I know a few of you have had it happen...the VSA lights up very dim even though the VSA button is on and you're cruising at highway speeds. It's weird b/c the other day & yesterday it lit only after the engine warmed up so I know it's not another light bulb bleeding light into the VSA signal.

I called my dealer and they want me to bring the car in for an inspection. Worst thing is I just got the car back after it's 7,500 mile checkup. Why couldn't this have happened before the checkup!!! Now I can't bring the car in for at least another 3 weeks b/c the car is needed.

For those of you that have had this, has anything bad stemmed from it? Any solutions?

 

Believe it or not, I think this is normal. The dimly lit VSA light appears most pronounced when (a) you have the dash light intensity set to maximum, (b) when the gas gauge is at 3/4, and (c) at night after the car has been running for a while.

Here's my explanation for all these:

A. Although I have not had the dash apart, I'm willing to bet there is no physical barrier between the gauge lights and the VSA light. Even though the light is off, the neighboring lights shine on both the bulb and the icon opening, thus letting the light shine through. The bulb will act like a mini-magnifier making the effect more pronounced.

B. When the gas gauge is at 3/4, the needle points right at the VSA light, amplifying the problem. Although it shows up regardless of where the gauge reads, it is worse when the needle points right at it. More light in the direction of the bulb/icon opening.

C. This I am attributing to the human adjustment of night vision. Just like when you first go outside at night, if you look up you can't see any stars on a clear night. Stay out 10-15 minutes and gradually you can see everything. Although your eyes can adjust quickly to light conditions, they don't normally optimize for 10-15 minutes. When the dash lights first shine in your eyes at night, you don't see the subtle backlit VSA display. After driving for a bit and your eyes adjust to the interior conditions of the car, you see it.

You can prove that it is a dash light illumination problem by turning down the illumination all the way and it will go away. Likewise, turning off your lights altogether at night with the car running will make it go away. So the VSA system is not causing this light to come on--the dash lights are.

My conclusion is it is just a poor design of the backside of the gauges. I bet if you took out the gauges (or could get to the back of them) and covered the VSA icon opening and bulb with some black electrical tape this would go away. It doesn't bother me enough to rip apart my dash to test my theory.

No matter what you think the cause, it definitely seems to be a common problem.

 

Under normal circumstances your theories would hold true, however, the dim light doesn't appear at 1st when the car is warming up even if the lights are on...it did appear after the car had warmed up though. This happened on both nights that I noticed this. If it were a "light leak" from one of the other bulbs it should appear at all times the second you turn your lights on, not after the car warms up. I'm thinking more along the lines of a frayed wire or bad grounding (being that the light's concept is reverse, bad grounding may cause it to come on rather than turn off like a normal bulb.)

Sorry to poke holes in your theory but with the circumstances they way they are I can't believe them to be true. I'll keep you all posted as to what the dealer tells me in the next few weeks.

 

the DRL light in my mom's '00 TL does the exact same thing....

 

I had this problem too and I posted not long time ago.
The VSA indicator lights up when the engine gets warm.
It's hard to see it during day time but at night is easy to see.

I brought back to the dealer last time but they can't do anything because they said can't actually see the icon lights up. (Of course, it was during day time and they tried to see it when my car parked outside of their parking lot.) I'll bring it back to show them again next week after work. ('Cuz it gets so dark outside after 4:00pm in here now. They better see it this time!!!)

 

Let me know what your outsome is and I'll keep you posted on what the dealer tells me. Hopefully btw the 2 we can resolve this issue.

 

you should take a pic of your dash when it's lit up....b/c no service department is open late enough.

 

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did you want to say something or are you just PW'ing??

 

Well.. outside gets so dark after 4:00pm in here at this time. Since service department open until 6:00pm; I'll leave early from work someday next week to show them.

The dealer is 30 min away from my office and it's on the way back home anyway.