Sensors Gone Wild!

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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 07:45 AM
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Sensors Gone Wild!

About 2 mins afer pulling out of my driveway the alert came on that there was a problem with the electronic parking brake, and then boom every alert come on in sequence on the MID, ranging from the brake, to SHAWD, to Lane Keeping, to this, that and the other thing. It drove fine but no way I was taking that 25 miles on the highway. So I called the dealership, dropped off the car, and my wife picked me up in our MDX and we drove into work.

My service person, whose husband is the shop's lead mechanic, told me that he had seen another case and it was due to a wheel sensor. We shall see.

I did take the opportunity to log a complaint about rough shifts 1-2 and 2-3 and the sudden lunge as it drops through the gears when decelerating. Hopefully that will get me the updated ECU firmware. ;-)

I will update as I find out more.
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 07:47 AM
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I have seen this in the Problems/Fixes thread areawhere a wheel sensor did that .. Would definitely be a WTH??? moment!
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Stew4HD
I have seen this in the Problems/Fixes thread areawhere a wheel sensor did that .. Would definitely be a WTH??? moment!
More of a WTF moment lol
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 11:40 AM
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No loaner?
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 11:47 AM
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For me it was a bad fuel filler assembly that was taking the whole error system down. That was four weeks into ownership and I haven't had an issue since. Good luck.
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by 2012wagon
No loaner?
They offered but we didnt need one as my wife and I commute together anyway. :-)
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 12:20 PM
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^
Ah I c.
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 02:50 PM
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Dealership reports they cannot duplicate the problem and no codes were set, so I am leaving it there overnight so they can start it up cold tomorrow and see if that helps. Sheeee - it.
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Old Mar 10, 2015 | 04:39 PM
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Dealers can NEVER duplicate any problems, EVER. SIGH.
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Old Mar 11, 2015 | 09:40 AM
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Yikes! It will be interesting to see what caused this, if it can be found.

Originally Posted by 2012wagon
Dealers can NEVER duplicate any problems, EVER. SIGH.
So it seems to go, but I've had the exact opposite experience. *knocks on wood*
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Old Mar 11, 2015 | 10:35 AM
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I had the same problem 3 days after I leased the car. The dealer suggested it might be a voltage drop. He suggested that I wait and see if the problem disappeared. It did in a day. It came back last month. I was luckier as there were error codes. They reset everything but the same problem occurred as I drove out of the dealership. It remained there for about 5 days and they then noted an intermittent problem with one of the wheel speed sensors. I had to wait two weeks for that to be backordered. The problem has no repeated it self for the last two weeks. I took the car in on Saturday but the tech was sick. I am leaving the car with them this Saturday and they are going to replace the wheel sensor and do my transmission recall. In my case, this was a very intermittent problem and I feel lucky that they found (hopefully) the problem. The dealer advised me that they had run into this problem on another TLX. I will report back after the sensor is replaced. However, it was over two months between my first problem and the repetition of the problem so this could be a tough one to pin down. Good luck.
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Old Mar 11, 2015 | 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by smoore
I had the same problem 3 days after I leased the car. The dealer suggested it might be a voltage drop. He suggested that I wait and see if the problem disappeared. It did in a day. It came back last month. I was luckier as there were error codes. They reset everything but the same problem occurred as I drove out of the dealership. It remained there for about 5 days and they then noted an intermittent problem with one of the wheel speed sensors. I had to wait two weeks for that to be backordered. The problem has no repeated it self for the last two weeks. I took the car in on Saturday but the tech was sick. I am leaving the car with them this Saturday and they are going to replace the wheel sensor and do my transmission recall. In my case, this was a very intermittent problem and I feel lucky that they found (hopefully) the problem. The dealer advised me that they had run into this problem on another TLX. I will report back after the sensor is replaced. However, it was over two months between my first problem and the repetition of the problem so this could be a tough one to pin down. Good luck.
Thanks for this. Assuming what I am seeing is the same problem, am I correct in thinking that this does not impact the driveability of the car, other than being wicked annoying with all the drama of the alerts?
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Old Mar 11, 2015 | 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by 9SpeedTran
Thanks for this. Assuming what I am seeing is the same problem, am I correct in thinking that this does not impact the driveability of the car, other than being wicked annoying with all the drama of the alerts?
I think at one time I had 9 warning lights. When all of them were lit I do not think the ACC, LKAS or LDW worked. When the SHAWD warning was on it did not appear that the AWD was working based on my review of the MID. However, I never had a problem with braking (don't know if the ABS worked) or the power steering when those warning lights were on. In other words the car was perfectly fine to drive.
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Old Mar 12, 2015 | 08:12 AM
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So the my service person and her hubby (the head mechanic at the dealership) took the car out at lunch yesterday and of course, the problem did not occur. I picked it up last night, drove it home, and drove it to work today. No problem at all. Will keep you posted. I can only hope that this was due to random neutrino bombardment and will not occur again.
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Old Mar 12, 2015 | 08:31 AM
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Resolving intermittent problems is a technicians nightmare, and you have to pay special attention and try and remember what was happening before the problem started. Things like how long the car was in use, what speed and gear, temperature, condition of the road surface, going up or down a hill, what the audio and A/C active, were you in a grumpy or happy mood, etc. All boring and why the hell doesn't the car just work as expected feelings.
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Old Mar 13, 2015 | 08:09 PM
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So this is interesting. The last three times I have started the car, the alerts came on again, but when I put into reverse, the alerts halted. The last two times, after driving anywhere from 300 yards (1st time) or 50 feet (2nd time) I gently put on the brakes, and I hear a faint ratcheting sound from behind the dash that almost sounds like the ABS, but then it stops and does not repeat. There is another thread here that talks about something similar, so I will keep an eye on it and hopefully catch it in the act at the dealers.
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Old Mar 14, 2015 | 04:32 PM
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So this morning it did it again, about an eighth of a mile after I started it, boom, everything went on. I pulled over, turned the car off, and restarted it, and this time only the brake warnings went on. I flipped the MID and even that went off. I quickly realized that it was only driving in FWD mode, so I restarted it again, and this time the SHAWD was working. I called the dealership and said I was bringing it in after my son's appointment.

But after my son's orthodontist appt, I came out and started the car, and all the lights came on, and then went off, but the SHAWD was throwing all the torque to the rear wheels and it was slipping on the wet road. So I restarted it, which stopped that, and drove it straight to the dealership. This was at like 12pm.

They took it out at 2pm, and of course the fucker worked fine. HOWEVER, I am betting they did not set the parking brake, which I always do. So I told them to keep it over the weekend and to make sure to set the parking brake, and then drive it on Monday.

This time I did get a loaner although I doubt I will use it much. It's a nice TLX Tech I4, and I was impressed with the handling although the transmission is even less smooth than the V6. Of course I just drove it straight home and didn't push it, so I don't know how it would handle if I drove it in a "spirited" manner. ;-)
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Old Mar 14, 2015 | 06:28 PM
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Two thoughts...

- Low battery charge? I bought a nice CTEK battery charger since I have a short commute and I wanted to keep the battery topped up. Disclosure, I don't have a TLX, but if the bus voltage drops some electronics may function in unpredictable ways.

- If every time a sensor goes bad on this car it sends the car into a non-functional state, what will this mean when the car gets older and is out of warranty and a wheel speed sensor craps out the whole car. Kind of a scary proposition.
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Old Mar 14, 2015 | 09:20 PM
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Agree that a low battery charge could be the culprit. When my battery failed with not enough charge to start the engine it was Christmas tree time. If not that, then there is some wiring loom or harness with an intermittent connection.
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Old Mar 14, 2015 | 10:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Rocket_man
Two thoughts...

- Low battery charge? I bought a nice CTEK battery charger since I have a short commute and I wanted to keep the battery topped up. Disclosure, I don't have a TLX, but if the bus voltage drops some electronics may function in unpredictable ways.

- If every time a sensor goes bad on this car it sends the car into a non-functional state, what will this mean when the car gets older and is out of warranty and a wheel speed sensor craps out the whole car. Kind of a scary proposition.
I got the platinum extended warranty. Just in case.
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Old Mar 15, 2015 | 07:42 AM
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Rocket_man.....I have a CTEK battery tender as well too and it is an amazing little gizmo, especially for a guy who doesn't drive his vehicle much in the winter.
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Old Mar 15, 2015 | 09:25 AM
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This is the very same type of behaviour I encountered. The third day I had the car I got all the warnings. This continued for a day and then no problem for 3 months. I then went through a week of problems. I was told that the wheel speed sensor needed replacement and one was ordered. No problems after that. The sensor was replaced yesterday and I had the transmission recall service done. I am hoping I have no further problems but I got lucky. The warning lights went on when my car was in for service.
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Old Mar 15, 2015 | 11:11 AM
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Thanks man. I am hoping we can pin this down. I work in IT and I am used to this sort of "ghost hunting" and assured the service guys I understand how difficult it is to catch a poltergeist. ;-)
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Old Mar 16, 2015 | 01:44 PM
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HAH! They got it, caught it red-handed, it was the right-hand rear wheel speed sensor. In two days I should have the car back and driving beautifully. When it isn't spazzing out, it is a wonderful vehicle! :-)
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Old Mar 16, 2015 | 01:56 PM
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Originally Posted by 9SpeedTran
HAH! They got it, caught it red-handed, it was the right-hand rear wheel speed sensor. In two days I should have the car back and driving beautifully. When it isn't spazzing out, it is a wonderful vehicle! :-)
Great news. Now you can really enjoy the car.
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Old Mar 18, 2015 | 02:13 AM
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Originally Posted by 9SpeedTran
HAH! They got it, caught it red-handed, it was the right-hand rear wheel speed sensor. In two days I should have the car back and driving beautifully. When it isn't spazzing out, it is a wonderful vehicle! :-)
Are these wheel speed sensors part of the SH-AWD equipment? Or are they part of the ABS? Just wondering if this particular failure mode is only on the SH-AWD.
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Old Mar 18, 2015 | 02:19 AM
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Originally Posted by weather
Rocket_man.....I have a CTEK battery tender as well too and it is an amazing little gizmo, especially for a guy who doesn't drive his vehicle much in the winter.
I have the CTEK Multi US 4.3. My car was turning over 'slowly' and the battery was about 3 years old (Autozone replacement). I did the full reconditioning and charging and it starts like new. My wife's Mini with the start-stop uses an AGM battery and it topped that up too. Wish I had one of these years ago. Highly recommended. I looked into these after I read an earlier post, glad I bought one.
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Old Mar 18, 2015 | 03:31 PM
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^^ Was it one of my posts? I have been talking quite favorably about this unit and swear by it as well. If not, whoever post it thinks like me too and glad you are an owner as well.
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Old Mar 20, 2015 | 03:45 AM
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Originally Posted by weather
^^ Was it one of my posts? I have been talking quite favorably about this unit and swear by it as well. If not, whoever post it thinks like me too and glad you are an owner as well.
I think so. There some some discussion on rechargers and brands... CTEK and one other. I did a little research and liked the CTEK and found a good deal on Amazon on a bundle on this charger. So I got it.
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Old Mar 20, 2015 | 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Rocket_man
Are these wheel speed sensors part of the SH-AWD equipment? Or are they part of the ABS? Just wondering if this particular failure mode is only on the SH-AWD.
I don't know. I think it serves multiple functions, but I know it has a major impact on SH-AWD. But it is fixed now -- paperwork identified a short in the sensor -- and the car seems to be back to working beautifully.
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