loucosteve

Hi all,

I recently replaced the 'wheel ball joint' on the front right hand side of my Lexus IS 200 (GXE10) 1999 and ever since the 'ABS' light is always on as soon as the car starts and also the 'TRAC OFF' light constantly flashes.

The mechanic who done the repairs to the wheel ball joint has said that I need to take the car to a lexus repair shop. Does anyone know what the problem might be?

Does anyone have any advice as to what the problem could be or has had a similar problem?

Thanks in advance

loucosteve

Just an update to this post. I have read through some of the discussions and tried detaching the battery for 5 minutes so that the ECU would be reset but that did not work. I am guessing that the previous mechanics damaged the wheel sensors during the repair of the wheel ball joint. I wont know for sure as I don't have a scanner to read the codes from the DLC3. Does anyone know how to manually do this without actually using the scanner? Can it be done with a multimeter or wires or pins or some other way?

Thanks in advance

rayy117

iTrader: (1)

you gotta find a person with the snap-on scanner to scan the code. I have those same lights on and thought it was my speed sensor but when i went to two different places that i know that has the scanner both told me i needed a new abs unit. im not 100% sure but a few people had those lights flashing with different problems so i suggest you find a shop with the snap-on scanner so they can tell you whats wrong with the car.

loucosteve

Hi Rayy117,

Yes that seems to be the way to go and thanks for the reply. I have taken your advice and booked in an appointment for this Thursday. The mechanic I spoke with thinks that either the ABS Speed sensor on the Right hand side was damaged when they took out the wheel ball joint or a wire has come loose or broken and needs to be soldered back on. This is what i was suspected after reading though other posts but I guess I won't know for sure until they run the tests on the scanner. I could remove the wheel myself but as I'm a novice it's probably not a good idea plus the mechanic has told me that he will do the scan for free if I get him to do the repairs after the quote, otherwise it's $66 to put the car on the scanner and diagnose the issue

Anyways I will let you know how it goes and what codes come back

LucciLou

This is the same exact thing that happened to me i got my wheel bearing put on later that evening my ABS light was on & trac off light flashing....it occured that one day and that day only from then on it hasnt happened again but i didnt do anything it just stopped comin up....so im wondering it must have reset itself whatever it was sensor err wire but the exact thing im wondering is if the problem was ever truly resolved.....?

V300MPG

Dear All, just had my aristo serviced and after 40 min of driving I got trc off abs vcs and hand brake light on with a very sharp continuous alarm and also the brakes are failed. What could be the reason ? Thanks

handoverfi

iTrader: (7)

Well same thing is happening on my car also but my speedo doesn't work! I tired my abs unit in another is300 and it worked! Also all the speed sensors have contuinity so I have no clue!

patrick65

Hello
Can someone please advice how can I fix this problem, today I was driving and my Check Engine light came on at the same time the TRACK OFF light cane on too. if I continue driving the car like this will I cause any further damage to my car? and how can I fix it?
Thank you

Schmitt605

Get a code scanner or go to a local parts store theyll scan the code for you, check engine lights along with abs or trac flashing is default for something thats going wrong in the system. Doesnt necessarly mean there is anything wrong with abs or trac control the computer jus throws them out flashing getting your attention. ive dealt with this many times and the most recent one was with my car misfiring, check engine and trac off were flashing, had to replace my wires and then everything was fine

Camron1012

I'm having the same problem but my 97 lexus es300 Batt light comes on at times to, I just replaced my alternator 3 weeks ago and after some snow The light came back on Trac off flashes, abs light on and Batt light on,

TCSteidel

These are all interesting, and similar to my problem, but I've not yet found an answer to my issue. My problem is this: check engine lights steadily, "trac off" flashes on and off, and the OBDII port posts a trouble code of 980. I believe that points to a shift solenoid problem, but the powertrain reacts with no issues: no missed or rough shifts, no loss of performance, no anything. I've found that if I drive around with the traction control turned off, the "light show" never occurs, and no trouble codes are posted. This makes me think that I have a speed sensor in one of the rear wheels that is intermittent; when it acts up, the check engine and trac off lights illuminate again. Oftentimes, the "light show" goes away by itself after I drive around for about a dozen miles or more, but less often, the 'hard failure' persists until I clear the trouble code at the OBDII port. I'd rather NOT have to drive around with my traction control turned off, in order to prevent this seemingly random problem from cropping up, and I often worry about the damage I may be doing by not curing the problem. Can anybody please help, or offer suggestions????

TCSteidel

I have the same problem or very closely related one, and have posted in this forum, as well. Perhaps someone will rescue us both before we damage these fantastic machines.

TCSteidel

As mysteriously as these symptoms appeared, they have completely vanished. I guess we'll never know what caused the light show in the instrument cluster. I've driven nearly two thousand (2,000) miles since the last time CEL and TRAC OFF lit up, and I've driven the car no differently than I had when these indicators continually lit, and the OBDII port signaled a P0980 trouble code.

TCSteidel

They're B-A-A-A-CK! The symptoms have returned, again without any apparent reason, and I caught the error code P0980 again. The code reader says the #3 shift solenoid is reading high, but I have no idea what that may mean. However, I've found that if I drive in "ECT Power" mode, I never have this problem: no CEL and TRAC OFF light shows, no error codes, no missed shifts...just performance!

TCSteidel

I don't know whether anyone is still following this thread, but I found what I think is a novel solution to the pesky CEL and TRAC OFF light shows with error code P0980. I think that, with more than a month and over 4K miles since I made this simple--almost silly--change, this solution works. All I did was select "PWR" on the shifter to enter ECT/Power mode. Result: no more light shows or error codes, no matter how I drive.