[cky2kcbk]

The other day it snowed here in Rochester and we did not get much snow but the roads got covered lightly with maybe a half inch of snow. I noticed that even if I just touched my brakes the ABS would kick on and work poorly by not letting me stop barely at all. I have brand new Power Stop drilled slotted rotors with ceramic pads I installed a month ago. I am wondering if it is my ABS sensors that are shot or so called (ABS Speed Sensors) that have failed. Any suggestions?

 

[din9lebeRrY]

What is paramount to determining your issue would be to ask the following first:

What is the treadwear/type (all season/summer/snow) and alignment of your tires?

You could have the best brakes on the planet, but if your tires can't grip, its as useful as snake oil.

 

[NihonTSX]

Two additions: how new is your brake fluid and have you checked your wheel speed sensors?

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G XE with Beats Audio using AutoGuide App

 

[cky2kcbk]

It could be the tires. I know I have to rotate them but they are All Season Tires and only a year old about half life. When I had the clutch replaced the shop wrote down a bunch of things that were wrong and speed sensors were on the list. How would I be able to know if a speed sensor has failed?

My friend is a mechanic at a pretty high end used car dealer doesn't have the way to diagnose the speed sensors/ abs (GM only) and said a dealer would have to do it.

 

[tottenham12712]

How new are your brake pads? and what type are they?

Forget ABS, thats irrelevant. ABS is for people who dont know how to drive a car properly and panic brake (slamming the brake pedal to the floor).

If you slowly depress the brakes and find the sweet spot just before abs kicks in you should slow down without any lockup or abs twitch. If the second you touch the brakes abs kicks on, most likely your tires are garbage or your brakes are too good for your tires.

IMO you need better tires, if your speed sensors were in fact causing the issue you would see a VSA and ABS light on the dash.

 

[din9lebeRrY]

How new are your brake pads? and what type are they?

Forget ABS, thats irrelevant. ABS is for people who dont know how to drive a car properly and panic brake (slamming the brake pedal to the floor).

If you slowly depress the brakes and find the sweet spot just before abs kicks in you should slow down without any lockup or abs twitch. If the second you touch the brakes abs kicks on, most likely your tires are garbage or your brakes are too good for your tires.

IMO you need better tires, if your speed sensors were in fact causing the issue you would see a VSA and ABS light on the dash.

lol @ forget ABS.

 

[cky2kcbk]

Brakes are brand new slotted/drilled with ceramic pads. It must have just been the kind of snow we had. Winter hasn't been too terrible here, I think it was just me not used to winter driving:tardsmash, and partially my tires.

 

[Snipa]

Need snow tires! They help a lot. They're required here in Quebec.

 

[beachbum]

VSA Light and Bad Left Rear Speed Sensor

I apologize in advance for re-opening this old thread, but I have the same issue. I have an 05 TSX, bought used in August 2013, and we just had our first mild snowfall. With just a coating of snow, the orange triangle light lit up, and the car would barely move. Once I got a bit of traction, everything was fine. Since this is my daughter's car, I wanted to have it checked out.

I brought it to an Acura dealer, and they read the error codes and determined that the left rear speed sensor was bad. They want to charge $207 for the part, and almost $300 in labor! I looked up the part, #57470-sae-013, and it seems to be a very straight forward install, maybe taking 30 minutes at worst. I looked up the part, and I can get the OEM version for around $100.

Has anyone changed this sensor, and was it a simple install as I think it is? Only snag I can see is possibly a rusted bolt holding in the sensor. No big deal. I have to have the dealer do it, as I have a bad back and can no longer crawl under a car. $500 seems very steep to furnish and install this part.

Any thoughts on the price I was given? Am I missing something? How long does it take to replace the sensor?

Thanks!

 

[tottenham12712]

They dont call it a stealership for nothing

- What kind of tires are on the car? How much tread is left? Are they cracking?

- Are there any lights on the dash?

>>>>> DIY and FAQ <<<<< READ ME!!! - K20A.org .:. The K Series Source . Honda / Acura K20a k24a Engine Forum

Scroll down you will see the RSX FSM.

I believe it has the chapter for this. But....

 

[beachbum]

I had the sensor replaced on Thrusday by the dealer. I brought along a printout of the lowest price that I found online for the part, and they reduced their price to get within a few bucks. So I saved about $100 on the part.

The labor is another story. Three hours at $125! I had them put the car back on the lift and show me exactly what they did for three hours. Got a lot of BS....test continuity, test this and that, make sure the new sensor has proper clearance, blah, blah, blah. I asked the mechanic if the work took anywhere near three hours, and he just smirked.

The labor rate is just rediculous! The local Honda dealer charges $90 an hour, and Acura $125. You get the same low quality mechanics in both places, probably making $15-20 hour.

Many years ago, I used to be an assistant for a very wealthy family, and I used to take care of their Mercedes cars. At the dealer, the mechanics used to wear lab coats, and the place was so clean, you could probably eat off of the floor. Just by the looks, you felt like you were getting a better value for the labor rate. Now, if you go into a typical dealership service area, the place is usually a disaster, and you're wondering why some of these guys even work on cars. I've had to correct some of the Honda mechanics on repairs over the years, and shaking my head for being raped on the labor rate.

I like to give local small businesses as much business as possible, but my local independent mechanics are so backed up, it's usually days before they can get to your car. And, if you drop the car off when they tell you, it usually sits for several days before they can get to it.

Oh well, I guess I'm just stuck and have to deal with it.

On a good note, the dealer called me the following day prepping me for the Acura survey that would soon. They asked me if I had any issues, and I mentioned the overpriced part, and the high labor rate. A few hours later, I received a call from the service manager, who applied a nice credit to my account! Still sucks to have to pay a dealer for stuff that I could do if I didn't have a back problem.

 

[CG1120]

Sensors can be an issue. Tires can be an issue.

If any of you still have this issue, it's also possible that one or more wheels are locking up too soon or before the others. Possible causes would be like seizing calipers or pads

 

[beachbum]

I took the car out today in some snow and ice after the sensor was changed, and all is OK now.

 

[cky2kcbk]

Well its been a while since I have been on here but I have yet to replace any sensors on my car. Just put a new set of tires on last month. Everything is fine with the braking. It was operator error. . .

 

[Blindeye_03]

Brakes stop your wheels, tires stop your car. Not exactly but tires have a lot to do with how soon your car stops. Also ABS has a bad habit of turning your brake pedal to mush when you stop on slippery surfaces, gravel roads or have you ever pushed the brakes slightly going over railroad crossings? Sure you can threshold brake but you cant stop the ABS computer from doing silly things like not giving you any brakes when it *thinks* you are sliding out of control.