97 Es300 "trac Off" And "abs" Lights On

[bob333]

I have a 97 Lexus ES300. Just changed the left rear Mcpherson strut(yeah, I know...should change BOTH), and immediately the "Trac Off" and "ABS" and "check engine" lights came on. Could you provide insight for this problem (and no, I havent read the codes yet...I am out of town).

Anything related to just changing the strut, other than possibly doing an ECM reset?

You comments are appreciated.

Thank-You

Bob333

[Bedore]

I have a 97 Lexus ES300. Just changed the left rear Mcpherson strut(yeah, I know...should change BOTH), and immediately the "Trac Off" and "ABS" and "check engine" lights came on. Could you provide insight for this problem (and no, I havent read the codes yet...I am out of town).

Anything related to just changing the strut, other than possibly doing an ECM reset?

You comments are appreciated.

Thank-You

Bob333

You should check the ABS wheel sensor on the left rear wheel. Chances are when the strut was replaced the wheel sensor got damaged or the wire broken, and the sensor may need to be replaced or cleaned. Either way when the ABS system detects a problem it will disable traction control as traction control relies on the ABS system for it to work correctly. The ABS wheel sensor will be located on the back side of the lower suspension setup, behind the hub. You won't miss it as it's the only sensor that has a wire running to it and is located on the rear of the suspension setup. Feel free to remove the rotor if you need to. That would also be a good time to inspect your emergency brake components, and make sure the shoes are adjusted properly with the adjuster.

Start with locating the wheel sensor and making sure it's not damaged and still has a wire connected to it. If so, remove the wheel sensor and clean it (you can google on how to clean a wheel sensor). Start there and see what you come up with. As far as the check engine light, it's probably related to the ABS system so you can try and clear the codes when you find the problem and see if that turns the lights out or not. There may be a different method for clearing the ABS code and/or turning the light off other than a simple ECM reset, but I have not encountered it yet on my ES300. Hopefully someone else can chime in. Should be a fairly simple fix.

[bob333]

I have a 97 Lexus ES300. Just changed the left rear Mcpherson strut(yeah, I know...should change BOTH), and immediately the "Trac Off" and "ABS" and "check engine" lights came on. Could you provide insight for this problem (and no, I havent read the codes yet...I am out of town).

Anything related to just changing the strut, other than possibly doing an ECM reset?

You comments are appreciated.

Thank-You

Bob333

You should check the ABS wheel sensor on the left rear wheel. Chances are when the strut was replaced the wheel sensor got damaged or the wire broken, and the sensor may need to be replaced or cleaned. Either way when the ABS system detects a problem it will disable traction control as traction control relies on the ABS system for it to work correctly. The ABS wheel sensor will be located on the back side of the lower suspension setup, behind the hub. You won't miss it as it's the only sensor that has a wire running to it and is located on the rear of the suspension setup. Feel free to remove the rotor if you need to. That would also be a good time to inspect your emergency brake components, and make sure the shoes are adjusted properly with the adjuster.

Start with locating the wheel sensor and making sure it's not damaged and still has a wire connected to it. If so, remove the wheel sensor and clean it (you can google on how to clean a wheel sensor). Start there and see what you come up with. As far as the check engine light, it's probably related to the ABS system so you can try and clear the codes when you find the problem and see if that turns the lights out or not. There may be a different method for clearing the ABS code and/or turning the light off other than a simple ECM reset, but I have not encountered it yet on my ES300. Hopefully someone else can chime in. Should be a fairly simple fix.

[bob333]

Thx for the info. I tested the abs sensor, and it was bad. ordered a new harness and sensor, put it in, and the "trac off" and "abs" lights immediately went out. EXCELLENT (so i thought). 10mins later, driving down the hwy, the lights came back on. I am going to try to clear the codes (dont have special reader, but pulling the power from the battery for 30 secs or so seems to do the trick), and see if that works (i am once again out of town, so will have to wait).

in the meantime, can any of you experts provide insight for my delemma? It could also be some iron dust covering the sensor, too, since I had to chisel the old sensor out of the hub, and open the hole to fit the new one...is the speed rotor/serrations a closed or sealed area where the sanded debris would adhere to the sensor, rendering it inop? I believe it is a pretty easy project to remove the rotor and hub to check it out...details, anyone?

Thank-you,

bob333

[boznian2]

We had the same problem and had to replace the "tone ring", which I believe is part of the wheel hub and is essentially the 'sender' unit for the ABS/Trac.