front brakes locking up in the snow
 

I was driving in the first snow of the year and the front brakes locked up and started a slide. Luckily I wasn't going fast and was able to control it with just an elevated heart rate. I didn't apply a lot of peddle pressure which is why it concerns me. Pads and disks have about 5k miles, truck has ABS mod done. What should I be looking for or do I chock it up to ice build-up? There was a bit of grinding sound from the brakes. Hasn't happened before. 2003 Disco II SE7 with 137k miles. Thanks.

Are you sure it was a problem with the brakes and not just slippery roads? Doesn't take much pedal force to lock up in the snow. Did the ABS kick in?

What speed? A lot of vehicles out there will allow for lock up at slow speeds because it will actually stop faster than ABS. Mine lock at around 15km/h, which would be about 10mph.

Experienced a similar problem. Found that gearing adjustments and hi low change helped. Also, that the hand brake works great in snow. And pumping the brakes seemed to help a bit.

Tried to lock up the brakes on dry ground and it wasn't happenin'. From now on it will be low range, 2nd gear and better tires at some point in the future. Thanks for the tips and/or suggestions.

Why would you use low range?? That's ridiculous. There's no need to drive like that in a bit of snow. Keep it in high, slow down earlier than you normally would, and leave space. If you lock up, ABS will do the pumping for you. If you lock up at very low speeds, it's totally normal and a normal function of ABS systems.

Originally from California eh, there is your problem :)

• Just drop it in third and use sport mode to shift a bit later - you do not need low on city streets
• Take it easy and brake gently and earlier than you normally would this will get rid of the lock up you might slide a hair as you stop, thank the twits who spin their tires trying to get going for that
• When you accelerate take it easy on the gas, if the TC kicks in ease off a bit - more gas is not better in snow
• Leave a lot more room between you and the guy in front so you have more time to brake and you can brake gently
• Air down a bit unless your tires are shot in which case stay home - trust me tires with bad tread are not a good idea in snow.

Hey, hey, let's be nice. California as in Sierra Nevada during winter. Okay, we did use tire chains. Thank you,though, for the advice. I will take the blame for the slide but will also avoid that short steep-ass hill in the middle of town next time it snows. I agree about the twits who spin on take-off. There were more than a couple this particular day, including one who had to be pushed through a flat intersection. Oh, well.