Traction Control....disable?

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We have an 01 Toyota Sequoia that the traction control system seems to be "acting up" for a lack of better terms. I am not up on how it works but have a general understanding. If the system senses loss of traction it somehow takes power away from the drivetrain. We have owned this vehicle for 12 years and know that if the rear wheels start to spin on ice or snow it will activate. The only way to turn it off is in 4 wheel drive mode by pressing a switch on the dash however once the vehicle is going over 30 mph the traction control is automatically enabled again. My wife drives the vehicle the most and she has told me the traction control has been engaging without reason the past few weeks. Completely dry roads and even cruising at 55 mph on a straight/dry road. I really don't want to spend the money to have a dealer fix it so I was wondering if I would cause any harm pulling the 15 amp fuse for the traction control in the fuse box under the hood? It is labeled ECTS. Thanks.....Scott
 
Diagnose the issue before disabling the system. Look for a corroded connection at the wheel speed sensor, or even a disconnected wire.
 
Also be aware that pulling the traction control fuse may disable other functions as well.
ABS may be affected or disabled.
 
You may also want to talk to your local
dealership to see if there is a know issue
with your vehicle concerning this problem.

There MIGHT be a free fix for it.
 
Yea, pulled the fuse just to see and engine gets no power from the gas pedal so not an option. Funny brandini asked about tire size. Wife blew out sidewall on a tire about a month ago and the spare that is now on the passenger front is a 265/75R16 while the other three are 265/70R16. I have been looking for a used 265/70R16 to replace the spare. Wow, is the system sensing that small difference in tire size? That would be great if that was the issue!!
 
Originally Posted By: wolfehunter
Yea, pulled the fuse just to see and engine gets no power from the gas pedal so not an option. Funny brandini asked about tire size. Wife blew out sidewall on a tire about a month ago and the spare that is now on the passenger front is a 265/75R16 while the other three are 265/70R16. I have been looking for a used 265/70R16 to replace the spare. Wow, is the system sensing that small difference in tire size? That would be great if that was the issue!!


I'd be willing to bet its the tire size.
 
Originally Posted By: wolfehunter
The only way to turn it off is in 4 wheel drive mode by pressing a switch on the dash however once the vehicle is going over 30 mph the traction control is automatically enabled agai

What if you hold the button down for a few seconds instead of just press-and-release?

Our RAV4 has such a button. If you hold it down for three seconds while the engine is running and the car is stationary, the TRAC will turn off and remain off until the engine is restarted next.
 
Tire size probably has something to do with it. Fix the tire size issue as soon as possible, then see if the traction control is still acting up.
 
Originally Posted By: wolfehunter
passenger front is a 265/75R16 while the other three are 265/70R16... is the system sensing that small difference in tire size?

That's a 7% difference. That's not "small".

As others have pointed out, that's surely your problem.
 
Unplugging the connector on the brake master cylinder reservoir will disable the system. The only other way to shut it off is using the on/off button on the dash with the system in 4WD Lo with the shifter in "L".

The system on the early Sequoias was notorious for problems. Bad ECU's, bad sensors, software reflashes, etc etc.

And for whatever reason Toyota tied the traction and stability system in to just about every sensor on the vehicle. I had all sorts of trouble with the traction control and VSC system, the culprit ended up being a bad O2 sensor. Go figure.
 
Thank you for all the great information. I just assumed it was a minimal difference in tire size.
quint, funny you mention a bad O2 sensor because the check engine light came on a while back so I had the code checked and I have to replace an O2 sensor as well!! Sounds like I need to get busy and change the bad sensor as well as get myself another tire. Thanks again!
 
My bet is a failing wheel bearing seal, soon followed by a failed wheel bearing. Target wheel gets contaminated, and throws off the speed sensor for that wheel. This has happened and been the symptom on two cars I have owned (Saturn Vue, and Chevy Cavalier). Both had symptoms of traction control and ABS problems...soon followed by a low roaring from a corner of the vehicle. All problems solved by replacing wheel bearing for that corner.
 
Originally Posted By: wolfehunter
quint, funny you mention a bad O2 sensor because the check engine light came on a while back so I had the code checked and I have to replace an O2 sensor as well!! Sounds like I need to get busy and change the bad sensor as well as get myself another tire. Thanks again!


Yes the first time I had problems with the system it was an O2 sensor (check engine light and both VSC lights were on). It worked fine for about a month or so after I fixed that, then the VSC lights came back on (no check engine light this time). Unfortunately a regular OBDII scanner cant read the codes the VSC system throws, so I had no way to see what was causing the failure. I then went to the tundrasolutions forum and did some searching and found a way to read the VSC computer codes by jumping a couple of connections on the OBD connector plug. I was getting a brake system pressure imbalance code. This made sense, as the brake pedal had recently started sinking down low while my foot was on the pedal at stoplights. I replaced the master cylinder and bled the brakes, and now the pedal is firm again and the brakes work fine, but the VSC lights are still shining and the code is still there. The at-home procedure for clearing the VSC computer codes doesnt seem to work on my Sequoia, or the sensors are bad giving bad readings. The sensors for this code are thrown by one or both the two sensors on the bottom of the master cylinder. One Toyota mechanic said they had a lot of issues with a few batches of those sensors going bad and detecting a pressure imbalance that wasnt really there, the only solution being to replace them both. Unfortunately there is no easy way to check them myself (that I have found, at least) so I aimed to replace them, until I researched the cost. Now I'm waiting for another Sequoia or Tundra to show up in one of my local junkyards and I'll shotgun it with used sensors until I fix it and figure out how to clear that code (disconnecting the battery doesnt do it either).

I had no check engine light in this truck at all, ever, in 10+ years of ownership until they replaced my frame under the recall, last summer. The check engine light has been on four times since then. Everyone said this would happen.....

I contemplated just removing the VSC warning lights and letting the system remain disabled, until I drove it a few times in some of the snowstorms we had recently. WHOA she became a whole different vehicle with the nanny system off. Almost put it in a ditch more than once. I didnt realize how much the dynamic of the truck was being controlled by that system until it wasnt there. Not a problem, as none of the other vehicles I drive on a regular basis have it and I get around in them just fine, but I do have to drive them very differently in snow than I have ever driven the Sequoia, I just need to get accustomed to driving it without the system there.

I did have the VSC lights go on for one tire that was very low on air, so its very possible your one mismatched tire is causing an issue. But if one of your O2 sensors is bad, that will also keep the lights on.

If you want to do some research on this very trouble-prone system, I would recommend the Sequoia section of the Tunrdrasolutions forum, there are many, MANY threads on VSC problems. Many, many, MANY threads......
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