VSC Not Kicking In/Late

[keylay31]

Hi guys,
We got our first good icy commute into work this morning, and I noticed that my VSC often failed to kick in or kicked in more than halfway through a slide. I did find an empty parking lot and tested this, and indeed it kicks in, albeit pretty late in the game. Any idea whats up? In the past its been pretty on top of thing kicking in as soon as I veered from straight.

I did get an alignment a month ago, could this be causing the problem? I believe it went from high camber to high caster, or the other way around...

Last night on the highway I also noticed that I failed to kick into 5th gear at 80 MPH and was at 3500 RPM. I moved the shifter into 4 and then back into D, and that fixed it.

:shrug:

 

[DC runner]

Yea. This is honestly going to be darn near impossible for us or you to diagnose. Toyota, for good reason, doesn't publish a lot of public info on the system. They don't want competitors to steal it.

Since the VSC is uber complex, with tons of sensors and computer programs all working in unison..

There is literally 0 chance we would have any idea. Seriously.

You say it works, but not the way you think it should? No idea. Usually the system has a 2 state mode, to prevent stuff like this.. people trying to half guess. Safety systems in cars will usually only operate in 1 or 2 modes, to force people to take it to the dealership as they really are the only ones who can diagnose it. It is 1. working 2. not. If the system notes any variance at all, it will usually shut down to prevent dangerous incorrect functioning and pop a signal.

So.. Is it really broken, or are you mis-diagnosing. Man, who knows. Seriously.


If you are concerned... take it in.

 

[d2huffman]

You can always disconnect the battery for - I think it is 30 minutes - and let the computer relearn and see if anything changes. The system has several differing reactions to conditions depending on the amount of acceleration, your speed and the amount of slip. It does not always dump you on your face.

 

[DC runner]

You will need to do a ZERO POINT calibration afterwards, so don't be alarmed if your VSC light is actually ON at that point.

 

[ClockWork]

Never mind.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Oi, that's going to be a tough one to diagnose over the internet. Without being able to test drive the vehicle or see it we wouldn't be able to even guess where to start, not to mention that most people aren't going to have the information for that system. I haven't looked into it yet, but Toyota Service literature occasionally fails to detail specifc systems beyond just diagnosis and basic operations. i.e. activation criteria of VSC, steps it takes to correct vehicle, ect. It could just be written down as, "VSC uses ABS module and components combined with engine braking to provide stability."

You may be better off taking it to someone who has experience with the system or the dealer.

Post Note- It wouldn't hurt to do a Zero Point Calibration as that could potentially affect the VSC...