00 Oldsmobile Alero Brakes

I have a 2000 olds alero that has 140k miles on it. It felt like my brakes weren't quite working as well as they should be. I did a little test to see if I could figure anything out. I drove the car in an empty parking lot at 25 mph, then stommped on the brakes and the tires didn't lock up at all. I didn't really notice any operation from the ABS either. I would have expected the tires to lock then release then lock until the car stopped, but it didn't happen this way. Is this normal?

 

Well, if the tires didn't lock at all, then maybe your brakes are so worn that the ABS never kicks in? ABS will only activate if it detects a locked wheel, basically a wheel rotating slower than the others. It's more complicated than that, but thats the gist of it.

I also don't know whether 25 mph is enough to cause the ABS to activate.

 

i am assuming you "felt" ABS working before, so you know the difference. best to check them is to get on a stip slope, get her up to some speed, and then slam on the brakes. you should feel slight vibration back into your foot.
otherwise, they are not supposed to lock, that's defintion of anti-lock.
i'd say, find braking specs for your vehicle, which is normally 60 to 0 test, and measure the distance.
you could take wheels off, and remove glaze from rotors and spray brake pads with brakes cleaner.
does the pedal feel funny? too stiff, too soft, going down too far?