Agreed; I think they're quoting you a worst-case scenario, price-wise, plus of course all that labor. You have nothing to lose by removing each wheel and inspecting the sensor wiring yourself for any obvious damage.

To answer your original question: There's nothing you need to disconnect; the ABS works in parallel with your regular braking system, not in place of it. You'll still be able to stop the car as usual; you just won't have ABS to help you avoid locking and skidding your wheels in a panic stop.

Thanks for all the great info. I think I'm just going to leave it. The mechanic said since the sensors aren't working the ABS is essentially disconnected. I'll check the wires when I do the pads and rotors which are due for replacing soon. My only other question is that I had a code 61 pump motor test problem. Is that part of the ABS or the actual braking system?

It's part of the ABS; again, it's not involved in the service brakes and you can drive safely without it working.

Actually I think I'd go ahead and fix the sensors as required (not replacing parts at random, but testing and fixing the problems one wheel at a time where necessary), and then see if you still have a pump motor test problem after that. If the system can't get feedback from its wheel sensors to begin with, I'm not sure how much more self-testing it would bother doing, or how reliable its self-test results would be anyway.

My only problem with this discussion is "What if?"

I don't know about Canada, but the legal system here in The States would have a field day if you got into an accident and injured someone(other than yourself). I only bring this up because you are choosing not to fix something that was designed to prevent certain accidents. Sort of like not replacing the Air Bags after an accident because of the cost and not thinking of their benefits. So, IMO, I would get this fixed as soon as possible.

The ABS on my truck never worked right, it would kick on when it wasnt needed. No codes were thrown and it all tested OK. I then disconnected it as I felt it was a safety issue. I pulled all the harnesses going to the HPU and that totally disabled the unit, even the ABS light. The brakes were great after that. I recemond decomissioning the whole system, you dont want screwy operation if it starts interperating false information.

Ditto for me too. Mine would grab erratically when I was braking sometimes. I unplugged the front wheel sensors. I plan on fixing the ABS/Trac Control someday though. So if your ABS behaves erratically, I'd recommend either fixing it or disabling it, with the preferred being repair.