especially on gravel or on crunchy snow. They do
their best work on icy or slippery surfaces. On dry surfaces, where none of
the wheels are skidding, ABS can't stop a car or truck any faster.  If
drivers expect miracles from antilock brakes, blame carmakers and dealers.
``ABS was marketed as super brakes
that can stop on a dime and dramatically reduce fatalities and crashes. It
doesn't do either,'' says Charles Hurley, spokesman for the Insurance
Institute.
              
Government studies shows that  antilock brakes are a safety advantage on wet
roads, reducing by 24 percent the  number of multivehicle fatal crashes. And
pedestrian and bicycle fatalities involving cars with ABS are down 27
percent. But these declines are offset by a 28-percent increase in the number
of fatal crashes involving a single ABS-equipped car that runs off the road.
              
Safety officials suspect that ABS-equipped cars may run off the road because
drivers forgot to steer. There's precedence for NHTSA blaming driver error.
 In 1989, NHTSA concluded an investigation into 2,894 consumer complaints of
unwanted sudden acceleration in Audis. Drivers blamed technical flaws for
2,097 accidents, 712 injuries and six deaths.  The evidence gathered by NHTSA
showed that because the brake and gas pedals were close together, drivers hit
the gas when they intended to hit the brake, or they hit both pedals at the
same time.  

    PROBLEMS AT GM, CHRYSLER
              
However, driver error may not be the only problem with ABS. There are two
other possible problems: technical and design flaws.  Many consumers complain
that their ABS warning light
flashes intermittently, indicating a problem exists. But mechanics can't
locate a problem, even with the help of computerized diagnostic equipment
designed to read ABS problem codes.  One possible reason: Mechanical
problems, such as faulty hoses or low brake fluid, are fairly easy to spot.
 Electronic glitches, especially if they're intermittent,  may be impossible
for even a good  mechanic to find.  ``You may have to drive a car for weeks
or a year before  a failure occurs gain,'' says R. David Megugorac,
automotive consultant in Santa Paula, Calif.   Mark Salogar of Webberville
says the brakes on his 1994 Chevy S-10 pickup failed repeatedly _ in one
accident.    In April, Salogar's wife left a Chevy dealership, where
mechanics had just installed a new antilock brake system  and completed
$11,000 in repairs on the pickup after the car was hit by a drunk driver. On
the way home, the brakes failed and his wife ran into a car not once, but
three times. Witnesses said the truck screeched loudly, but the dealer's
diagnostic equipment found nothing wrong. ``They can only find problems
they're programmed to find,'' Salogar says.  An investigation of government
records by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found:  _GM has turned over documents
indicating that it knew its antilock brake systems had problems almost from
the day they were introduced. In 1990, for example, GM memos discuss what to
do about internal hydraulic leaks that could reduce braking. In 1992, a memo
described a problem in which the "brake pedal travels to the floor at
times.''  In all, 38 major changes were made in GM's  antilock braking
systems, while truck owners were told nothing of the problems.  _Internal
Chrysler comments show the automaker knew of an unusual number of ABS
failures as early as 1992.  And Chrysler has quietly bought back several
dozen ABS-equipped  vehicles, in some instances asking the owners to sign a
pledge never disclose that a settlement was reached.  The Insurance
Institute's O'Neill says he's mystified by some of these complaints.
``Intermittent problems are the
inevitable consequence of the increasing use of electronics in cars,''
O'Neill says. ``But ... there's nothing in ABS electronics that should cause
(their) conventional brakes to fail.''  So carmakers insist the problem is
with drivers.  ABS ``represents new and relatively complex technology .. and
lack of familiarity could lead to'' claims of brake failure, GM said in a
statement. ``We still believe the ABS on these vehicles is a good system.''
              
             `STOMP AND STEER'
              
Of course, just because an antilock brake system works as it's designed,
doesn't mean that it's designed well.  Automakers are trying to make antilock
brakes work asquietly and  with as little vibration as possible, sodrivers
won't be alarmed when they go into operation.  But some antilock brakes are
noisier and shake the brake pedal more violently than others. The greater the
noise and
vibration, the greater the possibility that startleddrivers will pull their
foot off the brake.
              
NHTSA's investigation is focused on two ABS systems: one by Kelsey-Hayes,
used on the GM vehicles underinvestigation. The other is Bendix 10, used on
the Chrysler  vehicles.
              
GM and Chrysler insist these systems make no more noise or vibration than
most others.
              
But the Insurance Institute's O'Neill says, ``Engineers and marketers
underestimated how different ABS would feel when you activate it and
overestimated how quickly drivers would become used to them.''  Another
problem: The way antilock brakes are designed requires drivers to change the
way they react to emergencies.  From the age of 15, most drivers are taught
to pump their brakes in an emergency stop on icy or slick roads to avoid the
wheels locking and the car spinning out of
 control.  For antilock brakes to work properly, drivers must forget that
training. Now drivers must learn to ``stomp and steer'' with ABS, a phrase
NHTSA hopes will soon be as familiar to drivers as ``buckle up.''
              
The biggest problem with ABS may be that it demands that drivers react
perfectly in an emergency. ``That's a recipe for failure,'' says the
Insurance Institute's Hurley.  ``Drivers can't be expected to be perfect. So
the systems they use should be.''
              
But designers and supporters of ABS dismiss such suggestions. ``We fully
believe in ABS. It's a heck of a lot better than conventional braking,'' says
Chrysler's Lindsey Brooks.
              
Which may explain why ABS supporters still outnumber critics. ``You shouldn't
buy a car or truck, especially a truck, without ABS,'' says Knoll of Consumer
Reports.  
        
Copyright, Detroit Free Press; all rights reserved.  10/30/95{et