While coming home tonight in a snow/ice storm I got stuck in a drift at the end of our driveway. After some shoveling we got out, but there was some spinning tires before we got enough traction to go. A short time later when we opened the car door there was a warning sound and, after starting the car, the brake/abs warning lights came on. Is this due to the spinning wheels confusing the brake system, or could there be a bigger problem? If it is the former, what do we need to do to get the lights and sound to reset?
1. Maybe you just need to reset the skid control ECU. See my post #9 here: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/84789-179-975-miles-warning-lights-today.html 2. How did you manage to spin the tires? Normally owners report that the tires refuse to spin in low-traction situations.
You may have gotten snow in the sensors if you drove into deep snow, or you even could have damaged the sensor cable. If the system is undamaged, it should reset on its' own. Spinning of the wheels will not damage the ABS or even trip the light. It will trip the traction control light. Do it every day many times.
Regarding Patrick's question, we tried rocking back and forth (forward, then reverse) to try to get traction. During this process I was told by my passenger who had stepped out of the car that the front wheels were spinning but the back wheels were not. In response to David's answer, if the system is undamaged and resets on its own as implied, how long does this take? I can try the OBD-II reset method; the only problem at the moment is finding a paper clip to use so want to find out if there's a chance of it resetting on it's own.
The skid control ECU will not reset without your using the process that I referred you to. The SRS ECU also will not reset without using a similar process. Other ECUs, like engine, hybrid vehicle, and traction battery, will clear their associated warning lights after several restarts if the condition that caused the fault goes away. A simple disconnect of the 12V battery will also clear the fault codes logged by those ECUs.
