My 2005 Scion XA has 15,000 miles on it and I am bringing it in for its "checkup". My issue is that ever since I put a set of 17" rims on it my ABS light has been on. This never bothered me as the brakes worked fine. As I posted about last week, my brake light went on after driving thru some deep snow. I checked the brake fluid and it is at the max level and the brakes work fine. So, Since I am bringing it in I want them to address and fix both light issues. Does anyone have any ideas of what could be wrong and if it will be covered under warranty, or am I going to be looking at a nice high bill? I figured I would ask some of the people on here as it seems like they have dealt with almost all issues. I just want to be ready for what the dealer hits me with... Thanks

 

They should fix it under warranty if it isn't related to parts that wear out like brake pads or rotors IF you don't mention the light came on after you added the new rims.

I would leave that part out.

 

Well, I’m not smart about these kinds of things but on my toyota sienna this one light always turns on when we get new tires. The guy at discount tires said it was because toyota puts sensors for tire pressure in the car. But this is on a mini van and not a scion, could be a totally different situation.

and yeah, I would not mention the part about he rims. Dealers are notorious for trying to get out of work.

 

Did you install the wheels yourself, or did someone else do it for you?

 

The tire pressure sensors aren't on xA's, so you don't have to worry about anything Sanchez...

But, I'd be sure to just tell the service writer that the light came on while driving. If you didn't drive thru a huge snowback wide open, you shouldn't be worried about your actions...it could be that the ABS sensor wire broke or the snow has ruined the sensor.
17" rims shouldn't be a concern, as Scion offers them as an option.

 

I'm wondering if he had someone other than the dealer install the wheels, that some monkey bumped one of the rear ABS sensor wires during installation.

I definitely agree with what the manatee said though, just state it came on while driving.

 

Yeah, I had a local tire shop do the wheels (when i got new tires)... The light showed up soon after, so it didnt take much to realize that the two were related. I am not a huge fan of ABS so I didnt really care, but since I am bringing it in I figured that I would get it fixed. If they did bump or break the wire is that a major (costly) fix or is it no big deal? Thanks

 

I think if it was the wheels, the light would have shown up immediately....But, if the dealer says it's because of installing the wheels, the shop that did that should pick up the tab

 

Well, I brought my car to the dealer today and dropped it off to have them fix the problems with my ABS and Brake lights on my console being on. I got a call from them that they couldn't do anything on acount of the fact that they suspected the problem had to do with a split wire going to the speed sensor. They were able to tell me which wheel the problem was on however. When I got home I pulled the wheel and the battery so I could access the sensor wire and to my surprise I found that my speed sensor wire was in fact heavily taped with electrical tape. After pulling the tape off I then found that someone had tried to twist the two wires back together and tape them up. I then went to my hardware store and bought a couple connectors and a shrink wrap kit and $5 later I had it all back together. After about 2 minutes of driving the ABS light went off and I am now "light less"...I'm glad I didn't spend the $195 for a new speed sensor! Thanks everyone for your help!!!!

 

^^^ Did the folks who installed your rims do this? If so, I'm trying to figure out how.

 

I am leaning more towards the shop that put my springs in. Just on the simple fact that it seems virtually impossible to cut the wire with a wheel/tire install. It seems pretty likely that they could have caught the wire and severed it while doing the springs. I had a "friend" bring it to his "friends" shop to do the springs mainly because I didn't feel like doing it outside in the 0 degree weather here in Albany, NY. I guess I learned an important lesson as far as the honesty of people and what kind of job someone will do when it is not their own ride. In the future I am going to do all work myself regardless!!!

 

good job. that's all i can say.

 

Way to track it down Dick Tracey!!!!

And yeah, a friend of a friend is usually the last person to take something to......