2010 Tacoma: ABS Light On/Off and Engaging on Dry Pavement

Hi there! I have a 2010 Tacoma V6 4WD DCSB. About 145k miles on the clock with off-road tires but stock otherwise.

The ABS and traction control lights keep coming intermittently on and off. Weirdly, I have noticed a few times now the traction control engaging on dry pavement. The pumping noise and feeling in the brakes like you would feel if you tried to brake on ice. It's been pretty scary and made me feel like I am going to rear-end someone at a light.

Then, the light will turn off for a while and go back to normal.

Has anyone ever experienced this before; and, if so, how did you resolve the issue?

Thank you very much!!

 

Reset the VSC

 

VSC Reset Procedure.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ibrate-your-vsc-computer-the-easy-way.467485/

 

See what code(s) you have, sounds like a speed sensor is intermittently dropping out.

 

Thanks, guys! I went out of town to go ski up in MT, so I haven't been able to pull codes. I'll try and pull Sunday!

I did reset the VSC per the procedures above, thanks for that! Easy to do but no resolution; seemed to exacerbate the issue a little more.

With the snow storm recently, I put the truck in 4WD and the light turned off for good (so far). Took it back out of 4WD now that the roads are dry, and again, so far so good.

Very weird! Now that I think about it, the issues showed up after using 4WD on snow storm previous to this one...

Maybe something did not shift out properly last time? It was in 2WD on the switch and the 4WD light was not on..

I'll post back once I go to Autozone to pull codes and if the issue persists. Glad it's okay for now at least; it was super sketchy driving and trying to stop in traffic.

Thank you all for your time and comments!

 

Update: the lights came back on (ABS and traction control) as well as the brake pumping issues.

Edit: I am guessing the 4WD thing was just coincidental.

I pulled the codes with two different scanners; the OBD2 scanners both said no issues detected!

I used contact cleaner and sprayed down, wiped, reconnected… But, the issue persists!

If the sensors weren’t so darn expensive, I’d just replace them all. Seems very easy.


Any suggestions before I take her to the stealership?

Update: swapped the 30A and 50A abs fuses as well for good measure. Issue persists!

 

A regular obd2 scanner won't read abs codes, need a better scan tool

Cleaning the sensors doesn't do anything, they operate like a magnet that induces a signal to the computer when the toothed ring below it is spinning (commonly called a tone ring or reluctor)

The sensor itself may be faulty but a cracked or chipped tone ring can cause this issue too

 

That makes sense! Without splurging on a high end reader should I just take it in?

thanks for your time

 

Whatever you want to do.. getting a code would possibly specify a corner of the vehicle, and then you might feel better about throwing a sensor at it.

 

Makes sense dude! Appreciate your time. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I’ll post back if I end up figuring things out.

 

Might take a look at the wheel speed sensor. That is a common ABS malfunction culprit.

 

There are 4 of them among other sensors, without knowing what code(s) are set it's anyones guess on what to check.

 

Get your hands on a scanner that runs ABS malfunctions.

 

You can pull them manually by jumping pins 4 & 13 on the DLC
It’s just not as easy as “reading” the code.
You have to count how many times the light flashes.
It helps if you are familiar with the system.

If you figure out the codes, let us know.
We can help you from there.

 

The saga continues!

I pulled codes C0200 and C1235.

I tried cleaning the sensor again. No luck.

I replaced the sensor with Toyota OEM, no luck!

The lights and behavior are back, albeit intermittently. I’ll need to borrow my buddy’s scanner again to pull the codes.

I’ll also try to clean the sensor ring with Qtips though I am skeptical.

Any other thoughts on troubleshooting?

 

I would take a look at the actually tone ring. Maybe its lost a piece of its magnet and then sensor thinks there's just something interrupt the signal

 

Cleaning doesn't do anything, they operate magnetically. When the toothed ring spins past the sensor it magnetically sends a signal (sine wave) to the computer. The best way to move forward from here would be to put the signals on a lab scope screen and watch for a drop-out in the suspect sensor while driving or running the wheels. Without a scope all you can do is look closely at the tone ring for chips or cracks

 

Oh wow, that seems a lot more involved than I want to get at home.

I watched a video on cleaning; but, I also don't want to waste any more time trying to troubleshoot on the pavement.

I suspect this means a trip to an auto shop at this point?

 

If you feel that is something you will struggle to accurately diagnose, then it might be time to take it to a shop. It could work out better for you in the long run

 

Appreciate the honesty! Thank you!