Yesterday was the second day of driving in snow of any substantial amount. On the way into work all was good. Nine hours later when I started the car the BRAKE light, the ABS light, the pictogram of the skidding car light were all on, and the AVC light was flashing. The ABS wasn't working at all. I tried a Restart a couple of times, but that didn't help at all. I haven't had the opportunity to pull the ground cable, but I don't have a lot of faith in that as the real solution, but at the same time I must imagine that something fairly simple could be at the root, given the suddenness with which it occurred. This is on my '08 xB which has just over 78K miles.

Any ideas why this would happen after just being parked for the day? I'm bummed. Your help will be much appreciated.

 

This is a problem on xB's that drive on salty winter roads where the salt gets in the ABS connector. You should be able to remove the connector and apply dielectric grease to the connectors and all should be fine. If you search there is a write up on doing this.

 

Thanks for the clarity. The lights went out on the trip home from work the next day and the ABS is working again. Weather-proofing the sensor connectors is now on the to-list.

 

I too have issues with dash lights. Sometimes when I start the car the Slip light,theVSC light and the check engine light all stay on and blink. If I disconect the battery, alls well again . Till the next time..... Any suggestions????


Autozone code reader only reads EngineMant code nothing else.

 

Been there done that 3x with both a Gen 1 and a Gen 2.

Could be:

1. Loose gas cap. (P0456)
2. Fuel filler neck leak. (P0456)
3. Bad charcoal canister. (P0456)
4. Bad wheel speed sensor at wheel. Took 3 days for them to figure that one out. (C0200; C0210; C0250)
5. ABS failure (C1223)

Take your pick. It's an xB design flaw, happens all the time. Not sure why they don't recall this BS.

As for all this "disconnect the batter to reset" crapola, all you have to do is set your display to show Odometer (not trip meter) with key in "on" position (don't start). Turn the key to "off", hold the Odometer button in and turn the key back to "on" (not start). It will reset. However, they'll likely come back on in short order after you drive around a bit. I've seen within a mile to over 50 miles on both my vehicles.

Cost me $600 for a charcoal canister and $480 for a wheel sensor and relay. Total BS.

Just sayin'...

Ronnie

 

Happened to me as well two winters ago!

I simply unplugged the speed sensor harnesses from the rear wheels, sprayed/cleaned with electrical contact cleaner and applied quite a bit of dielectric grease in the connection to seal out the water/salt. I even smeared the grease on the outside of the connection to kind of "seal" it. Ever since, never came back. In Fall it is part of my winter-prep to clean and reapply the grease to these connections to prevent any issues!

Hopefully it works for you as well!