1997 alvalon's trac off stays on

[lv6l]

my 97 avalon's trac off light stays on constanly. when you press the "trac off" button on the lower left hand side next to the steering column it will not turn off. this was always an issue with me, a couple times when i had my o2 sensor change for smog testing it went away and the "trac off" button works as normal(push on and off) but when times i hit the gas at a dead stop too hard or quickly the car would jump and rock for a few seconds and then the trac light will stay on forever until i had the shop change the o2 sensor. i do not know forsure if the o2 sensor is causing this but can anyone show me how to run a test to see which code my car is throwing and i'll probably start from there. thanks!

[lv6l]

anyone?

[toyomoho]

Suggest reading the TN thread at the end of this page by rwhisner forAvalon.

From my understanding if the TRAC light is on, it means the TRAC system is off. A host of things could cause from ABS system to engine and maybe trans problems. The TRAC system will shut off to minimize load on the cars systems.

Suggest you get someone to read the trouble codes AutoZone does this for free. I think it is possible to read any TRAC/ABS codes using the dash indicator lights but this would require service data. The link below if for a 2000 Avalon but might help.

http://d01.megashares.com/?d01=badd2e4

[lv6l]

oh thanks. my car is not passing smog right now due to o2 sensors, would this cause my gas milage and performance to be poor? because right now my car runs fine and the gas is good but if i know fixing the o2 sensor problem will get me even better gas milage that would be great.

[toyomoho]

A bad 02 sensor will cause the gas mileage to drop and the car not to pass emissions whilst not effecting drivability to any great extent. The ECU has trouble codes for 02 sensor issues, have the codes downloaded and see what your find.

[lv6l]

how many o2 sensors does the 97 avalon xls has? also just a curious questions i'm pumping 87 octane fuel, this is the recommended one right? im not sure if the compression for this motor is high or low so i just want to know what is the recommended gas.

[toyomoho]

There should be three 02 sensors, one on each exhaust manifold and one after the CAT. The general rule is if the engine pings use a higher-octane gas. Check when going up hills or the engine is under a load.

[steve326a]

Originally Posted by lv6l

my 97 avalon's trac off light stays on constanly. when you press the "trac off" button on the lower left hand side next to the steering column it will not turn off. this was always an issue with me, a couple times when i had my o2 sensor change for smog testing it went away and the "trac off" button works as normal(push on and off) but when times i hit the gas at a dead stop too hard or quickly the car would jump and rock for a few seconds and then the trac light will stay on forever until i had the shop change the o2 sensor. i do not know forsure if the o2 sensor is causing this but can anyone show me how to run a test to see which code my car is throwing and i'll probably start from there. thanks!

Trac Off will stay on and become disabled if a check engine light condition exists. For some wierd reason, Toyota in its infinite wisdom chose to program its computer to do that to force you to correct it. Scan the OBDII codes to see if an error comes up. If there is, you will not extinguish Trac Off. If there isn't an error, you can do one of 2 things. One is to turn the key to the on position and inmediately within 4 seconds, tap the brake pedal rapidly 8 times. Or, two, turn the key on and off rapidly within 8 seconds 20 times. If there is no check engine light codes stored, this will reset the trac off light. Hope this helps.

[lv6l]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

There should be three 02 sensors, one on each exhaust manifold and one after the CAT. The general rule is if the engine pings use a higher-octane gas. Check when going up hills or the engine is under a load.

how does ping sound like?