Hello, I have a 2007 Toyota Tundra 5.7L. Every time I drive for around 15 minutes or so, the traction control and ABS light come on (solid), as well as the VSC Off light (blinking). I have scanned the truck a couple of times, but the scanner fails to get any error codes. I believe it could be break related, by I don’t know for sure. Does anyone know what is going on? Thanks.
Generic OBD2 scanners will usually not read ABS codes. Those need a professional-grade scan tool.
On an older vehicle the primary culprit would be a bad wheel sensor or sensors, usually the cable due to constant flexing.
It has four brand new wheel sensors.
OEM or aftermarket? Without scanner results though it's all guesswork.
OEM
The truck has been a real pain in the rear end. I bought it used with 62,000 miles for a great deal though a lot of money has been put into it. I got a Toyota for reliability but it has been all but that.
Also check that trigger wheels for the sensors are intact and unobstructed. Other than that you need to have the vehicle scanned and diagnosed with an appropriate professional-grade bidirectional scan tool to see what's going on.
Do you believe the truck is still safe to drive?
If it's driving normally (not all over the road and brakes work OK) you should be all right, at least on dry roads. Those systems mainly assist under slippery conditions.
Do you believe the truck is still safe to drive?
The truck is less safe. ABS and VSC are both safety features, and they're probably both disabled. If you get into a skid or lose control in an emergency situation, then they won't protect you.
Does anyone know what is going on?
Hundreds of things can trip those lights. I've even seen seemingly unrelated things cause it. It could be something stupid like a pedal sensor , misfire, or even too much ethanol in the fuel. Scanning it is the only way to find out.
Just get a free diagnostic at Advance/Autozone etc.
Do you believe the truck is still safe to drive?
It depends on your definition of "safe". If you can successfully manage to keep the truck from skidding if you put too much brake pedal pressure, it's fine. I didn't realize where I was, once, and there was a 4-way stop sign, not a 2-way stop sign. I was going 55 mph when I realized it was a 4-way stop. It was almost too close to stop, but I came to a stop without skidding in my '79 Pontiac. It obviously had nothing but standard brakes. It was a dry road. If it were wet, I wouldn't have stopped in time, that's how close I was.
I agree, I wasn't in control, I was basically along for the ride.
I pushed things too far once. I was taking a highway on-ramp, and I was accelerating to match speed so I could merge smoothly with traffic. Well there was a hump in the road before the curve. The upward momentum from the hump just was just enough to cause my rear end to break traction, right in the curve. This was a van which has a fair bit of weight in the rear (normally a helpful thing) and a short wheelbase, and they tend to get into bad fishtailing situations that are really difficult to correct. Lots of fun in gravel and snow, not so much when it happens unexpectedly. Anyway, the vehicle went sideways, and reversed direction at least three times before I could straighten her out. Came very close the barriers along the sides. I was lucky.
you should be all right, at least on dry roads. Those systems mainly assist under slippery conditions.
Not true at all. The main issue that stability control addresses, is rollovers, which are very common for vehicles with a high center of gravity like trucks and SUV's, and they happen in any conditions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIN8CyhYREM
oh yah I forget the punchline. This van didn't have stability control, which would have put a quick stop to the fish-tailing.
Well my Jeep has a pretty high center of gravity and no stability control or even ABS. Have never come even close to rolling it over.
good. Count your lucky stars
I definitely don't have traction control, then. It was raing once, and I was getting on the highway. It was uphill, so I was fine, initially. When I started leveling out, my rear end started fishtailing. I turned into the slide and overcorrected, it then started skidding the opposite way, I got it under control when I released the gas. Once I got it under control, I pressed on the gas again and went on to work. The 3.0 doesn't have much power for a 4×4 truck, but the torque when connected to a 4.10 is nothing to mess with. I learned that without trashing my truck. Lol.
Luck has little to do with it. It does help not to drive like a maniac. High center of gravity and solid axles front and rear don't exactly make for a sports car.
Insurance companies are expert at assessing risk. If it was really that risky to drive vehicles without those active safety features my insurance would be sky-high. It isn't. Of course there are discounts if you do have them, but it's not a huge difference in cost.
If you can successfully manage to keep the truck from skidding ...
you can never predict these things. A deer or child can run out into the road. Black ice happens. People have brain farts. If you think you're in control, you are lying to yourself.
I agree, I wasn't in control, I was basically along for the ride. I was only skillful in my managing to stop without skidding. I basically had a brain fart because I used to drive down that road all the time. It's only a few miles away from my parents' house.
I've never owned a car with traction control or stability control and probably never will at this point. It's only fairly recently I've owned one that even had ABS. I still own and regularly drive vehicles that lack any of those features.
My '99 Ranger has 4-wheel ABS, but I'm pretty sure I don't have stability control or traction control because my differential is an open differential and not brake assisted.
My '99 Cherokee doesn't even have ABS, it was still optional at that time and from I've read it was a pretty lousy system on that vehicle. I did upgrade the rear brakes to disc which noticeably improved braking. (Also I hate working on drum brakes.)
I don't have stability control or traction control because my differential is an open differential
lots of vehicles with open differentials have stability control. It has become pretty much a standard feature on all vehicles. All that's required is 4-wheel ABS, a lateral accelerometer and rollover sensor.
If it was really that risky ...
SUV sales have of course skyrocketed.
- The number of deadly SUV rollover accidents has more than doubled in the last few decades
- Data shows that an SUV rollover is more likely to occur than other types of vehicles, accounting for approximately 37% of all fatal collisions, compared to the rollover rate of passenger vehicles (15%)
- Approximately one-half of all rollover accidents end in occupant deaths
- More than 55% of all single-vehicle crashes involved rollovers
- Approximately 75% of all rollover accidents involved pickup trucks, many vans, and SUVs
- Electronic stability control has proven highly effective at avoiding crashes, especially rollovers when the driver loses control of the vehicle
[2019, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported collisions]
Surveys say that 50% of adults do not believe that overloading a vehicle contributes to the risk of a rollover
Luck has little to do with it. It does help not to drive like a maniac.
Of course it helps. But thinking that you can predict, prepare for , or react to every situation that can happen while going 40mph or more is tragically naive. You have incredibly little control over what happens on the road. Being the best driver on the planet might help your odds, but it will never account for all the other humans on the road. Even driving at normal speed on the highway can be lethal.
Investigating police officers report that approximately 50% of all single-vehicle rollovers were the result of the occupant attempting to avoid a crash using a steering maneuver
Having stability control apparently does not reduce the problem to the extent that it makes a huge difference in insurance rates. Despite my vehicles lacking active driver assistance features my rates have actually gone down this year.
insurance rates are based on MANY factors.
Even if it prevented 10 deaths this year, it would be worth it. In fact with all the SUVs on the roads, I think it's pretty much necessary. For my sake and yours, no matter what you drive.
I disagree.
I gathered that, but you have no argument or data to back it up.
Of course I do. If it were that dangerous to drive an SUV with no stability control my insurance would cost double or triple what it does now, maybe more. If it were as necessary to have and as dangerous to do without as you claim it would be a factor that would overshadow most others in determining insurance cost.
I might take it seriously, if you didn't drive exclusively 30+ year old cars.
Thank you for the discussion.
