Traction Control / Check engine light coming on

[mbbankk]

Hey folks, 99 Solara with 108k miles on it, and I've run into a little problem; I accelerated out of a turn, probably at 2/3rds throttle, and the Trac Control kicked on, but cut out and back in really hard until I let off the throttle, and then the "Trac Off" light stayed on until I turned the car off and back on.

After turning the car back on, "Trac Off" light went off, but about a mile later my CEL light came on. Besides the stutter that kicked the Trac Off light on, the car isn't doing anything unusual.

It shifts fine, accelerates like it usually does, sounds like it normally does etc. The oil hasn't been changed for about 5k miles, but I doubt that has anything to do with it? I'm taking the car to AutoZone tomorrow morning to get the computer scanned, but any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[wangpang]

Had the exact same problem with my car. After doing some reading on solaraguy odd as it is, but people with this problem said it was there 02 sensor. Let me know what codes autozone gives u.

[mbbankk]

p0401 I think... something to do with the EGR valve...? I'm taking it to the mechanic next week. Oh and now the Trac Off light is on all the time too, and the car is starting to idle a little rougher, but it is barely noticable.

[Eye8Pussies]

the p0401 means that your egr is sticking, so it either needs a good fixing or it needs to be replaced, but the two problems are independent from each other. the rough idle would most likely be attributed to hte egr problem.

as for the traction control light turning on, I've had that happen to my 2000 solara sle as well once. But after I turned the car off/on, it went off and never did it again, even with some fairly hard driving (the car is also supercharged).

on the whole, when I know that I have to take off from a standstill really hard to merge or have some fun, I turn the traction control off to save myself and the computer the hassle and wear and tear


but also quite possible though, is that it could be an early symptom of sensor failures within the transmission. shortly after (this all happened fairly recently), my cel keeps coming back on with a shift solenoid malfunction code. On an automatic tranny, this happens occasionally and it is just a minor hiccup where if reset, it won't come back on. But mine kept coming on regularly, so something is obviously wrong. I am looking into fixing the problem now, but need to run some more diagnoses before I can be certain if it is a sensor or a valve.

again, I don't know if this is specific to my car, or if it would apply to yours as well. but I don't see why the traction light would stay on at all unless there was some sort of error occuring, even if it isn't always happening

[mbbankk]

yeah, actually when I turn my car on, and all the lights in the dash come on and turn off, the trac off light kicks off for a minute and comes back. I'm taking it to the mechanic next monday and they'll scan it again. Thanks everyone for all your help; I'll update on what's going on.

[mbbankk]

Took it to the dealership, they scanned and said it was the EGR valve sensor that faulty; made BOTH my Check Engine light and Trac Off light come on. Seemed pretty interesting an exhaust sensor can make the traction control non-fuctional. Anyway just letting you guys know for future reference.