ABS and "!" lights are ON again!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by IllusionX

i would like to know if, of all those who had the problem, had the car rust proofed, or had undercoat done.

Agreed. I was going to have mine coated anyway, since I've had issues in the past with stuff rusting/seizing in other (*cough*GM*cough*) cars. This problem seems to give me a whole new level of motivation... If there's any preventative action that can be taken to stop this failure, everyone should be aware of it.


Edit.
Though that doesn't remove Toyota's responsibility to fix what sounds like a design/manufacturing flaw.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by Dave

Though that doesn't remove Toyota's responsibility to fix what sounds like a design/manufacturing flaw.

Exactly, you shouldn't have to pay extra for a service to cover up a flaw in their product.

[wes369]

Hi There,

Yes... Same ABS issue with my 2008 sedan. I have decided to just disable the Bloody ABS and go back to good old pumping the brakes on the ice.

To disable bloody ABS I went to the fuse box beside the battery and removed the fuses. There are two of them. A 50 amp and a 30 amp. ABS1/VSC1 and ABS2/VSC2. The map on the fuse cover will show you there locations.

As far as the bloody annoying lights, i simply used some black electricians tape and masked it over top of the lights. Mickeymouse i know but at least my eye isnt drawn to them anymore. And it doesnt even look half bad really. Feeling less resentful to that those bloddy corporate shills wont stand behind there obviously flawed ABS system. Oh the shame of it all. No surprise to me though.

If I'm feeling less lazy i will pull off that dashboard molding and get behind the bloody thing and pop those bloody lights out too.

Only downside is that the E-Brake light will no longer be visible in case i leave it on by mistake. I get a warning beep when that happens so it is all good on my end.

Hope that is helpful.
Wes

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by IllusionX

i would like to know if, of all those who had the problem, had the car rust proofed, or had undercoat done.

I didnt specificially ask to have my car rust proofed or have an undercoat applied.

So, if such things are not done standardly when you purchase a car from Toyota, then I'd guess mine never had either done.

[Jem_hadar]

(EDITED post after checking car over lunch)

I just noticed today as I was getting out of my car at work, that I didnt recall seeing either the red (!) or the yellow ABS warning lights still being on...

Checked at lunch - yup, both are no longer on! (WTF?) And was able to activate my ABS too with some quick braking in water puddles.

So what does that mean now? Everything was magically fixed? All of sudden my ABS is working and the indicator lights are gone...

Does this mean there's still an issue, even though my ABS is now working again (at least temporarily?)


Well, brought my car into the dealership anyways for my apt. Didnt tell them that the warning lights had gone off -- im sure they'd just tell me to not worry abt it then and take my car back to them if and when they came back on again. I'm just going to let them put in the new part(s) they ordered.

(As an aside, and I have NO IDEA if its relevant at all, or of any importance, but I'll mention it anyways. Today, the day I noticed that my ABS light is no longer showing, also happens to be quite warm... its like +9 oC out (instead of -10 oC like the way its been)... snow is melting all over the place and roads are very wet, all kinds of puddles all over the place. Could water splashing all up into the ABS area have somehow caused my problem to (temporarily?) go away?? So confused by it all…)

Jem

[Pars]

yep. cold weather seems to effect it. Rest assure, it'll come back. Let the dealership know, they should still be able to call up the error code. If you're still under warranty, I wouldn't wait.

[kozm]

Originally Posted by Jem_hadar

I just noticed today as I was getting out of my car at work, that I didnt recall seeing either the red (!) or the yellow ABS warning lights still being on...

Checked at lunch - yup, both are no longer on! (WTF?) And was able to activate my ABS too with some quick braking in water puddles.

So what does that mean now? Everything was magically fixed? All of sudden my ABS is working and the indicator lights are gone...

Same here. On and off while we're still waiting for the part to arrive. No pattern that I am able to figure out (ie, weather, snow, etc.)

[Jem_hadar]

Interesting, so you think it's more likely the warm weather instead of any water that prolly caused this problem to temporarily go away?

And ya, car is in the shop right now for this to deal w/ this issue. I'm still under warranty, so im def getting it fixed.

Thanks for input.

[Jem_hadar]

OK. Just back from picking up my yaris. Spoke to the service guy briefly abt the matter.

He told me it was the right rear ABS sensor that went this time (Dec 08). It was the left rear ABS sensor that went last time (Feb 08).

I asked him if he knew why, if the mechanics had said? He didn't know why. Told me they just read the error/problem code and the computer said that to correct the issue they needed to replace the right rear sensor, so thats what they did.

I also asked him if this happens again when im out of warranty, and i just decide to live w/o ABS breaks, can they shutoff the indicator lights that are telling me that the ABS sensors are malfunctioning? (ie. turn off the perpetual (!) and ABS lights as they relate to warning me abt this problem.)

He said they couldnt turn them off, that I would have to fix the issue to have them go away. Can anyone on here comment to the truth of this? Is this really the case? Would I just have to live w/ seeing the ABS and (!) always on?


Oh, almost forgot. Also told him abt how the warning lights disappeared today and that i had my ABS functioning once again…

He told me many things often affect these sensors, temperature being one. So it was likely just this warming up today that caused the sensor to temporarily start functioning again.

Well, thats it. There's my update on the matter.

Jem

[Pars]

I'd also get them to check the ABS wires/harness to make sure they don't have any rust on them. Or at least ask them about it....who knows, u might get an honest answer.


I asked the same question (3 times). Two of the mechanics gave me the same answer. ABS can't be shot off.

[voodoo22]

Thanks for all the information about your experience.

In my mind this isn't part of routine maintenance and is a defect Toyota should fix for free on all cars. Seems to common of a problem.

[talapus]

I have this same issue now, anyone have any info on TSB-0120-08 ? This may address the problem?

[dadi_oh]

This is happening on my 06 RS Hatchback. First came on last week for half a day during a snowstorm but cleared itself later in the day. Then came on yesterday (also during a snow storm) but has lasted for about 24 hours now (and counting).

I spoke to my local service department and asked if they were seeing a lot of these. He said they had seen a few. He also made some odd comment about how it could happen if you got stuck and ended up spinning the front wheels. ???? Doesn't make any sense to me. I asked if he could comment on the "few" that he has seen if it is corroded harnesses or defective sensors and he was Not terribly helpful.

Seems to me Toyota has a harness/sensor problem that is going to be safety related so I am going to wait for the recall to kick in. I have 72K on my car so it is out of warranty so no way am I paying for $400 for them to put the same defective design parts back on the car.

I'll see if it self clears this second time after the snow clears up and all the snow turds fall out of my wheel wells.

Hopefully Toyota is forced into a recall sooner rather than later. Out of curiousity how do the regulating agencies find out about safety defects to force a recall? Do they rely on customers reporting the issues? If so, where do you do it?

[Carrot Top]

[QUOTE=dadi_oh;205097]He also made some odd comment about how it could happen if you got stuck and ended up spinning the front wheels. ???? Doesn't make any sense to me.


My lights came on AFTER I was going up Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was snowing like crazy, the roads were not plowed and I had to go up the hill. I don't have snow tires and because of this my tires were spinning...it was so slick out. I felt that if I had taken my foot off the acclerator, I would have slid and gone backwards, it was that bad out!

Anyways, I took it to the dealership today and it is covered under the extended warranty but they wanted me to pay a $112.00 diagnostic charge...lucky for me, I had talked to a Manager and he told me that they have to charge this amount but if the part is covered under warranty, you don't have too...so beware of dealerships trying to charge you!!
The part is backordered, I agree with everyone else, this should be a recall for Yari that are subjected to snow.

[IllusionX]

toyota rarely do recalls. When they are aware of the problems, they come out with a technical service bulletin.

the last RECALL i remember was for the 2000-2004 echos had problems with rust on the floor. Everything else were TBS.

[onizuka]

Finally my parts arrived today. I got mine fixed for 2nd time within same year. All covered by my extended warranty. I got over 72k on it. Good luck hoping for a recall. ABS helps in wet situation, but it's not a safety concern. Many cars are sold without ABS.

[IllusionX]

insurance might not cover if your car's ABS is not working properly, or not at all.

[Jem_hadar]

^^ yikes if thats the case (which is shouldnt be, IMO, since many, many cars are sold w/o ABS)