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So I got a flat a few days ago. I put on the spare to drive to my mechanic which immediately turned on Check VSA System, Check SH-AWD System, and Check TPMS lights; this was understandable since the spare doesn't have TPMS. My mechanic replaced both my rear tires. But now, I still get Check VSA System alert after driving it for about 0.1 miles and getting a light rubbing noise from my back wheels, and Check SH-AWD System after taking it on interstate and driving it for 10-12 miles. I am a new car owner, so I am understandably very concerned with these. Is there a way to fix these issues? I disconnected the ground wire in battery to try to reset the codes, but that didn't work.
First things first, if you or your mechanic have a scanner, scan for codes. That will narrow down issues. There's a small possibility that there's codes stored and need to be actually cleared from the system, and sometimes just unhooking the battery won't fully clear them. I'd tell you to check that first.
Secondly, what's the tread depth difference between the front and rear tires? There's another possibility that the depth difference is showing a speed difference between the front and rear and it's something the computer sees wrong. Although it's rare, tread depth differences that are large can mess with the system. A lot of places and people will tell you that on an AWD vehicle, you need to replace all 4 tires at once, and that there should only be a maximum of 3/32 difference between all tires.
One last thing to check as this randomly happened to me after purchasing mine, is if your mechanic does have a scanner, go into the area that shows the steering angle sensor. If, when the steering wheel is straight, it shows anything greater than zero degrees +/- a degree or two, recalibrate the sensor. This sensor will cause VSA and AWD lights to come on as well. (Mine, when the steering wheel was straight, was showing -14 degrees, so the computer always thought I was basically turning when I was going straight)
Looks like you were absolutely right. I got a nice OBD2 scanner for $100 that has Acura OEM Enhanced DTC library along with Acura specific ABS and SRS DTC library. Ran diagnostics on my car and found this --
Unfortunately it requires what's called a bidirectional scanner to be able to reset the calibration on that sensor though.
The scanner you have is, while good to help narrow things down and by no means a waste of money, is only used to receive what the car is coding for, and then clear them.
What you might be able to do, depending on your area, is take it to a local shop, where most of them have Snap-on scanners that can reset the calibration. I'm sure if you don't put up much fuss, kindly ask them to simply recalibrate it for you as it takes about 2 minutes including actually getting to the area that allows them to do it. You might be able to get in and out for a quick half hour charge or even free depending on how cool the people are.
If the code reappears after a while though, you'll need to replace the sensor. I've personally been pretty lucky myself in that I recalibrated mine over a year ago and it hasn't come back on.
So my mechanic was giving me a hard time. Apparently they don't want to just recalibrate my Steering Angle Sensor, they told me they need to run complete scan, and replace all the VSA System sensors just to be sure, etc. They even made fun of me for trying to fix a problem just by looking at a DTC. So I mildly excused myself, returned my previous scanner, got a new bidirectional scanner, recalibrated the sensor myself, and the problem is all fixed. Have test driven 30 miles with quite a lot of turns, VSA light hasn't come back on again.
Awesome man, really glad to hear you were able to square it away on your own! I have a feeling the recalibration will keep, but there's always that random time where it doesn't.
And just a future thought for you, I would suggest finding a different mechanic for things you may not be able to take on yourself. Just from your brief description of how they treated you with this, they're clearly 100% in it for the money and not for the customers.
06-22-2018, 03:35 AM
Check VSA System light after replacing flat
