Bora ABS noises

warrenstown

Hi there,
I'm driving a 00 reg 1.9TDI (90bhp) VW Bora with around 140,000 miles on the clock. In the last 6/8 months, whenever the ABS kicks in, it makes a large groaning noise like its motors are under real pressure. This noise wasn't there before. The actual performance of the ABS doesn't seemed to have changed.

The noise really stood out when I had to drive late one night on a badly frosted road recently and the ABS kicked in at some points. No warning light flashes up on the dashboard when the groan happens.

The ABS groaning is most apparent during hard, unplanned braking as opposed to when I brake normally, coming to a roundabout say, and the ABS starts because of a greasy patch or something like that.

The front brakes are due to be replaced, I'm doing that this weekend, they are wearing down but the warning light for them still hasn't come on yet.

Would the noise be because the ABS is working extra hard to get a decent response from the fading front brakes?

I don't know too much about the mechanics of cars by the way!

Thanks.

crosstownk

The ABS unit may be on the way out (it wouldn't be the first one!). But it be no harm to change the brake fluid and see what happens.