Odd behavior following ... well ... best I can guess is a short but bad stretch of road

Was not offroading in that region, just on one or two gravel-ly paths. One was washboard (on steroids) for just a short stretch. Cut from sun-dried salt-flats so no surprise the road-base could only barely be scraped at all. But after ... here is the sequence of oddities ...

> Pre-collision showed offline. I restart the truck and it came back on.
> Then the "radar" part of cruise (my leg was tired) showed offline: "Clean the sensor" and pre-collision off
> I put cruise on non-radar (2 other cars on the road in 20 minutes so) and precollision was off
>Precollision came back on by itself, tried radar cruise and it was fine

Later in a parking lot

> I stopped to consult materials, and the lights did not turn off after 30 seconds like they should
> Cycle through the non-running engine settings and no joy
> Then the car security alarm went off (all lights flashing, horn, etc) for no reason
> I started the engine again and the alarm stopped

Nothing since, but am watching for.

EDIT: The "turn off the alarm" button on the remote did not help. Only restarting the vehicle.

 

Couple guesses.

1. All the radar and collision stuff could easily be explained by dust on the sensor and windshield. After driving at higher speeds on non salt/dusty roads the wind blew them clear enough to correct the issues.
2. The salty dust got into connectors and so they are not playing nice.

I'd give it a good bath, make sure to get the undercarriage and all that hoses out really well. Check the connections for the sensor in the grille, make sure the fuse box is sealed up, check grounds under the hood, etc. Then give it another good bath to be sure everything is cleaned up.

 

Thanks. That was my guess, but still nice to hear it from another.

Will at least spray down quickly tomorrow, full bath is due. Dust never caused it but this is a "salt basin" so the air is probably 10x salt concentration over even coastal areas.

 

The dust composition would be the first thing I'd blame. The crystal nature of the salt would probably scatter the sensor signal more than just dirt. I have, however, been in fine enough dirt/dust that it shut down the radar and collision systems in my Tundra. A quick rinse in a touchless wash got it all back in working order.

 

Our RAV4 has done this before, I am sure 50 nailed it.

And I thought my ‘17 Taco was delicate…..