1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Traction control light stays on when it rains...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Bananaman, Apr 21, 2013.

  1. Bananaman

    Bananaman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2013
    20
    4
    0
    Location:
    Waco, TX
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Here's a good one; after I had the transaxle replaced in my 2008 I was driving on the interstate and the traction control light started blinking and a beeping came out of the dash area. A fast beep-beep-beep-beep-beep... for about a minute then stopped. I took it back to the dealer and they said it didn't throw any code plus "that shouldn't have anything to do with the transaxle".
    Everything was fine until a few days ago it rained and it did it again three times, only at highway speeds, stopping after I got under 37 mph.
    Any ideas? Is something getting wet that shouldn't be? It doesn't slow the car down or anything like a real slipping situation would.
    Thanks for any insight.
     
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,817
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    What kind of tires are you running and what is the tread wear looking like and how much tire pressure are you running?

    Traction control ecu measures rotation speed of all the tires and if one or more wheels shows more revolutions than the other it see's that as loss of traction in that wheel and TC is invoked. If you have bad tires you may not feel the tire slipping in the rain but it is.
     
    JimboPalmer likes this.
  3. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,855
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    +1

    Was it actually a minute of beeping, or was it a few seconds? It is possible that it was continuously going off for a minute. If you are on dry flat pavement and are stopped, then floor it, can you accelerate without the light coming on?
     
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,817
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Thats a good test could be a loose wheel sensor up front but he mentioned rain which immed. pegged bad tires to me.

    Probably Integrities with 60,000 miles running 55 lbs...lol...
     
  5. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2007
    1,555
    81
    0
    Location:
    Akron, OH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I wouldn't be surprised if the 12v is going out either
     
  6. Bananaman

    Bananaman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2013
    20
    4
    0
    Location:
    Waco, TX
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Tires are all good, almost brand new Michelin's 42 psi front, 40 rear. Installed 12v battery 2 months ago and according to the Scangauge never gets below 12.6v.
    Yeah it was a constant beeping, just about drove me crazy! I took a video of it with my phone, need to figure out how to post it.
     
  7. krutoyi

    krutoyi New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2013
    4
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Any luck fixing this issue? I have the same problem, just got my alignment done, go over about 30 mph the traction control light come one and beeping noise driving me insane. pls help!
     
  8. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,817
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Did it happen right after the alignment?
     
  9. Bananaman

    Bananaman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2013
    20
    4
    0
    Location:
    Waco, TX
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    It's so random. It'll go months without it happening, then all of a sudden it will go off. It always stops when I slow down to about 30mph. I was told it might be because I have different size tires front and back, so until they wear out enough to replace I won't know.
     
  10. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,855
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Well that's a key piece of info you neglected to mention.

    Of course the traction control is going off. It monitors the speed of each wheel to see if one is out of sync with the rest. You are screwing it up by having mismatched tires, therefore mismatched speeds at each wheel. Tires rarely get back into "sync" by just wearing them out. Because by the time the news ones are worn down the old ones are even more worn.
     
    CatsAreGods likes this.
  11. krutoyi

    krutoyi New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2013
    4
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I fixed my problem, i disconnected the 12v battery for the night and plugged it in the morning and problem solved! thanks all