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“Dry” Brake-by-Wire Systems Coming Soon to Light Trucks Near You
A new kind of “brake-by-wire” system, which does entirely without hydraulics, will soon hit the market. Brembo and ZF announced recently that each has signed contracts for their respective systems. Brembo’s will arrive in 2026. The model, manufacturer, or even the vehicle segment is anyone’s guess. ZF, however, is already dropping clues.
According to a press release from January, the German company ZF has agreed to supply five million vehicles with its Electro-Mechanical Braking (EMB) system, 700,000 of which will be heavy-duty pickups. ZF’s “dry” system will initially only be used on the rear axle, as the company reports that the expense of building in redundancy into the 12-volt architecture common on today’s vehicles makes incorporating an electric braking system at all four wheels cost-prohibitive. This system’s rear brakes will use motors in the calipers to squeeze the pads against the rotors. The front brakes will be the familiar electro-hydraulic setup, a combination that ZF calls Integrated Brake Control (IBC): An electronic master cylinder actuating a hydraulic system that pinches the pad against the rotor.
Since the front brakes do the lion’s share of the work, this arrangement seems to indicate a cautious roll-out. For those of us who demand a redundant, mechanical braking option, ZF’s arrangement is the best of both worlds:
“The EMB works seamlessly with the Integrated Brake Control (IBC), a non-vacuum, fully integrated electro-hydraulic system providing premium brake performance for automatic emergency braking, full energy recuperation and redundant fallback options up to full automated driving for passenger car and light truck segments.”
It took longer than the company expected, but Brembo has also found a taker for its newest brake-by-wire system, called Sensify, which goes quite a bit farther than ZF’s by relying upon two electric motors at all four corners in each caliper to actually pinch the pad onto the rotor. Here, too, the phraseology gets confusing: Like ZF, Brembo is developing a completely fluid-free system and a “hybrid” version that includes some hydraulics for some applications, like sports cars… and they’re both called Sensify.
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For now, we’ll focus on the first version, that ditches the fluid entirely. The Italian company is very excited for the ways that the “dry” system will yield more precise handling, increase performance, and minimize emissions by keeping the pads from dragging on the discs. The following is taken from a press release published in October of 2021, when Brembo expected the system to come to market in early 2024:
“With SENSIFY™ the braking system is no longer simply a sum of its parts but an ecosystem, where artificial intelligence and software play an active role. Data collection is leveraged to improve the driver experience and allows the system to be constantly updated.”
Brembo has been working alongside France-based Michelin since December of 2024 to collect that data using the tire manufacturer’s software for analyzing wear, load, and grip in real-time. Sensify, in case you were wondering, is a portmanteau of sense and simplify. If you look up Sensify on the supplier’s site, Brembo now advertises it as “the first fluid-free intelligent braking system.” According to Michelin, the “dry” system can stop thirteen feet shorter than a hybrid (electro-hydraulic) setup, respond quicker, sacrifice less traction, improve lateral stability, and prevent wheel lock.
Said Michelin’s Serge Lafon of the collaboration with Brembo: “Our shared passion for innovation and excellence allows us to take a new step forward in enhancing user safety. Allowing customers to keep their tires in use as long as possible with total peace of mind is a core objective of Michelin, thus protecting their purchasing power as well as the environment.”
“At Brembo, we believe in the power of technology and artificial intelligence,” said Daniele Schillaci, the Sicilian CEO of Brembo. “In fact, we are increasingly becoming a company combining software capabilities with our expertise in the corner of the vehicle, mastering calipers, discs and friction materials with a unique know-how. Sensify represents the new standard in braking that will target a zero accidents vision. This partnership with Michelin illustrates the power of collaboration and innovation in the automotive industry.”
Sensify will debut in 2026.
Two years after Brembo announced Sensify, ZF introduced its own “dry brake-by-wire” system that “eliminates need for brake fluid” and relies on electric motors for clamping power. By bringing the dry setup in combination with an electro-hydraulic one, ZF has beat Brembo to the punch.
As humans become more distant from the mechanics of driving a car, whether because of by-wire brake and steering systems or semi-autonomous cruise control or the general ability to understand and fix their own vehicles, we will surely arrive at a point of diminishing returns—if not in safety, then in driving enjoyment. Have we reached that point yet? You tell us.
More stuff to go wrong.
Did anyone ask for this? Anyone? Show of hands?
My guess is stockholders and government lawmakers – not consumers or mechanics
“…can stop thirteen feet shorter, respond quicker, sacrifice less traction, improve lateral stability, and prevent wheel lock.”
Yes, I’m pretty sure these are the kinds of improvements people continually ask for. This reminds me of the kind of backlash heard when anti-lock brakes were introduced.
Hmmm. The electric parking/emergency brakes already in use on many rear discs would seem to be the front of this wave. Changing pads on those ebrakes is a hassle, and it will be a hassle on any ‘dry’ system because computer commands will be required, I imagine. However, in wet climates such as the one I live in on Canada’s west coast, brake fluid needs to be changed every few years. Most people don’t bother, and that will eventually affect their vehicles’ braking effectiveness and safety — especially since we have not had required periodic mechanical inspections here for decades now. So dry braking systems will prevent fluid saturation, hose rot, crusty callipers and therefore dragging pads, etc. They will be a long term safety and efficiency win, probably at the cost of ease of servicing (though a good design would build in a computer menu system to allow the owner to retract the pads for easy replacement… ha!).
“Have we reached that point?”
Reached it? Heck, that point was passed on September 27th, 2004.
When the 2005 Porsches hit the market with no oil dipstick and no spare tire, that was the turning point.
It’s been all bad from then until now and 99% of new cars have no real driver involvement left.
Corvettes are all automatics now. What other proof do you need that cars are over?
“Cars”? No. “Rolling smart-phone support platforms”? Yes. Real cars don’t have cupholders.
You are correct mike. Can i still drive a 3 on the tree with one arm around my girlfriend and a beer between my legs…..
Careful – you are writing that IN FRONT OF your insurance company’s eyes…🙄
The problem with a system like this (on top of all the ones listed above) is that a system like this is going to fail safe to ‘applied’. If I pop a rear brake line, I can limp my vehicle to a safe place. If this electronic system fritzes out, you are probably going to be stuck in middle of the highway with a 50-foot skidmark marking your location
That’s a strange and illogical assumption on your part.
I was a Diesel mechanic in my past life and air brakes are fail-safe to ‘applied’. Have you ever driven down the highway and wondered why there is 100 feet of one-wheel skidmark every now and then that terminates at the shoulder? Your car is probably not going to have the torque a semi does to get you off the road
No assumption here – just operating experience
I think it’s entirely logical to think that “fail safe” default would be to apply the brakes as opposed to what, sending a vehicle into total free-wheeling mode? Makes sense to me, TG.
(full disclosure: I’m not an ex-diesel mechanic, but I am an ex-diesel semi driver)
Sounds like hyperV6 is still gonna have to remind us to quit focusing on oil and pay more attention to brake fluid for a bit longer, anyway. But it’s coming, old son, it’s coming!
Considering the cost of replacing ABS modules, he is not wrong.
Another reason not to buy a new car or truck. All that corrosion sensitive electronics located where it will suffer the most isn’t the best idea. Putting that tv screen in the middle of the dash has likely killed more people than drunk drivers.
The hits just keep on coming.
Reflect on this- how long did your computer live before “software no longer supported” became an issue? Think any new-to-today cars are ever going to sport an antique tag?
There are plenty of cars with 1980s computers running them that are still driving around. Computers can be future-proofed if they want to. Plenty of old computers still run. “Not supported” does not mean no longer works at all. It just means there is no new development resources put in. Plenty of car ECUs are “no longer supported” yet there are plenty of cars still safely driving.
And yes. I think there will be plenty of modern cars that reach antique status. That’s what, 25 years old? Average age of a car on the road right now is over 12. That means that a whole lot of cars are already halfway to “antique” status and still in regular use.
All that said. This system sucks and I hope I never have to drive a car with it.
I’m thinking by brother’s 2017 Ram 2500 with 80k miles that has been through FOUR (yes, 4) ABS modules and not under warranty. He has spent more on his brakes in the last 5 years than I spent buying and driving the 2002 Ram 2500 I bought used 15 years ago.
This exceedingly stupid idea put me in TLDR mode. Did the article cover what would happen if/when the battery died? While you were in motion?
Usedcarmike is dead on, software not supported means time for you to go buy a newer car. 3, 5,or 10 yrs if we’re lucky. Pity the older retired people on limited income.
Hooray for more complication that needs backups in case of failure.
Let’s see , everyone lives in Arizona where there is no salt and no temperature swings. These people live in a pipe dream.
It better not glitch as often as my cellphone , “smart” TV or laptop, or have the lag and video game feel of the drive by wire accelerator pedal my ‘06 Magnum had. You can keep it, just dont drive behind me and my family.
How are they going to weatherproof all that crap? You know what rotors and calipers look like shortly after installing them.