Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippery conditions and VSC on/off blinking

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ghouri27
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Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippery conditions and VSC on/off blinking

Post by ghouri27 »

I have a problem in my pontiac vibe 2009. The following llights are permanentally on (solid) since one month ABS, Hand Brake and slippery conditions and VSC On/Off light is blinking.Does anybody has the same problem in vibe, 09., if so please guide me what to do with this problem.
star_deceiver
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippery conditions and ... (ghouri27)

Post by star_deceiver »

You've got a bad ABS sensor most likely. The brake boosters may also have a problem. A code reader should tell you which.
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XRVibe10
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippery conditions and ... (ghouri27)

Post by XRVibe10 »

I agree with star_deceiver - The Vibes I have seen @ my work (2009-2010) the problem lies in the rear - water intrusion gets in the wheel speed sensor connector @ the wheel hub and corrodes - we usually end up putting in a Hub & WSS harness - a bit of a pain to do espically if rust/corossion has set in the hub will be hard to remove - Hubs are covered under powertrain warranty & i believe the harnesses are to - so if your still within the mileage/time from take it in to the dealre to get fixed
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musicmanmu
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Post by musicmanmu »

I know much has already been said, but thought I'd add to the fray. Just this morning, my check engine light came on, along with the VSC light, and the VSC indicator flashing. Never saw that before, so I freaked out, pulled over and called my dealership. They told me it's probably an ABS sensor?I know little to nothing about cars, so I have to take him at his word. So, is this accurate? I can't take the car in until Friday, and I have an hour drive to and from work. Just want to make sure it's safe to drive until then.
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star_deceiver
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Re: (musicmanmu)

Post by star_deceiver »

The car will be fine, you just won't have abs or stability control.
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musicmanmu
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Re: (star_deceiver)

Post by musicmanmu »

Thanks very much man!
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twistedwaffle
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by twistedwaffle »

Any chance you found the solution to your problem? It seems many people have a similar issue, except their brake light is on. In my case, I just started my car today after work, and all of these lights were on. I do have to go into the GM dealership to get the latest recall done, I'm just worried about having to pay to get it fixed.

Thanks
twistedwaffle
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by twistedwaffle »

Apparently it fixed itself. My brother a mechanic started it, put it in reverse and all of the lights turned off. A friend of his said sometimes in wet weather one wheel may shift a different way than the others and cause the ABS lights to come on. He said typically going down a dirt/bumpy road and shift your steering left and right will realign it.
GMRedline
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by GMRedline »

I am having the same symptoms on my 2009 Vibe but my lights will stay on for a few days and then shut off for a few days. I am going to take my car to the dealership and will update this thread with the results.
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twistedwaffle
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by twistedwaffle »

GMRedline wrote:I am having the same symptoms on my 2009 Vibe but my lights will stay on for a few days and then shut off for a few days. I am going to take my car to the dealership and will update this thread with the results.
My lights have also come back on, I called the GM dealership, and the mechanic said that's typically a speed sensor on one of the tires. But I've booked an appointment to take it in. I'm afraid that it isn't covered by the powertrain warranty because I don't feel like spending money on something that quite a few people have an issue with. But keep me posted on what they've found.
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by twistedwaffle »

Figured I'd give an update, I booked an appointment with the GM dealership because it needed the recall (Power Window Master Switch Failure) done anyway, so I informed them of the lights that were lit, and the mechanic knew before I even finished saying them all what the problem likely was. I did ask prior if it was covered by my power-train warranty, but he couldn't say for sure, but did say I would have to pay for a 1-hour service fee if it wasn't.

So they called me the next day and said that the Rear-Right Hub needed replaced, as well as the wiring harness connecting the hub to the computer, because it was very badly rusted and corroded. The hub itself was covered by warranty, but the wiring harness was not. So I had to pay $78.61 for the part, and $105 labor, for a total of $183.61 + tax. I know that I could have gotten the harness online for much cheaper, but I have limited knowledge of cars, so I figured I'd save myself the hassle and let them do it.

Hopefully that helps people in the future when trying to diagnose this problem.

Part # for RR Hub - 19184266
Part # for harness - 19184317
blackrayne
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by blackrayne »

My car started doing this exact thing this morning (VSC light blinking, ABS, Traction Control and brake lights all steady)... I will hope for the best until I have a day off where I can get it to the garage to be looked at while I wait. I can definitely tell the traction control isn't working properly (sucks this time of year too with snow on the roads), so just gotta be careful until it's fixed.

So glad I decided to hop back on here and search, I knew someone would have the answer for me. :)
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leaster1939
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by leaster1939 »

Having similar problems with my 2009. VSC light flashes and skid icon is on. Turned VSC off and it ran ok for a few miles then the transmission disengages momentarially, especially when trying to shift. barely got it home. Codes indicate numerous problems communicating with drive train but nothing specific. I have pulled front wheels and checked for connection and broken wires on speed sensors. Will check rear wheels today.
Meddyman
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by Meddyman »

So this morning I register for this site and report all is well with my 09 vibe. Then I go out to zip down to the store and the VSC light is blinking, ABS, Traction Control and brake lights all steady. I phoned my dealer and for the low, low price of $90.00 plus tax they will read the codes to determine the problem. :roll: Then I got to thinking............this car is coming 6 years on the road. (I got it in April 08) and the factory battery is probably getting pretty tired. It seemed to start ok but on that hunch I swapped it out with the one from our little truck. BINGO...no more indicator lights. :D All systems working normally. I have seen lots of other posts about this issue but nobody made mention of a tired battery. Hope this helps somebody out there. :)
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Rayven01
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by Rayven01 »

Swapping the battery reset the code (unhooked battery for a few minutes = code reset), but likely didn't fix the problem. The code comes up when a problem is detected and then goes away after a set amount of time with no further problems OR when you reset it. If it's like mine, it will come back randomly.

In my case I'm almost positive it's the rear speed sensor plugs corroding since I can fairly reliably get it to happen by hosing down the rear wheels. Within a day of washing the car it lights up, then a day or so later it goes out. I forgot to inspect/clean them when I rotated the tires a month or so ago so I'll live with it for another five months until I next jack it up.
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jake75
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by jake75 »

Thanks google - now I know vsc = vehicle skid control. And the vsc light will come on anytime the check engine light comes on.
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Th17kit
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by Th17kit »

Thanks for this post! I just had this problem with my '09 after I drove 2 hours through the mountains during the recent blizzard. The traction control came on a lot of times (I like living on the edge) so maybe that drained the battery a bit... The ABS, VSC and stability control were all very non-functional on the next start up. I will try charging the battery and see if that takes care of it.

Edit: I charged the battery and unhooked it for awhile, no change. Unlike some others I don't have the check engine light on, just the ABS< VSC< traction control and BRAKE lights. I'll leave the battery unhooked overnight and see if that helps. It's too bad the ABS doesn't work cause I will be driving in some serious winter conditions starting tomorrow night!

Edit 2* Upon further research it seems that some people had damaged/corroded wheel speed sensors. I went and washed the heck out of the wheel wells and undercarriage. This fixed the problem for now. I've had about a month and a couple thousand miles in wintery mountain weather since then.
Last edited by Th17kit on Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Meddyman
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippe

Post by Meddyman »

[quote="Rayven01"]Swapping the battery reset the code (unhooked battery for a few minutes = code reset), but likely didn't fix the problem. The code comes up when a problem is detected and then goes away after a set amount of time with no further problems OR when you reset it. If it's like mine, it will come back randomly.

I am happy to say that after installing a new battery I have not had another instance of this issue. Since that time our weather has been all over the board, warm enough so that packed snow on the roads melted, more snow, nasty cold (-30). If it does re-occur I will have the codes read and go from there but for now I'm thinkin I lucked out. Time will tell.
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Re: Pontiac vibe 2009, lights for ABS, hand brake and slippery conditions and VSC on/off blinking

Post by JohnnieMo »

Thanks for all the posts here. We just had a big dump of snow and my car started showing the three lamps(brake, TCS and ABS) as well as pulsing the VSC lamp.

I took out my trusty bluetooth code reader and it couldn't pick up anything. But that's usually how this thing operates. It might be time to buy a good one.

Either way, it looks like a wheel hub / harness issue. Given the sloppy weather I'm inclined to believe that. Is there any way to determine which side is the problem short of a better code reader?

For the record the rear brakes sound terrible. I replaced them about a rear ago but they often sound like they are grinding. Upon inspection they always look fine.
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