On the weekend just past, we were heading north for a short trip away, when all I can say in short is " I'm so glad I had the ALKO -ESC retro fitted onto our van, & I can't speak high enough of it & how it performed.
The story goes, we were traveling behind a semi trailer at approximately 100kph when he merged into a turning lane to turn into a side road, a head of him turning right out of the same road was a new blue FJ cruiser.
He subsequently pulled out in front of me:eek-53:, first reaction was to hit the breaks & horn, I realised both I wouldn't stop in time nor would he be out of the way in time if I kept my current line, so I swung it to the left thinking he would keep rolling through the intersection & I could slip around the back of him.
Then OMG :eek-53::eek-53: He stopped right there across the middle of a dual lane HWY in a 100kph zone, & I quickly realised that escape route I was heading for was no longer, so I swung the Pathfinder hard to the right with out any care for the van hanging off the back & just hoped that there were no cars beside me & back again to correct it.
During these fleeting moments all I remember was the sound of screeching tyres & the sensation of the ESC pulling on the car hard, then as I accelerated out of there the next thing was the ESC was still active ensuring the swing was finished before releasing & looking back in the mirror to see the intersection filled with blue smoke.
That was the scariest moment I think I have ever had, and I have no doubt with out the combination of ABS in the car & more so the ESC on the van to keep it straight, things would have been much worse for not only our car but for the Toyota I was trying to avoid.
We pulled over just down the road & gave the wife a hug who was shaking & just starting to cry, checked on the boys in the back seat, got out walked around the van to check that it was all still intact & the interior was the way we left it, thankfully everything was all good so we continued on our way.
The funny thing was the first thing I said to her was "are you still cranky I brought the ESC" because at the time I got it fitted she complained that it was a huge waste of money & could be better spent on other things.
She just smiled at me.
If you were uming & areing trying to decide is it worth the money...... Let me say it is worth every cent then some & your a bloody idiot if you don't, not to mention a tight arse for spending +40k on the van & not purchase such a simple safety device.
Chris
The story goes, we were traveling behind a semi trailer at approximately 100kph when he merged into a turning lane to turn into a side road, a head of him turning right out of the same road was a new blue FJ cruiser.
He subsequently pulled out in front of me:eek-53:, first reaction was to hit the breaks & horn, I realised both I wouldn't stop in time nor would he be out of the way in time if I kept my current line, so I swung it to the left thinking he would keep rolling through the intersection & I could slip around the back of him.
Then OMG :eek-53::eek-53: He stopped right there across the middle of a dual lane HWY in a 100kph zone, & I quickly realised that escape route I was heading for was no longer, so I swung the Pathfinder hard to the right with out any care for the van hanging off the back & just hoped that there were no cars beside me & back again to correct it.
During these fleeting moments all I remember was the sound of screeching tyres & the sensation of the ESC pulling on the car hard, then as I accelerated out of there the next thing was the ESC was still active ensuring the swing was finished before releasing & looking back in the mirror to see the intersection filled with blue smoke.
That was the scariest moment I think I have ever had, and I have no doubt with out the combination of ABS in the car & more so the ESC on the van to keep it straight, things would have been much worse for not only our car but for the Toyota I was trying to avoid.
We pulled over just down the road & gave the wife a hug who was shaking & just starting to cry, checked on the boys in the back seat, got out walked around the van to check that it was all still intact & the interior was the way we left it, thankfully everything was all good so we continued on our way.
The funny thing was the first thing I said to her was "are you still cranky I brought the ESC" because at the time I got it fitted she complained that it was a huge waste of money & could be better spent on other things.
She just smiled at me.
If you were uming & areing trying to decide is it worth the money...... Let me say it is worth every cent then some & your a bloody idiot if you don't, not to mention a tight arse for spending +40k on the van & not purchase such a simple safety device.
Chris
Last edited:
