ABS warning light assistance

[pikey]

We have an '06 Yaris that has an ABS warning light (and a brake light) on and aren't in a position to get to a garage with ease.

The car has recently done about 500 miles in one stretch in the freezing temperatures and until it was left alone (in temps down to -21), the ABS warning light hasn't been seen before.

Could this have anything to do with the cold and is there anything we can do to to 'reset' the ABS system? The car's only done 15,000 and was serviced 4 months ago.

Thanks

[jimmy156]

Does the ABS still work or not?

In my car (alfa 156) spinning the wheels, as i have been a lot on snowy/icey roads, causes that ABS system to turn off (and the light to come on) until i restart the car, when all becomes fine again.

[southpaw]

Were you wheel spinning a lot? I had my ABS light come on last winter after a very slow drive up a hill with lots of wheel spin. It was apparently due to the system being confused by the difference in speed between the front and back wheels for a reasonable period of time. After driving on cleared roads for a mile or two it sorted itself out.

Otherwise it could be slush/dirt on one of the sensors?

[miniman]

It will almost certainly be a wheel sensor that has failed or is gunked up with nasty winter road grime. Normally the system will reset itself when it next self tests (i.e. when the car is next started) - if the light stays on it will need attention but is ok to drive, albeit in the knowledge that the ABS isn't working.

[pikey]

Thanks all.

No, this isn't after a particular wheel spinning (although it has happened recently in the ice/snow) and the car has been restarted a number of times since the light's been on.

It has been through a very tough time recently, so hopefully it could be the sensors. As for cleaning them, is this something that I can get to and do?

[thinfourth2]

And a brake light???

Do you mean that a brake light on the back of the car is on?

Do all the brake lights light up when you push the brake pedal?

[Oddboy86]

I popped the fuse out on my ABS as it was a bit iffy in the ice. On reconnecting, the light remained on and I had to disconnect the battery for 15 seconds so it could reset. Everything is back to normal now.

[pikey]

thinfourth2 said:

And a brake light???

Do you mean that a brake light on the back of the car is on?

Do all the brake lights light up when you push the brake pedal?

brake warning light on the dash.

[thinfourth2]

Got enough brake fluid?

[Ozzie Osmond]

Oddboy86 said:

I popped the fuse out on my ABS as it was a bit iffy in the ice.

Oh brilliant! Did it improve your grip??

Classic fail I'm afraid.

[pikey]

thinfourth2 said:

Got enough brake fluid?

yep

[Camaro91]

Have you checked the fuse for the ABS module? If it has gone, replace it. If the fuse goes straight away then you have a fault either on the module or power supply wiring to the module.

Are all electrical connectors secure on the ABS module?

Are all the sensors in place? They rely on induction and if they have migrated then the module will recieve erroneous readings. Can you see any damage on the connections/wiring?

Also I think it has been mentioned, is there a buildup of gunk on them?

Cheers, Matthew

[southpaw]

This may help? http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

[pikey]

southpaw said:

This may help? http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

Oh joy!

The thing's had 8 recalls already.

[pikey]

To close this off, the fault was that both ABS sensors inside the rear wheels had stopped functioning and both wiring looms to the sensors were decaying.

2 x ABS sensors, 2 x ABS wiring looms, 2 hours fit, 1 hour investigation = £670.

[s2sol]

Very politely put. Were you that calm when you got the bill? I've got ABS/EPS lights on all the time, and I only ever get them fixed for the MOT. It's a bit cheaper for a 407, though. I think the last (both rears) was about £280. No looms. I'd imagine they were dear.

[pikey]

I've spoken to Toyota about this. As we're the original owner and it has a full service history they're going to see if they can do something under goodwill.

4 years old and 17,000 miles... it doesn't go along with the "legendary reliability" they like to portray.

[miniman]

pikey said:

4 years old and 17,000 miles... it doesn't go along with the "legendary reliability" they like to portray.

That's the understatement of the year. Absolutely piss poor IMHO - there is no way that wiring looms should only last that long, no way. My 5-series got to 120,000 miles before it needed an ABS sensor, and even my MG made it to 85,000.

[mcford]

It seems a bit too coincidental to me that both rear sensors and wiring should be faulty. I've come across ABS faults before on a Japanese car (I imagine closely related to the Yaris), where the rear sensors have reported faults with the cause being water ingress into a junction block in the nearside front footwell, a clean up and drying out of the wiring later, no more problems.

[pikey]

Yep, we had that conversation too.

The service manager thought it was quite normal, so I've taken it up with Toyota.

The car's never had anything like an accident / damage in that area (and has been with us since new)