Hey guys.

I just had my mechanic fix my driver side cv axle and both my wheel bearings. As soon as I crank it up the amber ABS light comes on and doesn't go away.

Any idea what this might be? I have to drive about 300 miles tomorrow and don't want to drive it if it's something that could be dangerous.

 

Chances are they broke your sensor or could not remove them from the hub without them breaking, happened on mine....or worse case scenario they installed the bearing the wrong way, magnetic side away from the sensor....

No ABS for a year was a throwback to my first car. You'll have to drive carefully and if you have to slam on your breaks you will skid. I actually enjoyed it my time without it.

You'll need both sensors to be replaced though you an go to an autozone and have them isolate the side for you.

 

Kristinb737, any update on this? Was it the sensor, a backwards bearing, or something else? After replacing front wheel bearings, my ABS and VSC lights are on. Code pulls left wheel speed sensor. Taking it back to the shop tomorrow for them to troubleshoot. Mechanic says he confirmed the bearing isn't backward...but I don't see how he could if the bearing was pressed in and the circlip was installed. I think they just messed up and won't admit it.

 

Hey jmarsh,

I took it in to get it checked and they couldn't fix it. I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with it probably just broke the sensor. I know if I take it in to get it fixed its gonna be 500+ so I'm just gonna deal with it. Lol.

Best of luck in finding out what's wrong with yours. They probably just broke the sensor.

 

So the shop pulled the bearing and replaced it with another new one. Bearing looked fine and the shop said it was installed with the correct side facing the abs sensor. New bearing didn't throw a code and abs and vsc lights went away. Shop said it could have been a faulty part or a hairline crack when they pressed it in.

 

I took my 2007 to the Honda dealer for the recall for the bad half-shafts. The dealer inspected and told me they would call when the replacement parts were available. I found that they were in stock and went in to have them replaced. I drove in with no lights on my dashboard that would have indicated any problem but after the half shafts were replaced, the ABS light came on. I'm arguing with Honda that the replacement caused damage to the ABS sensor (which I have had another mechanic determine is now bad) and that the cost of replacing it should be part of the recall and covered by Honda. So far, they are trying to tell me that the damage was not caused by the replacement but I know that the light wasn't on when I left the car for them to work on. The ABS sensor isn't cheap and I hope not to have to get legal help.

I can only suggest that you discuss this with your Honda shop before letting them damage your machine while doing the fix required by the recall.

 

The ABS sensors are fragile little POS's that are hard to get out without breaking. I agree if the ABS light was the result of the recall, they should cover it.

 

I agree that the dealer should fix it.

But, on Rock Auto, you can find ABS sensors for the front from 40 $ to 295 $... At least, you can have a cheaper alternative.

 

The real Honda OEM part is > $200. Since they screwed it up. I'd rather have the dealer install the real thing over some Rockauto chinese junk. Don't get me wrong, I buy parts from rockauto too but the bottom of the barrel stuff, like a $40 ABS sensor is garbage. It's fine if you're planning on selling the car before too long but not if it's a keeper.

 

I am paying $175 for one and that I will ask Honda to refund that, along with the cost of installing it.

 

Yeah...if I was Honda I'd tell you to pound sand. This is the least likely way to get money out of them. There's not much you can do if they say no.The amount of money is so small though, It's not worth lawyering up. From a time perspective, it might not be worth fighting.

On the other hand, them screwing up a warranty repair, I suspect you could escalate that to Honda if they refuse to help.
Your experience is a teaching moment though. That people should take pictures of their car and dashboard before they take their car in for repair so they have proof it wasn't bad before they hand it over. You don't seem to have any actual proof they screwed this up.

 

You may be right; I'll let you know. The dealership had been very unfriendly and the mistake I made was taking the car there in the first place.

 

MK,
I guess that quite possibly the only benefit from raising the issue with Honda is that it might encourage them to have their mechanics document any issues before beginning work. Certainly in a case like this where apparently it turns out to be a not uncommon accident in the repair work. By documenting, I believe your suggestion of photo, a time stamped photo, or maybe reporting to the manager before the work begins.

 

MK,

When it became obvious that the Fit's info system wasn't giving a correct problem (that was after two new sensors didn't fix the ABS light) I had written Honda and they had opened a case. The shop that had done the recall work was concerned and got me in quickly. They too found that, regardless of what the cars info system was telling them, the sensor wasn't the problem. As has been mentioned on this board, the wheel bearing had somehow been damaged during the installation of the new axle and, once they had found that, a new wheel bearing fixed the problem. The Honda service dept. was sorry for the problem and made the car right..... with no pounded sand! I hope that Honda will address the costs suffered by the local shop but if they don't, I'll make it right for them.

 

Just something to keep in mind for the future, which this is a perfect example of, is that codes NEVER mean replace a part. That's something lazy people and dealerships push because it's easier than actually troubleshooting. Codes tell you where to look in the manual for the trouble-shooting procedure. You follow the procedure and the results of the testing will suggest what parts to replace.

It's good that Honda hooked you up. People screw up wheel bearing installs fairly frequently.

 

You don't have much of a case. Anytime you pull the cv axle your gonna damage the speed sensor. Order new speed sensor and bearing and a new hub. And a new snap ring. All at the same time. Chances are your ABS sensor was already shot before the mechanic worked on it.

 

This isn't the case. Every time you pull the sensor you'll damage it but not every time you pull the axle. Not if you're careful. Pulling the axle doesn't require a new hub or bearing either. I'd replace the bearing of you pull the hub but the axle will slip right out of the hub normally with no damage.

 

He has a bad speed sensor becaues some mechanic broke the wire.