VSC Trac and Trac Off lights

G

guitarguythingy

New member
hi,
I have a 2003 SR5 4runner. I just took it to the dealer to get a valet key done and programmed. When I got the car back I noticed that the VSC Trac and Trac Off lights are on. So I turned off the car and then turned on the car. The lights went away but as soon as I put it in gear and start rolling a few feet the lights come back on again. I tried in reverse and Drive the lights come back on only when the car is in gear and rolls.
Can anyone please help me? I have an appointment with the dealership and the car is still in warranty since i bought the car 5 days ago used, but the car still drives fine with the lights on. Can anyone please help?
Thanks in advance.
 
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If this happened right after the dealership was fiddling with your truck, I'd blame it on them and ask them to fix it.

Is the CEL on also? If so, this could be caused by something as simple as the gas cap not on tight enough. Tighten it until it clicks a few times.

It could also be caused by an O2 sensor failing. Or possibley an ABS sensor gone bad since VSC utilizes the ABS system.

All of this could have been found just by searching. It'll save you some time next time instead of waiting for a response
 
The CEL light is off. its just the VSC and Trac off light. i'm gonna bring it back on monday since monday is my day off.

Thanks. i appreciate it :]
 
Try this before taking it in. Pull the negative terminal for a few minutes and then reconnect. This will reset the computer and erase the trouble codes. If there is still an issue lights will come back on.

You'll have to reprogram your radio stations and reinitialize the windows, but nothing hard.
 
i already tried that the lights still came on... they go away after you restart the car but they come back on when i actually drive the car.

thanks though :]
 
Well let us know what the dealership finds. It seems fishy that this happened right after you took it to them to get your keys programmed.
 
okie! i just got back from the dealership... and they fixed it.

The VSC Trac and Trac Off light came on because the Yaw rate wasn't calibrated.

So, they performed yaw rate zero calibration and the lights are no longer there to bother me :]

Thanks to those offering assistance :]
 
Anyone know how the 'yaw rate' becomes uncalibrated?

Seems to me, once its calibrated............its calibrated, no?
 
Un-calibrating the sensors

I've been dealing with the same problem and learning a bunch about this lately. I need to find time to write up a full post on it, but the short answer is that the dealer's use of the "hand held tester" on the OBDII port to program a new key accidentally cleared the existing zero point calibration of the yaw and deceleration sensors. It's not that hard to do.

Fortunately it's also not hard to fix for yourself. See TSB BR001-04 and the last page, where they tell you how to do a new zero point calibration with only a jumper wire (they give the SST number 09843-18040, but it's just a jumper wire and not the hand held tester).

I just did this calibration myself, and fixed my problem. I'll try to write up a full explanation (new thread?) in a few days.
 
Re: Un-calibrating the sensors

MicaBlue03 said:
I've been dealing with the same problem and learning a bunch about this lately. I need to find time to write up a full post on it, but the short answer is that the dealer's use of the "hand held tester" on the OBDII port to program a new key accidentally cleared the existing zero point calibration of the yaw and deceleration sensors. It's not that hard to do.

Fortunately it's also not hard to fix for yourself. See TSB BR001-04 and the last page, where they tell you how to do a new zero point calibration with only a jumper wire (they give the SST number 09843-18040, but it's just a jumper wire and not the hand held tester).

I just did this calibration myself, and fixed my problem. I'll try to write up a full explanation (new thread?) in a few days.
Click to expand...


Hey Mica,

That will be very nice of you.
 
VSC TRAC and VSC OFF light ON but NO CEL (Check Engine Light)

guitarguythingy said:
hi,
I have a 2003 SR5 4runner. I just took it to the dealer to get a valet key done and programmed. When I got the car back I noticed that the VSC Trac and Trac Off lights are on. So I turned off the car and then turned on the car. The lights went away but as soon as I put it in gear and start rolling a few feet the lights come back on again. I tried in reverse and Drive the lights come back on only when the car is in gear and rolls.
QUOTE]

I'm experiencing this exact problem right now. In this thread Micca mentions that he would write up a full post on this subject. I've found the post and it can be found at the link below.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/problems-warranty-issues/32818-one-cause-fix-vsc-trac-vsc-off-lights.html

Hope this makes it easier for anyone else to locate the information they need. I just got my 4runner back from a Toyota dealer for a rear door issue. So don't know how my door is linked to my VSC....anyhow... I'm not sure if they did, but I suspect that the Toyota techs will always hook up a code reader just for the sake of verifying codes....

Read Micca's post and you'll understand the significance of the code reader in relation to this issue and a do it yourself at home fix. I'm going back to the mechanic 2morrow armed with this information and hoping to get them to do the zero fix for free...

Also some of my other research on various posts has said that while VSC is off, ABS is still active. I will verfy this 2morrow on a patch of ice. I'll post my outcome with the fix and verification of whether ABS is still active.
Click to expand...
 
!! Update !! Vsc trac lights !! Update !!

Ok, so I will add something else that other seem to have reported that would have causeed this issue. Having a new key programmed. So I would have had 2 things done to my 2003 4runner that seems to cause this problem. VSC TRAC and VSC OFF Led's are lit up on the dash. But NO Check Engine Light and NO ABS light.

An ODBII scanner was connected to my truck and also a new key was programed for it.

Brought it back to Toyota. Since it is a 2003 it is out of warranty. But I tried to explain these situations and they refused to acknoledge it, or look it up or research it for themselves. Anyways they ended up charging me 94$ for the Zero Calibration Reset. I got them to bring it down to on 64$ not that much better because I think they should have done it for free since it is a glitch and should be part of their procedure to reset the calibration on this particular model..... It's been a few days since the reset and the lights have come back on.

The Toyota service bulletin TSB BR001-04 shows how to reset this with the Toyota scanner and manually by shorting 2 pins if you don't want to bring it to toyota. This bulletin can be found by a quick internet search.
 
CAN-03runner, your experience makes sense. Any device (aftermarket or dealer scanner, code reader, tester, etc.) that is CAN-capable would tend to have the same risk with the 4Runner, where its attempt to communicate with the pre-CAN 4runners *could* cause the yaw/deceleration sensor memory to be cleared.

It won't happen every time, but it does not seem to be particularly unusual. IIRC when it first happened to me the ABS light was also lit, but that didn't last long and didn't come back. I don't remember seeing the check engine light come on, but it's been a long time and my memory is far from perfect.

For someone with the dedicated Toyota "hand-held tester" this reset of the yaw/deceleration sensor memory is really quick and easy (5 minutes), and no justification for a $94 charge, even if they weren't the cause of the problem in the first place. Fortunately it's a pretty easy thing to fix yourself.

If you want to find a way to consider yourself lucky, consider that some people have had this happen and been quoted $1k+ to buy and install a new yaw/deceleration sensor. The unfairness of that really grates on me, but I have come to see that the skill and integrity of repair folks is all over the map. Not much to be done about it, I suppose, but to frequent a forum such as this.
 
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