[drchu]

2010 Venza V6 w/ 85k miles. Everything has been good so far, but this morning when I started the car my dash board lit up like a Christmas tree. Power steering and speedometer didn't work and I saw check VSC, ABS, and a few other error messages flash up. After taking to the dealership, they told me the car threw 12 error codes. They are suspecting that the ABS Actuator is faulty and needs to be replaced. Part is $3000 and labor is $750.

Anyone know how a part like this goes faulty? Is it seriously bad luck or could I have done something to trigger this?

 

[Sifu]

Get a second opinion. You can always borrow an OBDII reader or go to Autozone to pull the codes. You could also go to another dealership and see what they say (albeit with a $60-$90 diagnostic check).

Three Xmas lights on the Venza can mean so many things. Some running in a series if chains. So if one part is faulty it will trip everything behind it. My guess is the dealership will fix it but they may also fix everything else as well.

Cheapest route is to pinpoint the issue and work on it one at a time. This is cheaper and may not solve your issue right away, may present more issues and lastly the slowest. But it is not a bad idea to get another opinion.

I have had the 3 lights for an O2, AFR, ABS, etc. Narrowing it down to the AFR or O2 saves me a grip of dough.

Post codes (all of them), get a second opinion if you can and keep us updated. The 3 lights happen for a myriad of reasons. Good luck.

 

[drchu]

Current codes are
P0500
P0571
U0129

History
P0441
P0455
P0500
P0504
P0571
C1541
U0100
U0129
U0101
U0151
U0129

 

[Sifu]

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Anything done to the car? Modifications? Servicing, repair, etc? Car wash, hit large pot hole, hit a curb, etc.

Have you tried resetting the codes? With no jewelry or electronically conductive items on your wrists, hands forearms, etc. carefully remove the negative battery terminal from the battery and just let it sit for 5-10 min. That will reset the ECU. Your idle, gas mileage will drop for 2-3 gas fills but that's because it will re-learn the air/fuel/spark and driving habits. It will erase the current codes. If you have access to a ODBII reader you can clear and reset it this way but the reader is easier and gives you more information.

I cannot confirm off the top of my head but I'm wondering if someone can confirm if the speed sensor is a separate unit or if it uses the ABS sensor to read the speeds. Most of these are now electrical instead of mechanical. These newer cars can be difficult to pinpoint due to all the electronic nannies. I can see the speed sensor causing the cruise control to shut off or go into a suspended or limp mode. You wouldn't want to activate it if it doesn't know what speed you're going.

The brake control module is a separate unit that could theoretically go out. It could just have a loose connection, chewed through via vermin, etc. These units typically aren't too hard to reach and with a multimeter you should be able to check if there are any faults.

With luck maybe it's just the ABS sensor.

 

[outfire]

drchu,

I dont know if you want to invest in an ebay knock off cable that run techstream. it is like 20-30 bucks. you can use it if you buy it and clear off all the codes and then see what code pops up first. it is more likely that it is the first of the chains.

was the steering wheel felt heavy at all when you turn when the codes are on?


if it boils down to the abs, just get one from a junk yard. I can believe it is a $3000 part.

 

[drchu]

Thanks for the responses. I found a dealer in MA willing to sell me a new part for $1800 so saved quite a bit by not buying at my dealership. I contemplated buying the part from a junk yard, but then realized that 1) dealership and many other independents will not install due to liability reasons and 2) this part is related to the braking system and I decided it wasn't worth the gamble/savings in case the part had an issue later on.

The good news is that the dealership installed the part and now the car no longer throws any codes. Guess this really was the issue, but I'm still puzzled about how something like this happens.

 

[drchu]

Just curious if there is any value to the old ABS Actuator? Are there any shops that can refurb it? Seems like an expensive part just to toss in the trash.

 

[outfire]

Ya, sometime you just never knew that you get a lemon. It could be a defective part to begun with. Now that i see your has broken down and i am scare for mine.

For refurbishing that, i have no clue

 

[tharter]

Ya, sometime you just never knew that you get a lemon. It could be a defective part to begun with. Now that i see your has broken down and i am scare for mine.

For refurbishing that, i have no clue

Eh, that's the thing with electronics see. There can be a bad solder joint, or some ESD, possibly at the factory when it was made half burned a transistor, and now it fails, etc. This is why military-grade electronics are so expensive, they have MUCH stricter manufacturing requirements to minimize this kind of thing. So, its quite possible to get a 'lemon' unit, one that will work and pass QA but fail after a month, year, decade, etc. Fact is, ALL electronics will fail eventually, and most are pretty hard to repair these days. The one virtue of the old time mechanical systems.