Buick "service ABS and Traction system"

Maintenance/Repairs
, ,
1

Hello,

I have a 2007 Buick Lacrosse CX, and I was hoping someone on here might know what I’m talking about with this issue… Every now and then (not every time I use the car, and I haven’t been able to find a pattern for when) for the last six months or so, my car’s dashboard will light up with “Service Antilock Brake System” follow by “Service Traction Control system”, then “Antilock Brakes Off” and “Traction Control System Off”. The thing is, it still drives and brakes just fine when these come on. It seems, in fact, like the ABS works BETTER once that light comes on. With winter right around the corner, I’m starting to think I’ve put off getting this repaired long enough, but I wanted to get some extra advice before I bring it to a shop I don’t know (I’ve just moved across the country about a year ago, in this very car).

Any help would be greatly appreciated; the searching I’ve done leads me to believe it has something to do with a loose wire, but I’ll be buggered if I can find it. Oh, and before I forget, I’ve checked the brake fluid and its good and full, the pads are in good shape, as are the calipers. The only other flaw with the car is that every now and then when you make a hard turn it sounds like it grinding, but I’m unable to see how that could be related.

2

According to this forum, the sensor wire gets stretched when the steering wheel is turned. It’s possible the wire break is inside the connector where not visible, or the wire is broken inside the insulation.

And if you can’t find a broken wire, it could be that one of the wheel speed sensors is faulty and needs replacing.

3

The grinding noise you hear could be the early signs of a wheel bearing failing.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=4287561&cc=1433643

As you can see the wheel bearing assembly includes the wheel speed sensor.

If the wheel bearing is starting to fail, this can cause the tone ring for the wheel speed sensor to become misaligned with the sensor. If this happens it causes the ABS warning light to come on. And if the ABS warning light comes on, the TCS warning light will come on automatically because the TCS won’t operate if there’s a problem with the ABS.

Tester