ABS/VSC/VTRAC Light (1 Viewer)

[Reckless]

I am having this problem regularly where the car after being driven for 20-30 minutes will all of a sudden drop and feel like its dragging and then the ABS/VSC/VTRAC lights come on and feels rough driving.

What could cause that? I did some searching and didn't see anything that addressed this directly.

 

[RobRed]

coil pack failure

 

[Reckless]

Thanks for the reply. Is it 99% chance coil pack failure or can it be something else?

Do I replace ALL coils or just defective one? I want my cruiser to last forever.

 

[RobRed]

Best thing to do is get to a code reader (autozone and other parts stores offer free code reading) and see what shows up. If it is a coil, replace the defect and carry a spare or two. Also it can be a process of elimination... you might get a code for 2 when it's only one bad and an adjacent throws a code.

I have 168k on my cruiser on original coil packs.

 

[Reckless]

I checked with mechanic this morning. He said the coil pack code doesn't come up. I believe he said no engine codes are triggered. We already replaced the ABS sensor and that didn't solve this.

 

[RobRed]

When you said rough driving I took that to mean the engine is running rough which is why I thought coil. Normally the check engine light would blink with that failure but I've seen bad coils without the blink.

Are the lights staying on continuously?

Check ABS sensors at each wheel as well as the rings on the hubs to make sure they are clear and clean of obstructions. This smells like confused ABS getting bad data.

 

[Reckless]

Yes, lights are staying on continuously after the problem happens.

I think you might have found the culprit. If one of the ABS sensors was tripped would it cause the VSC and VTRAC to go off?

I really appreciate your help. I will try to record a video of it happening as I have to drive the car down the street to pickup my QX4.

 

[LXPearl]

When the slowing down happens, and VSC/TRAC/ABS lights come on, can you feel the brakes applied at the wheels as if you are in a skid and they are correcting it? It could be a faulty TRAC/VSC sensor causing the brakes to respond to a perceived skid. I had a yaw sensor go out and the VSC/TRAC braking effect was debilitating within a couple days of the first incident.

 

[Reckless]

It might be described like that. To me its very scary as the car seems to shudder hard 3 times and then something gives up and all those lights come on. Afterwards car doesn't seem as safe to drive (probably because of VSC).

I think you might have found the problem. I will mention this to the mechanic in the morning. I hope its not an expensive repair.

 

[RobRed]

LXPearl is right on, the next item... if the ABS rings and Sensors are good then the yaw sensor is next.

 

[Reckless]

I mentioned this to mechanic, he claimed to have the idea. We replaced the ABS sensor so it must be the yaw sensor. He is trying to trigger the code right now and we will see if that is the error code that shows up.

 

[Manhattan]

Are you getting any warning alarms? My '06 did this last month - VSC/TRAC/ABS/Brake lights lit up, but I got a steady (and annoying as hell) alarm with. It happened a few times with nothing but lights and that alarm. Turns out the alarm was doing its job... because the brakes pretty much failed - lost all power.

It was the ABS pump.

 

[RobRed]

I mentioned this to mechanic, he claimed to have the idea. We replaced the ABS sensor so it must be the yaw sensor. He is trying to trigger the code right now and we will see if that is the error code that shows up.

BTW ea wheel has an ABS sensor.

 

[Reckless]

Thanks to everyone for your help. The problem seems to be that both ABS wheel sensors went one after another which was really confusing.

My car is back and in tip top shape. I love my cruiser.

 

[LXPearl]

Thanks for sharing the solution and that everything is working well.

I had my VSC and TRAC lights come on this weekend while traveling for Christmas, and I started fretting about the next steps to come. No other lights came on and the vehicle seemed to be running well. I made several stops and a couple fill-ups that day. The next day after another fuel fillup, the lights went off as normal, and have been operating normally since. I am thinking about stopping by a dealer to have diagnostics on the VSC/TRAC system to see what the latent codes are and if I need to plan for some repairs - hopefully done at home and not on the road. If it was a LAN hiccup, it may have cleared itself and I am fine.

 

[LCtygrys]

Thanks for sharing the solution and that everything is working well.

I had my VSC and TRAC lights come on this weekend while traveling for Christmas, and I started fretting about the next steps to come. No other lights came on and the vehicle seemed to be running well. I made several stops and a couple fill-ups that day. The next day after another fuel fillup, the lights went off as normal, and have been operating normally since. I am thinking about stopping by a dealer to have diagnostics on the VSC/TRAC system to see what the latent codes are and if I need to plan for some repairs - hopefully done at home and not on the road. If it was a LAN hiccup, it may have cleared itself and I am fine.

This is exactly my situation. The three lights started coming on intermittently and then stay on while driving without any other noticeable symptoms. Usually they go off once I turn the car off and restart it but not always. I have recently replaced the rear brake pads if that matters.

 

[LCtygrys]

This is exactly my situation. The three lights started coming on intermittently and then stay on while driving without any other noticeable symptoms. Usually they go off once I turn the car off and restart it but not always. I have recently replaced the rear brake pads if that matters.

So of course today i tap my brakes on a smooth dry road and my ABS kicks in making a huge rumble and scaring the crap out of all of us. The warning lights were not on but came on and stayed on for the remainder of my trip. the brakes only acted up that one time. Calling the mechanic today.

update: Now it did it to me when my foot wasn't even on the brake. Parking this bitch until I figure this out.

 

[LCtygrys]

So of course today i tap my brakes on a smooth dry road and my ABS kicks in making a huge rumble and scaring the crap out of all of us. The warning lights were not on but came on and stayed on for the remainder of my trip. the brakes only acted up that one time. Calling the mechanic today.

update: Now it did it to me when my foot wasn't even on the brake. Parking this bitch until I figure this out.

Still no solution for this but haven't gone through all the suggestions above. Can anyone recommend a reliable mechanic in Pittsburgh Pa?
Thank you all

 

[LCtygrys]

Has anyone else ever had this problem after replacing the brake pads? Mine started right after I did my rears and I can't help but think I put something back askew. Lights always go off when the car is powered down and then come on after driving for 10-15 minutes. Tonight I realized the ABS is engaging the back wheels when it trips and only as I am coming to a stop.

 

[LCtygrys]

So I went back over the brake pad install and it all seems to be ok. I was going to try to pull the ABS sensors out and clean them but they are really stuck and after reading about how they fall apart easily decided to wait until I can afford new ones before I go there. It hasn't tripped the brakes for a while and the lights come and go so I have been driving it. I need to do an 8 hour drive next week. Think I'll be ok?