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So we got our first significant snowfall of the season here in Oklahoma. While driving to work this morning, I drove through a section of the road that had a lot of that wet, heavy, slushy snow. The tires even kicked up a bunch of that slushy stuff, like when you drive through a large puddle. This lasted for about 5 seconds, but as I was going through the slush, my lights started flashing, check engine light came on, my radio turned off (I had the radio on) and I heard the same clicking sound you would hear when you turn on your emergency lights (I can't confirm if my emergency lights came on automatically because I was trying to keep my eyes on the road). it felt light the car was going to stall. I pulled into a supermarket parking lot immediately and everything returned to normal. I never stopped the car or turned it off during this time, just drove straight to work. Should I be concerned? It's a 2007 TLS, 135,000 Miles.
Sorry to hear about your issue. The only thing that comes to my mind is VSA module that might be causing your experience. I would do some reading on VSA module going bad and see if you can relate. I am sure that there are more experienced members here that will provide better answer to your symptoms. Good luck
^maybe battery terminals are not tightened correctly???
hit the slushie(lol could be a new dance...now hit the slush!) and accidentally jarred the battery terminals loose for a second?
^maybe battery terminals are not tightened correctly???
hit the slushie(lol could be a new dance...now hit the slush!) and accidentally jarred the battery terminals loose for a second?
Sounds like your VSA (vehicle stability assist) was working, idk why your radio would turn off though?
The VSA light is a orange triangle with a exclamation point in it, is that the "check engine light" you saw?
I wouldn't be worried if it went away, to ease your mind run a simple OBD scan to see if any codes where saved.
I've experienced the VSA kick in many times over the last 3 years of owning the car. The light on the dash was definitely the check engine light. As a matter of fact, VSA was activating plenty of times this morning due to the slick roads. I'll definitely run an OBD scan though. But as I recall, the TL saves all codes that come up. When the TL went through that snow slush, my mind flashed back to the days I rolled around in my GSR with CAI and was always afraid to go through any puddles. My initial thought was that I sucked in some water.
BTW, my business office is located on a hill and I couldn't make it up. Had to reverse all the way back down. Time for some winter prepping
Will do. Now that I think about it, I have been having some battery problems. I think my batteries CCA is supposed to be 750, but the last time I was at the dealership, they said it only registered 450.
I've experienced the VSA kick in many times over the last 3 years of owning the car. The light on the dash was definitely the check engine light. As a matter of fact, VSA was activating plenty of times this morning due to the slick roads. I'll definitely run an OBD scan though. But as I recall, the TL saves all codes that come up. When the TL went through that snow slush, my mind flashed back to the days I rolled around in my GSR with CAI and was always afraid to go through any puddles. My initial thought was that I sucked in some water.
BTW, my business office is located on a hill and I couldn't make it up. Had to reverse all the way back down. Time for some winter prepping
Yup, it will store your engine codes in Messages. However, if your check engine light flashed and went away, Messages won't show anything. I used to have issue with engine computer throwing random misfire CEL. CEL would flash when I floored the car and than it would disappear right away. At this point codes got stored in memory so I could read them through OBD scanner. However, they did not show up in Messages on the screen. When I floored it for the second time without clearing codes from memory then CEL would stay on and it would get stored in Messages. At this point you can lookup your CEL codes in Messages. Now, when you erase codes with OBD scanner you wont see them anymore when scanning with OBD tool. However, they will still be stored in Messages. You can remove it from messages having advanced scanner or ask your dealership to do it or reset your xm module by going into hidden menu.
I hope it didn't sound too confusing. I find storing codes in Messages module as a great feature for those who are looking into buying 3G TL with Nav. Not too many people know about that feature and it will allow you to lookup previous CELs unless they were cleared by the dealership. When I bought mine I found that the previous owner had issues with TPMS's since it was stored in Messages and was never cleared.
I've experienced the VSA kick in many times over the last 3 years of owning the car. The light on the dash was definitely the check engine light. As a matter of fact, VSA was activating plenty of times this morning due to the slick roads. I'll definitely run an OBD scan though. But as I recall, the TL saves all codes that come up. When the TL went through that snow slush, my mind flashed back to the days I rolled around in my GSR with CAI and was always afraid to go through any puddles. My initial thought was that I sucked in some water.
BTW, my business office is located on a hill and I couldn't make it up. Had to reverse all the way back down. Time for some winter prepping
Ok that make things more puzzling. I asked about the VSA because I couldn't tell how familiar you were with the TL. If you are running a stock intake intake and all you fender liners are in place you will be fine. I hope you figure out what's going on! The cold will make quick work of weak batteries. t!
You should've run a Comptech ICE BOX on your GSR lol
I would wonder if the serpentine belt got wet and was slipping and since your battery is weak the voltage got too low which in our cars causes them to do weird things. My guess.
I would wonder if the serpentine belt got wet and was slipping and since your battery is weak the voltage got too low which in our cars causes them to do weird things. My guess.
I was thinking something like that. Not sure with the TL, but in my previous cars if the alternator lost connection all of the lights on the dash would light up like a christmas tree and the car may or may not turn off depending how long the belt slipped or came off etc.
I believe I may have figured out the problem. Yesterday as I got home and turned off the ignition, everything went dark. No over head light, no door light. I pressed the car key lock and nothing from the car. I put the keys back in and turn the ignition. Sure enough, no crank, no nothing. I pop the hood and wiggle the battery and battery terminals around a little. Turn ignition again and everything car turns on. The battery terminals were on tight. I know that the terminals can get rusted and cause this problem so I'm going to do some terminal cleaning with WD40 today.
What if rust isn't the problem. Can the terminals just go bad? What would be the fix? New battery terminals? How much would this cost?
^think about electrical current.
it's either on or off.
think about the flow. what do you have on your car that is impeding flow of current?
if battery connection is tight, look else where.
if rusted, remove rust.
if cable is broken, replace cables.
if battery isnt holding charge, replace battery
lol
