I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT. The brakes feel a bit strange. When I apply them as I slow to a stop at around 2-5 mph the brakes let go then grab hard. It seems as if it moves from ABS to foot pressure when it does this. Any thoughts?

Check the fluid level. Flushing the fluid and replacin it with a good quality synthetic brake fluid that's recommended for your car wouldn't hurt. Scan for "ABS" codes. If codes are present post the so we can see them. Check with a dealer with a dealer for recall or TSB.

Check the brake pads and if this car has drum brakes on the rear be sure to check them for shoe wear and drum warpage.
Does the car surge or shutter (especially in the steeering wheel) when braking?

I will make the above checks, thank you.

Big Block, Ill be checking it today with a scan tool after I do the visual inspection. Will let you know.

Bfree, It is disc brakes all around. I have noticed one other thing that seems pretty important. Each time I feel that "release" then the hard grab, the "low traction" light comes on then goes off when Im stopped completely. It happens at exactly the same time and it happens every time. One last note, I was turning around on a side street and when I approached the opposite curb in the first part of my 3 point turn it would not stop and I had to jam the pedal hard to stop. It wasnt a soft pedal and it didnt drop out. It was very hard to press down. No pull or shutter in the steering wheel but the release I speak of in the car could be described as a surge.

sounds like a bad wheel speed sensor, common.

Also you failed to go into specifics here.

Has any front or rear brake work been done recently?

Has any front or rear suspension work been done recently?

Has any front or rear wheel, tire, or rim work been done recently?

MWS919, I had to put off working on it today because the jack i have (3 ton Craftsman) sprung an oil leak and started lowering as I was pumping it upward. Gonna have to pull the tires and do the visual/physical a day or so from now. Since the light has come on I can do the scan tool to see what it tells me.

Big Block, Been rushed a bit since im working on multiple cars. Yes some recent rear brake work was done on it about 1 month ago by someone else. I will have to check that once I have a new jack in hand. No new rim work and no new suspension work was done. There were four new tire installed about 4 months ago.

pull abs fuse, if the problem stops, it's in the abs system, most likely wheel sensor.

You stated that four new tires were installed. Were they the "OE" size, bigger, or smaller?

Tires were OE.

try disabling abs, pretty sure it's a speed sensor.

I disconnected the ABS and the problem stopped. The headache now is that the sensors are located, I should say pressed (made) in the hubs. Once Ive scanned it Ill replace that hub. No wheel speed sensor comes as a single component on this car. All are packaged with the hub. Based on this I assume that my bro-in-law may have damaged or misaligned it when he put the new brakes on the rear.

Yep, sure do.

Tone ring failure.
Very common.
Check for it.
Keep in touch.

it's not a ford/chrysler and there's no tone ring on a gm, cule less!

Will do. Thank you. I really appreciate the testing info since Im trying to get as much diagnostic time under my belt as possible.

Am I correct that this may be a Hall Effect sensor? If so then its voltage generating and would produce AC current, right? Just trying to see if my studies are starting to prove useful :)

the sensor is part of the wheel hub on your car, so if bad you'll have to replace the hub.
yes a/c milla volts.
sounds like your learning fast.

Just testing to see who is, dead, alive, or in a coma. :-)

Do that from time to time.

Keeps people on their toes.

Watch for more surprise quiz's. :-) :-)

right, well i'm trying to help people here and damm sure donn't need any testing, i do this for a living.
it's more like interference or ignoing than help.
but, i'm short

Lightin man. I was kidding. Just mixin it up and havin some fun.

try stopping from about 20-25mph using the e-brake only to see if you still get the "release and then hard stop." try this several times.
If so, the problem is in the rear brake (likely a warped rotor or drum).
If not the problem is in the front brakes (likely a warped drum).

Thank you. Its info and tips like that from you guys that just rocks. I enjoy learning the different ways to accomplish stuff.

Ill keep you updated.

Thor,

Yes some recent rear brake work was done on it about 1 month ago by someone else.

Look man, I'm quoting you above. Seems like a "No Brainer" to me man, and you gotta correct me if I'm wrong here, but was everything fine with the brakes until that other individual worked on them?

You say brake work was done, but you don't go into any kind of detail explaining what that brake work was?

Look man, the difference between a great mechanic and a super great mechanic is that the super great great mechanic is gonna leave no stone unturned?

You gotta check the basics here. You gotta look at the work this other individual did. The only time you go lookin for a bigger problem is when the basics don't check out.

mws, should have jack issue worked out and will be pulling the wheels tomorrow afternoon PST. Will let you know what I find.

bfree, man the car did not like me pulling the ebrake when it was still rolling. No problems with the stopping but each time I did it it seemed to take the entire length of the ebrake cable and smack it hard against the entire length of the car. It stopped fine though without any of the early symptoms I described.

Big Block, the brake work that was done was a replacement of the rear pads. Im quick on here because I dont have much downtime until after dark and you guys are all east coast so we arent in synch with break times. I consider what ive done to this point to be pretty thorough but I get what youre saying. Keeping it simple is good. I got the car to repair the air conditioning and noticed the brake issue once I had it. They told me nothing about the symptoms I experienced and they are unique enough that it could have possibly gone unnoticed to them. I have no real way to know if its happened since he replaced the pads since they seem to be oblivious that it was happening anyway. As for being a super good tech, thats the plan and it takes a village so I appreciate the feedback. I can be no more thorough until I have a new jack so most likely tomorrow night.