Wheel Speed Sendor Code. can't fix it

code reader confirmed by my muffler shop and Toyota dealership says to Replace defective right wheel speed sensor. It was damaged so we replaced.

We replaced it with an aftermarket sensor for a fraction of the cost of an oem and for about a week the warning lights went off ...

now they're all back on....

So then I took it to the Toyota dealer and they used a camera to scope the actual sensor port and said that the wheel bearing had debris which was affecting the sensor and recommend replace wheel bearing.

I purchased the OEM wheel bearing and new gaskets online and had my muffler shop install it.

Still the code reads replace sensor!

At this point I went ahead and ordered an OEM wheel speed sensor for two hundred bucks thinking that perhaps the aftermarket one is defective even though it's a plastic part with two wires running through it..


Assuming that the other sensor wasn't defective what would be the next step if the code still stays on even with the new OEM sensor installed?

I'm thinking maybe it's the ABS computer itself?

 

Don't throw money at the problem unless you find a faulty part. Wheel speed sensors are one of the simplest most basic sensors used. All it needs is atone wheel (the part on the hub with the bumps) that isn't broken and the proper gap between the end of the sensor and the tone wheel. If the aftermarket sensor is the same length as the original sensor so it goes just as deep into the hole then chances are it's fine.

I would test that the sensor is working. Not many tools are needed, mainly a digital volt meter. There's plenty of you tube videos on how to do it. The ABS computer isn't saying the sensor is bad, it's saying that it's not receiving the signal (voltage). On my 2000 tundra a stick had broken the wire that plugged into to the wheel speed sensor and exposed one of the wires. It also got one of the wires going to the washer pump. Over time it corroded and finally broke.

 

Yes part of the code reads low voltage wheel sensor... Perhaps there's a broken wire somewhere? We did replace the wire harness with a Toyota OEM harness so we know it's not that area...

Well we did order the new part anyways maybe they're not identical size? Perhaps they're off by just a little bit??

thx

 

I've never tried it but the TechStream software should be able to read the live data from the ABS computer.

 

I’d bet you’ll find iron filings on the magnetic end of that sensor from the original wheel bearing failure unless they were smart enough to pull the sensor out and clean it completely when they replaced the wheel bearing. I wouldn’t expect that at a muffler shop, but I was wrong once before.

 

Be sure that the teeth on the gear the nagnempicks up is clean with no debris.my 2000 tundra showed a wheel speed sensor code after I had a friend change my wheel bearing.He had gotten grease in the teeth of the gear and the sensor couldn't pick it up. I used a tooth brush and air pressure to clean it out.niw it works perfect.Just look down the hole we're the wheel speed sensor goes and turn the assembly,You can see if it is contaminated.

 

So today we installed a genuine Toyota OEM wheel speed sensor.... and it worked. No ABS light and traction control lights everything is off.

Who knows it could have been a faulty aftermarket sensor that worked for a few days but may have gotten fouled..

So between replacing the wheel bearing and a new Toyota sensor it may have done the trick..

I forgot to mention that we tried to install a genuine Toyota sensor once before but it snapped on the way in and it was two hundred bucks out the door!!

So rather than just buying another one for two hundred bucks ....we also thought of the wheel bearing.. it had debris inside.... maybe the aftermarket sensor was just fine... but it still didn't work until we put the OEM sensor in..

And the guys at the muffler shop. used compressed air to really clean out all the port.. even though a new bearing had been installed a few days prior...