When your car has a known issue, but no recall, wut do?

"noise" (noise) 01/26/2015 at 14:02 • Filed to: recalls, toyota, scion, xd, help, legal, advice, abs

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Hi guys, as none of you know i finally replaced the shitbox ford! Similarly if anyone wants to buy a shitbox wonderful ford focus with 117k miles on it you know who to ask (its me, you ask me) Or a rusty lovely '00 jeep wrangler thats fucking awesome with only 200k on the clock.

Anyway, i replaced it, them, all?, with a really nice '10 scion XD, and worn transmission mount bushings aside this thing is gorgeous. Except for one thing. On long, wet, cold, salty drives (which we never have here in upstate NY) the wheel speed sensors get borked and the ABS and traction control get disabled. This is made clear to me by two very bright very yellow warning lights on my dashboard (so THIS is what its like to have ABS, and traction control, and a modern car!).

This is a problem you see, because wet snowy cold salty conditions are precisely when you want ABS and traction control. Neat how that works huh? Anyway this is a know issue. The interwebs are full of threads, comments, complaints, bitching, etc. It can range from detailed explanations and analysis to "LIGHT COME ON BRAKES NO WORK WHY COME COLD?!?!?"

Just search in your confuser and youl find discussion about this going back to about 08. What are the answers? Well you go to your very competent toyota dealership and have 18 year old jimmy in the back replace your wheel speed sensor for like 600 dollars. Then that doesnt work so they claim its your wiring harness. 600 dollars later you have new wheelspeed sensors and new wires and every time it snows your ABS still gives up its shit. So what do? Can i complain at Toyota? Fucked ABS sounds like a great way to get more wrongful death suits, something noone wants right now. Maybe its just because not enough scion owners live in the great white north? Or maybe theyre all too busy rocking out to their pioneer sound systems and contemplating how many more ebay cold air intakes they could bot on (if one gives me 5 more HP, would 10 CAIs give me 50?) to notice? I dunno. I just wash my car and spray stuff with electronic component cleaner and/or carb cleaner (fuck i love carb cleaner, yankee candle needs a carb cleaner scented candle) and it goes away. But what a grand old pain in the ass.

SO yeah, Thoughts? Knowledge? considerations? Also if anyone knows how to change a transmission mount bushing i'd love the details. Cause the shift-shudder is getting unpleasant.

Louros > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:05

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See also: R56 Mini Cooper timing chain tensioner and oil consumption issues.

Very well documented yet no recall.

noise > Louros 01/26/2015 at 14:09

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these things are infuriating honestly

deekster_caddy > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:15

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Nothing will happen until people start to die. Then because it's Toyota, everyone will give them a free pass.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:17

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Dodge TIPM issues are well documented and they won't recall those either. So, you spray with electrical cleaner and the issue subsides until the next batch of wintery evil gets caked on there?

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:17

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Basically you're fucked and have to deal with it.

Same issue GM Transverse 6-speeds Autos made before 2010. There's a manufacturing flaw causing them to fail at about 75,000 miles. Which was starting to happen to my mom's '08 Vue. Known issue on multiple GM models (Theta crossovers and Lambda crossovers mainly, some of GM's most popular models) and yet they have nothing in place to do anything about it.

noise > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 01/26/2015 at 14:23

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Yeah pretty much. When i get a break in the weather I de-salt her as all good notherners should, and while i'm at it i get in there and clean up the sensors with whatever seems appropriate. Not sure if it really helps but the lights go off and the abs works again at least for a while.

noise > deekster_caddy 01/26/2015 at 14:24

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figured.

I'd like to not be one of the ones to die. SInce i've never had ABS or stability control or whatever I feel like i'm fine without it, but I worry about if Mrs noise ever borrows the car honestly

As Du Volant > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:28

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Where did you buy it and is it Toyota Certified?

If it's certified you may be able to take the case far enough to get Toyota corporate to issue a "goodwill certificate" to trade you out of the car. Basically you'll have to document each and every service visit/failure to fix it and eventually take it up to the level of the local Toyota corporate rep. Chances of this working out for you are slim though as it's already a 5 year old used car.

If it's not certified and you bought it from a Toyota/Scion dealer you still could try this but chances will be even slimmer.

If you bought it from a third-party dealership or private seller you're SOL.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:30

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Are the electrical connectors on the sensors themselves? Maybe it's an issue at the connector.....Any way you could put some heat shrink tubing around them?

noise > As Du Volant 01/26/2015 at 14:32

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Me? Buy a car from a dealership? What do you take me for a nacy?

If i bought CPO cars they wouldn't come complete with mystery wires, empty shotgun shells, and two tickets to that state agricultural fair!

Yeah no it was private party. Though from what I hear the dealerships arent very helpful even if its new from them.

noise > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 01/26/2015 at 14:33

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ooh hadent thought of the tubing.

yeah I've been cleaning the connectors and the sensors proper. that fine salt liquid ficking gets in everywhere but thats a good ass idea.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > deekster_caddy 01/26/2015 at 14:54

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Except for the $1.2 billion dollar fine over user error.

It's kind of obvious not to do this, but apparently no body figured it out.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > noise 01/26/2015 at 14:57

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My Isuzu had a bad wheel speed sensor, it was pretty easy to diagnose and replace. I like ABS, it's really helpful when you want to stop. I don't think ABS is a recall item like seat belts, air bags etc... I would start with an independent shop with lots of subarus in the parking lot.

deekster_caddy > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/26/2015 at 15:05

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Oh they finally did charge them for that? I had forgotten the final outcome. But it took a state trooper driving his family into fiery death before they brought charges. I think Audi is finally over the bad rap they got from the 5000 with the confusing accelerator pedals and people smashing their cars through garage doors, but that took like 25 years. For some reason all is easily forgiven with Toyota. I guess they didn't exactly run the cover-up/denial operation that GM did though.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > deekster_caddy 01/26/2015 at 15:37

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Also as stated in my previous comment, it was 90+% user error. Owners were putting aftermarket mats in their cars and it would get stuck under the pedal. While it wasn't the best design, if the owners used common sense, it wouldn't have happened. I guess that's asking too much though.

BarryDanger > noise 01/26/2015 at 16:51

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I just filled out one of these for my rusting frame - If enough people do it and you contact the toyota hq enough times, maybe they will do something? Seems to have worked for other toyotas. https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplai…

pip bip - choose Corrour > noise 01/27/2015 at 02:46

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buy another vehicle? ;)

noise > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/27/2015 at 12:48

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