Skid sensor alarm, can't accelerate

2007 Prius
When I hit about 45mph the skid detector light goes on, the car beeps like crazy, and the accelerator will not work until speed has been reduced to about 25mph. This is on dry road, definitely NOT under skid conditions.

History: Front driver's side rim and tie rod were damaged. New tie rod was installed and I drove it on the spare tire just fine. The Tire pressure monitoring system light was on, but no skid warnings.
I bought a replacement rim, had a used tire put on to match the tread of the current tires. I then took the car to get an alignment. After that I experienced the skid control problem.

I told the alignment shop about the problem and they indicated that the TPMS and skid sensor alarms may be connected, and that the 1 replacement tire may be causing the problem. I went home, rotated that tire to the back, and did a test run. 10 miles, 60mph, no problems. Next morning I'm heading to work and the skid problem comes back, and I'm stuck doing 25 on the highway.

Any ideas? Would a TPMS alarm set off the skid alarm? I understand that the TPMS sensor in the rim was not changed to the replacement rim, but would that affect the skid sensor? I was under the impression skid control only measured difference in drive shaft rotation. I really need this car to go over 25! )

 

Thanks for the replies so far. The wheel was replaced with an identical 15" OEM rim with a matching 185/65 OEM size tire with about the same wear pattern as the other wheels. It is a Bridgestone and the others are goodyear integrity, but I thought matching the wear would be better than getting a new tire of the same model.

I bought this car at an auction and it's my first prius, so I'm learning the ins and outs. It was hit on the front drivers wheel. The CV shaft was also replaced, along with the suspension arm, inner/outer tie rods, suspension strut, rim, and tire. It sounds to me like a bearing could be going out, but the mechanic said that sound could be coming from the regenerative brakes. I'm not convinced he knows much about the prius, though. The old CV shaft was ok, but the boot was damaged and trans fluid had leaked, so I opted to take the mechanics recommendation and replaced the whole thing instead of just the boot. No leaks now, everything looks good, although when I grab the shaft I can move it slightly, maybe a half a millimeter. I didn't think that was right (tried to move the other side, and checked my other cars and none of them jiggled), but the mechanic said that could be normal.

So the ABS sensor is connected to the skid warning? Is that located on the brakes somewhere? I would buy that it was knocked askew in the collision. Or that the caliper is a little goofy. Should my next stop be the brake shop?

 

I should also note that after the problem appeared I rotated the replaced tire to the back to ensure that it was not causing any problem in the front end. So now the front tires are matched. Is there skid sensors on the rear wheels as well?

 

I have all tires at 35psi.

I decided to run a test tonight. I found the ABS speed sensor and disconnected it on the drivers side front. Pretty easy to do, it's just an little electronic push pin at the top of the inside of the fender. Now the dash lights show ((!)) ABS VSC, but the car will no longer refuses to accelerate. Problem solved? Well, the alarm still goes off between 45 and 55mph and beeps like crazy, but oddly enough the skid light never comes on. Could it be the sensor is busted?

I will take the sensor off tomorrow and take a look at it to check for visible damage. A new one is about $150 from RockAuto so I may just try throwing a new one on to see if that helps. I'll call around a few shops to price it out too.

 

Ok, I tried pulling the sensor. It looked dirty, so I cleaned it. Otherwise it looks good, no visible damage. No change in symptoms though. The part number is specific to each wheel and they are not interchangeable.

Would there be any visual indicator of the speed sensor being damaged?

nh70 - I put the jumper on #4 and #13 on the obd2 port and put the car in Ready. A lot of things were flashing and it seemed too complicated to describe, so I'll take a video and post later.

 

I think I got it. 36 is 3 blinks, 1/2 second pause, 6 blinks, 2 1/2 second pause and it repeats over and over.
((!)) reads 36
ABS reads 32
VSC reads 43

 

My first instinct as well was to swap the front sensors and see if anything changed. They do look identical, other than the LF is orange and RF is green, and part numbers are different. I'll check the resistance, swap them, and report back. I can get a new sensor for ~$160 from toyotapartszone, or I've seen some used on ebay for $60 and up.

I did not think to compare the toothed wheels. From what I could see in the left one, it looked to be ok, but perhaps it is slightly out of position. I will compare to the right side.

I was going to post a video of the blinks here, but the site wouldn't allow it. I'll upload it to youtube and post the link.

 

The TPMS light is solved. The replacement rim did not have a TPMS sensor and the place I got the used tire at didn't tell me. They don't do any programming there. I took it to America's Tire and they installed a TPMS sensor and programmed it for $50.

I will check the tire circumference, though. The Bridgestone Potenza seems to have a flatter surface area i.e. more contact with the pavement while the Goodyear Integrity is more rounded like a doughnut. The Bridgestone is marketed for better road gripping performance, and the Goodyear is a all season tire. According to my measurements the Goodyear is 1/8" smaller than the Bridgestone. I wrapped a string around the outermost tread, made a mark and checked it twice. The new TPMS doesn't appear to be having any issues with it now.

 

Here's the video showing what happened when I retrieved the blink codes