Touchy Traction Control Problem - Got any ideas?

SOcalTRAIL

New member
Every since I did my suspension last month I've had an overly "sensitive" traction control. For those who havn't seen some of my other posts, I did the whole enchilada to the front end of my 2011 TE. This included spindle gussets which required the disassembly and reassembly of the spindle. I made sure to take care of the wheel speed sensors when we did the install and they all look nice and clean. The problem is when I am on windy, curvy roads, on-ramps, etc, sometimes the traction nanny will activate, pulse the brakes for a sec, then go away. I nearly had to change my pants the first time this happened cause I wasn't going real fast and didnt expect it at all. If I drive nice and slow on on ramps and curve, no problem but what bothers me is this didnt happen before which leads me to believe something is wrong.... but.... where to start? Does anyone have any clues??? Is there a way to test the sensors individually?

On a side note, I'm not running a front sway bar but dont see how this could lead to an issue. Im not pushing the truck hard, squealing tires, driving wrecklessly, or any of that bs... just driving. With this suspension setup I don't have excessive body roll, even without the sway bar. It also seems to happen more frequently on right hand turns....

Maybe a bad sensor, maybe I pinched a sensor wire, maybe something in the spindle.... I have no clue. I have my 20k service in a week or so but I would bet the Toyota Tech would laugh his ass off after he looked under the truck and saw there wasnt a single piece of OEM suspension left...

Thanks in advance and cheers.
 
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I find the vehicle stability control nanny kicks in super early with any type of aggressive driving.

It scared me the first time it engaged on an off ramp. :wtf::wow:

I'm used to it now. My last car was a mustang and I have driven on race tracks, so have a pretty good feel for what the limit of traction and control are, however VSC thinks they are WELL inside of that.

Without a sway bar connected I am not surprised that your system is activating even in relatively tame driving.

I don't think I'd drive it w/o a sway bar. I like the huge KDSS sway bar. I installed bigger aftermarket bars in previous cars to improve handling.

Doesn't someone make disconnects for the regular sway bar so you can have it for normal driving then disconnect for trails?
 
Every since I did my suspension last month I've had an overly "sensitive" traction control. For those who havn't seen some of my other posts, I did the whole enchilada to the front end of my 2011 TE. This included spindle gussets which required the disassembly and reassembly of the spindle. I made sure to take care of the wheel speed sensors when we did the install and they all look nice and clean. The problem is when I am on windy, curvy roads, on-ramps, etc, sometimes the traction nanny will activate, pulse the brakes for a sec, then go away. I nearly had to change my pants the first time this happened cause I wasn't going real fast and didnt expect it at all. If I drive nice and slow on on ramps and curve, no problem but what bothers me is this didnt happen before which leads me to believe something is wrong.... but.... where to start? Does anyone have any clues??? Is there a way to test the sensors individually?

On a side note, I'm not running a front sway bar but dont see how this could lead to an issue. Im not pushing the truck hard, squealing tires, driving wrecklessly, or any of that bs... just driving. With this suspension setup I don't have excessive body roll, even without the sway bar. It also seems to happen more frequently on right hand turns....

Maybe a bad sensor, maybe I pinched a sensor wire, maybe something in the spindle.... I have no clue. I have my 20k service in a week or so but I would bet the Toyota Tech would laugh his ass off after he looked under the truck and saw there wasnt a single piece of OEM suspension left...

Thanks in advance and cheers.

So ,your running your new Icon suspension without the KDSS bars at all? or just in the front? Pretty sure it should be all or none as the sensors all work together,front to rear.At least what I interpret from this KDSS training video.

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I find the vehicle stability control nanny kicks in super early with any type of aggressive driving.

It scared me the first time it engaged on an off ramp. :wtf::wow:

I'm used to it now. My last car was a mustang and I have driven on race tracks, so have a pretty good feel for what the limit of traction and control are, however VSC thinks they are WELL inside of that.

Without a sway bar connected I am not surprised that your system is activating even in relatively tame driving.

I don't think I'd drive it w/o a sway bar. I like the huge KDSS sway bar. I installed bigger aftermarket bars in previous cars to improve handling.

Doesn't someone make disconnects for the regular sway bar so you can have it for normal driving then disconnect for trails?
Sounds like yours might need recalibrated too.There has been a couple peeps on here that had the same thing and needed recalibrated. Mine has kicked in only once on the road in 2 1/2 years and I drive very aggressive.And that was on a short curved onramp with loose gravel where it was supposed to kick in.I was watching for traffic and didn't notice the gravel somebody kicked up on the ramp.It's kicked in offroad playing around on loose dirt trails a couple of times.

I drove without a sway for over a year and hardly noticed a difference when I put it back on. Quality stiffer aftermarket suspension just about eliminates the body roll compared to the lightly sprung oem set up. Bunch of FJ guys have run no front sway bars for years with aftermarket suspension.Now if I was going to enter a slalom race???

Nobody makes a sway bar disco for 4Runner IFS suspension . It's not needed as the links provide enough travel so the sway bar isn't thye limiting factor. At least with stiffer aftermarket CO's the UCA ball joints are the down limit.
 
Have similar problem. scares the crap out of me first time I went to the mountains. now i just drive slower on the turns.
 
When you lift your vehicle and "level" the front, you are basically tilting the sensor a few degrees, and it thinks the vehicle has a lot of bro lean (front higher than the rear) while driving normally so it freaks out. If you dont feel you can do the recalibration you could always just shim the sensor a little in the rear, so it tilts it forward a bit. This would trick it to thinking the vehicle is not "leaning back" as it thinks it is. I know its just a bandaid fix, but it might work for some of you.
 
When you lift your vehicle and "level" the front, you are basically tilting the sensor a few degrees, and it thinks the vehicle has a lot of bro lean (front higher than the rear) while driving normally so it freaks out. If you dont feel you can do the recalibration you could always just shim the sensor a little in the rear, so it tilts it forward a bit. This would trick it to thinking the vehicle is not "leaning back" as it thinks it is. I know its just a bandaid fix, but it might work for some of you.

There is a right way per the factory repair manual to recalibrate it. Did you see post #2 above and read that thread. Several have fixed it like that already.
 
I need to go through and do this to. Once I installed my Icon suspension I experienced this on a few on ramps. Scared the **** out of me the first time it happened.

Where is that DLC3 harness located? I can follow the directions but just not sure where that plug is. Is this something I should just have the dealer perform?
 
I need to go through and do this to. Once I installed my Icon suspension I experienced this on a few on ramps. Scared the **** out of me the first time it happened.

Where is that DLC3 harness located? I can follow the directions but just not sure where that plug is. Is this something I should just have the dealer perform?

The DLC3 (Data Link Connector 3)is Toyota's name for the OBD II scanner port. It's under the dash just forward of your left knee.
 
Harper-

Yessir, I did away with the front sway bar even when I was just running a fox C/O up front. Now with the new Chaos / Icon setup, the lower arms don't even have a place for the KDSS end links so no sway bar for me. Like you mentioned, with a quality c/o and proper spring rate and valving, a vehicle is plenty safe to drive. Having the secondary bypass lets me dial in the front to what feels like "track" settings, and the truck has almost 0 body roll. I run em about mid way through the adjustment which seems to be a good compromise of stability and comfort on road. Awesome setup so far.

I read through the calibration instructions and plan on tackling it on my lunch break.


Funny thing is I was reading through the suspension page on the FJ Cruiser forum and seems quite a few people there have had similar issues.

Traction Control activated while driving on pavement - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

First few times it happened I almost soiled me self.... not fun. Now I drive like a grandma on the on ramps and twistys. Hopefully the calibration solves it . I will report back tomorrow.
 
There is a right way per the factory repair manual to recalibrate it. Did you see post #2 above and read that thread. Several have fixed it like that already.

Yes, I did. I was just suggesting an alternate fix if some didnt feel comfortable with the re-cal. Tacomas have the same issue when they level and I have seen some of them just shim the sensor.

No worries though I personally would perform the recal.
 

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