really bad problems with my xB...
 

hi guys


i made a few threads concerning my car. one thread was about how i got rear-ended on march 9th, and the other thread was about how weird problems were going on with my xB when i got it back from the lexus of cerritos body shop around april 7th or 8th

the "weird problems" were a rattle (which is now gone)...and an intermittent steady display of the VSC, BRAKE, TRAC OFF, and ABS lights. the problem would show up as i'm driving (of course with the e-brake off) or even if i'm at a stop. to give a better example of this...lets say you are driving at 40mph on a smooth road and everything is normal, all of a sudden for no reason the VSC, BRAKE, TRAC OFF, and ABS lights come on and stay on for at least 15 minutes. then they turn off and then come back on at random times for a random amount of time as well. it is very frustrating

i took it back to the body shop that fixed the damage on my xB and they referred me to power toyota of cerritos

on the first visit, power toyota cerritos told me that it was something with the sensor in the rear wheel hub assembly, so they replaced that and fixed it and all was well

the next day the problems came back, i took it back to power toyota cerritos and they told me they found a piece of metal left over from the body shop repair that was creating contact with the signal and causing false signals, so they removed the metal and all was well

2 hours later the problem came back, so the next day i take it in AGAIN

the dealership decides to replace the ecu. they replace the ecu and i come pick it up. i drive not even 1 mile to the 605 south freeway, and the lights come back on again! i immediately turn it around and take it back in

the car is at the dealership for the 4th time in about 9-10 days. they are looking at all the wiring and cannot determine what is wrong.

you all cannot imagine how much of a hassle this has been for me as i live in carson and cerritos is a good 15 miles away each way. this is taking a lot of my time and obviously is getting me upset.

what can i do now? the dealership said they are going to call toyota motor corporation. i talked to my insurance's collision manager and he is doing everything he can for me. i even called power toyota cerritos service manager and he has not called me back yet. (its been 2 days)

the car never acted like this before i got rear-ended. even when i got rear-ended and took the car in for repairs it did not act like this. however, when i got it back from the body shop it has been acting like this...but the body shop has now taken off all responsibility from them and put it on power toyota of cerritos

i feel that the car should have been totalled in the first place. this whole entire ordeal is a huge mess and stressing me out!

any comments are appreciated, thanks for your time guys...

- joriz

It sounds like there is a pinched wire somewhere that is making intermittent contact with the frame. Try getting underneath your box and tracing all the harnesses in the rear near the damaged area. Good luck. Those phantom electrical problems are like voodoo...

the stumping thing is that the techs have checked the wiring and all of the wiring is all okay =(

i feel your pain...

:cry:

hope things work out soon

thats what sucks about accidents, even when the cars are fixed there never the same.

hopefully everyone was ok though

My husband is a auto technician and works for a body shop now, that happens to be owned by ALLSTATE. . After 20 years of working on cars he finds some of the weirdest problems happen as a result of even minor accidents. He is the one they all run to when there is a problem and after hearing yours I would say that you need to give the techs a chance to trace the problem and since it is a pretty new vehicle it may take longer than you would like. Make sure they take the time to drive the sucker long enough to make sure they have fixed it next time. Oh, and I bet it is something really stupid like a broken wire. Good luck, wished you lived in Orlando.

I would call the insurance company and tell them to total it out. Give you all of the money for it and go and get you another box with no miles. Just get all of your mods off if you have any. Or you can let the shope keep twerking on it and hopefully they will figure something out.

Hehe, have you ever tried to call your insurance company and tell them to total it out unless it was a very close call on price anyway? Especially after they have already paid to have it fixed. If so, I bet they would have a good laugh before returning your call. :rofl:

Anyway, as to the original situation, yep it sounds like a broken or pinched wire. Some shops have an electrical guru that should be able to trace it back.

This might sound dumb but I work at a Nissan dealership and we had an Armada come in with the same 3 lights you mentioned. I checked the truck over and found everything to be OK. Turns out that the Armada needed front brake pads! They got sooo thin that the pistons in the brake calipers couldn't come out any further so that threw the 3 lights mentioned to turn on, on the dash board. Might sound weird but anything is possible... :)

The insurance company, AAA, can't total the car out because the person who estimated the initial damage didn't declare the car as totaled even though there was like $6,500 in damage.

I am really giving the techs a chance. When they replaced the ECU the techs drove my car for 16 miles without a problem. I drove it for 1/2 mile after picking it up the same day and the problem showed up.