KDSS warning indicator

C

costas

New member
Hi everyone,

The KDSS warning light has come on in my 2011 TE. I have a service appointment booked for tomorrow but I'd appreciate any information that might be available.

The vehicle seems to be running fine, although the suspension does now seem harsh and louder.

First post, great forum here.
 
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Interesting. Can you tell us what was going on before the light came on? Were you just driving along, off roading or what?
 
Not much to report on the background-

The light came on for the first time two days ago while driving to work on normal but snowy city roads. One thing to note is that the temperature hasn't been above -28 celsius since about four days ago.

The light has been intermittent since, usually not turning on with ignition but after driving for a few kms. The suspension has been quite harsh (even for a TE), and the suspension seems louder especially in back. The suspension is harsh even when the KDSS warning light is not activated.

2011 TE purchased in October 2011 with only 4500kms on it so far.

Thanks!
 
-28C sounds like you're on the prairies too. I don't know that it's necessarily temperature related since my TE has been parked outside every day in similar temps without any problems. Like others have said, keep us posted on what the dealership says.
 
I would get service 4wd warnings in an 07 Avalanche when it would get real cold and snow. Figured it was weather related. Wonder if it's the same with your KDSS.
 
this is a big shot in the dark, but do you have snow right now? I'm wondering if maybe snow/slush has accumulated underneath somewhere, not allowing the KDSS to perform right, and triggering the light? again, just an idea based on nothing.
 
Jesse1983 said:
I'm wondering if maybe snow/slush has accumulated underneath somewhere, not allowing the KDSS to perform right, and triggering the light?
Click to expand...
We don't have a whole lot of snow here (it's currently too cold to snow) maybe 5cm in the last week. I had a similar thought related to all the gravel they dump on the road, though...

Could also just be "one of those things" where a wire is loose or a sensor is faulty. With the cold my suspension - granted it's no longer stock - has been pretty harsh until it warms up. Combine that with the roughness of the roads due to the packed snow and that could be the cause of that symptom.

Costas, which dealership are you taking it to?
 
During the day, the 4R is outside. Overnight, it is kept in an insulated unheated detached garage. The temperature this morning in the garage was -5C.

I have no idea what type of fluid is used in the system. I'll ask that tomorrow at the dealership.

To describe the harshness a little- when going over a speed bump, there is now a very noticeable clanky type sound just as the rear wheels come down from the speed bump and hit the road.

Intruder- I have an appointment at Heninger (closest to my place as I live inner-city).
 
A couple of things to report:

KDSS warning light will turn on when the pressure in the KDSS system drops below a certain threshold for at least five minutes.

The service department wasn't able to reproduce the problem, although on a road test, they were able to record lower pressure while repeatedly turning left in a circle.

The service department has never had to deal with this problem before and the issue has been kicked up to Toyota. Hopefully, we'll know more tomorrow.

And of course... on the way home from the dealership this evening the light turned back on.

From the drive home today, I was more aware of a few things. First, In this case, I felt the suspension change before I saw the light turn on. In slow moving traffic (30km/h), I went over a manhole cover and the 4R felt like it had went over a 30cm drop. Over the next few hundred meters the suspension started feeling better until it felt normal again. After about five minutes of the suspension feeling normal, the light turned off.

The temperature was -19C
 
costas said:
A couple of things to report:

KDSS warning light will turn on when the pressure in the KDSS system drops below a certain threshold for at least five minutes.

The service department wasn't able to reproduce the problem, although on a road test, they were able to record lower pressure while repeatedly turning left in a circle.

The service department has never had to deal with this problem before and the issue has been kicked up to Toyota. Hopefully, we'll know more tomorrow.

And of course... on the way home from the dealership this evening the light turned back on.

From the drive home today, I was more aware of a few things. First, In this case, I felt the suspension change before I saw the light turn on. In slow moving traffic (30km/h), I went over a manhole cover and the 4R felt like it had went over a 30cm drop. Over the next few hundred meters the suspension started feeling better until it felt normal again. After about five minutes of the suspension feeling normal, the light turned off.

The temperature was -19C
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. Keep us informed. Definitely interesting.
 
costas said:
A couple of things to report:

KDSS warning light will turn on when the pressure in the KDSS system drops below a certain threshold for at least five minutes.

The service department wasn't able to reproduce the problem, although on a road test, they were able to record lower pressure while repeatedly turning left in a circle.

The service department has never had to deal with this problem before and the issue has been kicked up to Toyota. Hopefully, we'll know more tomorrow.

And of course... on the way home from the dealership this evening the light turned back on.

From the drive home today, I was more aware of a few things. First, In this case, I felt the suspension change before I saw the light turn on. In slow moving traffic (30km/h), I went over a manhole cover and the 4R felt like it had went over a 30cm drop. Over the next few hundred meters the suspension started feeling better until it felt normal again. After about five minutes of the suspension feeling normal, the light turned off.

The temperature was -19C
Click to expand...

Interesting observations.
I wonder if it would actually be possible to "hack" the KDSS system to make it user adjustable if desired. Turn it up to max for twisty mountain roads, down a notch for long straight hwys, etc.
 
1000MPH said:
Interesting observations.
I wonder if it would actually be possible to "hack" the KDSS system to make it user adjustable if desired. Turn it up to max for twisty mountain roads, down a notch for long straight hwys, etc.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that while watching the video on youtube about how KDSS operates during cornering on smooth roads.

It would be very badass to have user selectable KDSS modes.

:guitar3:

OP, keep us posted with your issue and how Toyota handles. This is an interesting issue, luckily this seems like an isolated incident (unlucky for you).
 
Not much to report today-

First time Toyota has seen this problem.

Toyota engineers sent out a questionnaire about driving routines, habits, vehicle storage, blah blah.

Waiting to hear back from Toyota engineers about next step.

Temperature is going up this weekend, so it will be interesting to see if this problem occurs in not so extreme cold conditions.
 
Update-

One of the KDSS cylinders went bust and started leaking oil. It wasn't noticeable when the temperature was -30C. Now that it has warmed up, the oil was evident on the outside of the cylinder's boot.

Cylinder and other affected parts are to be replaced and the system needs to be re-charged.

The shop foreman at Heninger Toyota has been great.
 
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