When the service traction control light comes on, a glitch can be resolved by restarting the vehicle. It can be a significant problem requiring immediate attention from your professional mechanic.
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The service traction control system works very closely with your anti-lock brake system to maintain your vehicle's stability, especially on adverse weather conditions like icy or slippery roads.
At some point in time, the traction control system might face some issues which trigger the service traction control light to illuminate.
If that's the case, you need to take immediate action and have the vehicle inspected by a professional mechanic and resolve any safety issues when driving, especially on slippery roads.
This article explains the purpose and function of your service traction control system, the symptoms of a bad control system, the causes of control system damages, and what you can do to resolve the service traction control light.
What is the service traction control system, and what is it doing?
The service traction control system is responsible for aiding your vehicle whenever you drive in a slippery condition. For example, if one of your vehicle's wheels lost traction what the road, this triggers the service traction control system to go on the action and help your car not to slip or skid.
The service traction control system works in several ways, including:
- Control the fuel, throttle, spark, or Turbo boost traducer vehicles engine power
- Assist the wheels that have traction with their old by providing them with extra power
- Apply extra brakes to some of your wheels that don't have traction
This system's general purpose is to work with other car components to ensure full stability for your vehicle.
The system works closely with the antilock brake system and your vehicle's internal computer to make sure it's monitoring any signs of slips or skidding in your vehicle's wheels. This way, the system can go into action immediately after realizing any sleeping condition.
What can cause the service traction control light to come on?
There are several reasons that could trigger the service traction control light. In general, this light indicates something wrong with one of the traction control system's internal components.
For example, here are some of the common causes for the service traction control lights illuminate:
- If you are driving in a very slippery condition and the service traction control system is working hard to maintain proper vehicle stability, the check engine light might illuminate if the condition goes very bad where the service traction control system is not able to handle
- Immediately after you start your vehicle, you'll see that all check warning lights are illuminating simultaneously, indicating that they are working properly. If that's the case, you don't have a problem with the service traction control system; Is your vehicle is trying to communicate with you and tell you that it is working properly.
While these are the common causes for triggering the service traction control light, some damages are not pleasing, which could cause the check light to illuminate. If that's the case, you need to have the system inspected and fixed by a professional mechanic immediately.
What are the signs of a bad traction control module?
The great thing about vehicles is that they tell you when some components might go bad before they even do.
Your vehicles traction control module will also tell you by showing you some symptoms indicating that it's going bad soon:
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The traction control light will illuminate
The first and clearest sign of a bad traction control module Is to see the traction control system warning indicator lights on the dashboard.
This light might indicate minor problems, but at the same time, it can indicate significant troubles in your vehicle. Thus, the best option for you here is to reach out to a professional mechanic and resolve the problem immediately.
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Your traction control system switch will not work
Some vehicles are equipped with the traction control system switch to turn the system on and off when necessary. Sometimes you might need extra acceleration and less traction to the rolls if you're stuck and would like to move the vehicle faster; the switch comes in very handy.
A common symptom of a bad control system is when the switch does not turn on and off. You try to turn it off, but it stays on all the time.
Keep in mind that the switch can also go bad not only because of a bad traction control system but also because of any other potential problem. Thus, a good confirmation would come from your professional mechanic.
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Your vehicle will lose the traction control features
If the traction control system goes bad, the first thing you will notice is that your vehicle is not performing properly in adverse weather conditions. For example, it might slip easily on icy roads, and you will find it hard to break and maintain the vehicle's grip on the road.
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Your car might lose the antilock braking system features
Since the traction control system works closely with the lock braking system, any problem with the traction control system might affect the lock brake system.
Else, it is not very rare to deal with losing braking, especially when the traction control system has major damages. Thus, it is very important to take care of the problem immediately, especially if you notice that you need to put additional pressure on your brake pedal to get it to stop.
Can you drive with the traction control light on?
When your vehicle's traction control light comes on, it will not prevent you from driving your vehicle. However, it is not recommended, especially if you're driving on icy or slippery roads.
When you see the traction control light on, one thing to do is find a safe place all over and restart your vehicle. Sometimes a small glitch in the system might cause the traction control light to eliminate.
However, if after restarting your vehicle, the traction control light still illuminates, it might indicate that there is a real problem with the system, and you need to have it inspected by a professional mechanic immediately.
While waiting to get this vehicle repaired, it is recommended that you drive with care and caution and prevent driving on slippery roads, especially when exploiting.
How much does it cost to fix the traction control system?
Fixing the traction control system is not very expensive and is not very complicated. It usually costs between $82 and $94. If you want to break the price by parts and labor, expect to pay about $43 on parts and $39 to $51 for labor.
Depending on the location where you get the job done, labor costs can differ significantly. Some people decide to fix their attraction control system by themselves to eliminate the labor cost component.
What causes the service traction control system to go bad?
There are plenty of reasons that can cause troubles to your service traction control system, including:
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Issues with the control switch
If your vehicle is equipped with a control switch, it can simply keep your vehicle's service traction control system off all the time if that switch goes bad. Thus, a good and easy fix would be to replace the switch.
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Problems with the sensors
Your vehicle's traction control system depends heavily on a set of sensors that transferred information about your wheels. This information includes whether it's time to trigger the traction control system or not.
If any of these sensors do not work properly, the traction control system will not receive the right information at the right time. Thus, you will not be able to use any of the traction control system features at all, even if you're driving on the most slippery road.
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A faulty TCM computer
Like the problems with sensors, your vehicle's traction control system relies on that TCM computer to translate the information and provide the signal to go into action.
If the computer is not working properly, how will the traction control system work?
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Bad ABS
As we mentioned earlier, the service traction control system works very closely with the antilock braking system. Sometimes, if the braking system does not have the right sensors or anything goes wrong with the rigging system, this might affect the traction control system.
How do I get rid of the service traction control light?
The first step in fixing or getting rid of the service traction control light is diagnosing the problem and having a professional mechanic look at this vehicle before any repairs.
Your mechanic will be the best person to determine which parts need to be replaced and, therefore, eliminate the traction control light.
It is also recommended for your professional mechanic to look at other components connected to the traction control system because sometimes those components might be triggering the traction control lights.
For example, the ABS or until lock braking system might be the culprit.
In other situations, the engine Power delivery components' problems might also affect the service traction control system. Also, any issue with the CV joints or the transmission shifting or probably the drive shafts might affect your vehicle's overall performance, whether it's the traction control light or not.
Is it worth fixing the traction control system?
While we've indicated replacing the traction control systems switch is not very costly, and if you do it yourself, it won't take you a lot of time, you still need to evaluate the situation.
For example, if you know that your vehicle has major problems in the engine or the transmission, it might not be even worth the time you spent fixing the traction control system check light, right?
Another thing to consider is whether your vehicle needs tire replacement soon or alignment probably? All that costs need to be put together as a total and then compared to your vehicle's overall value.
If you've noticed that repair costs are getting close to 75% or more from your vehicle's value, it's not worth fixing it.
Another thing to consider is the number of miles you have on your vehicle. If the vehicle has a lot of mileage, major problems are expected to happen very soon, and therefore, it's better not to waste time trying to get the traction control system to work.
Instead, you better get rid of this vehicle and use its payment towards a better used or new vehicle.
Service traction control lights: the bottom line
The service traction control light comes on whenever there is a problem with the service traction control system. This system is responsible for ensuring that your vehicle is stable, especially on adverse weather conditions like slippery roads or icy driveways.
From a safety standpoint, it's never recommended to drive a vehicle with a faulty service traction control module and better get the vehicle inspected and fixed by a professional mechanic.
However, if your vehicle has other major problems and repair costs get close to 75% or more from your vehicle's value, your best option would be to sell this car and use its payment towards a better vehicle.
Luckily, Cash Cars Buyer is one of the fewest companies that accept vehicles even if they have major problems. We guarantee to buy your car no matter what!
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