Dealer replaced bearings and turned on my ABS light !!!

[me]

I took my 4-year-old Forester XT to a Subaru dealer on
Wednesday to have the bearings for the right rear wheel
replaced under warranty (because of excessive noises).
When I called on Thursday afternoon a service manager
said that the bearings had already been replaced but the
mechanic was still checking on the ABS. He told me that
it's a standard practice to do this. I wanted to tell him to
leave it alone because the ABS light had never come on
but decided not to say this because I thought it wouldn't
be a nice thing to say.

Then the service manager called me back and said that
the ABS sensor was bad and must be replaced. He said
that it would take several days to get a new one for me
but I could keep driving the car until then.

I went to pick up the car on Friday and noticed that the
ABS light was on even before I started driving. I asked
the service manager about this and he said that it won't
go off until I get the sensor replaced.

This light is so bright that I find it distracting even during
the day while I'm looking at the road in front of me.

Since my 3-year warranty has expired and this sensor
is not covered by the 5-year powertrain warranty I can't
help but wonder what the mechanic could have done to
cause this light to come on.

So if anybody happens to know about ABS sensors
please tell me what you think could have happened.

1. The sensor is located close to the bearings and got
damaged during the replacement of the bearings.

2. The sensor got damaged during its inspection.

3. The sensor was already bad before I took my car
to the dealer but the ABS light had failed to come on
so the mechanic just turned it on for me.

BTW, my car has about 28,000 (mostly freeway) miles.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I took my 4-year-old Forester XT to a Subaru dealer on
Wednesday to have the bearings for the right rear wheel
replaced under warranty (because of excessive noises).
When I called on Thursday afternoon a service manager
said that the bearings had already been replaced but the
mechanic was still checking on the ABS. He told me that
it's a standard practice to do this. I wanted to tell him to
leave it alone because the ABS light had never come on
but decided not to say this because I thought it wouldn't
be a nice thing to say.

Then the service manager called me back and said that
the ABS sensor was bad and must be replaced. He said
that it would take several days to get a new one for me
but I could keep driving the car until then.

I went to pick up the car on Friday and noticed that the
ABS light was on even before I started driving. I asked
the service manager about this and he said that it won't
go off until I get the sensor replaced.

This light is so bright that I find it distracting even during
the day while I'm looking at the road in front of me.

Since my 3-year warranty has expired and this sensor
is not covered by the 5-year powertrain warranty I can't
help but wonder what the mechanic could have done to
cause this light to come on.

So if anybody happens to know about ABS sensors
please tell me what you think could have happened.

1. The sensor is located close to the bearings and got
damaged during the replacement of the bearings.

2. The sensor got damaged during its inspection.

3. The sensor was already bad before I took my car
to the dealer but the ABS light had failed to come on
so the mechanic just turned it on for me.

BTW, my car has about 28,000 (mostly freeway) miles.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

I vote for number 1 .

Carl

 

[Asbjørn]

I vote for number 1 .

Carl

I agree, either the mechanic broke the sensor when changing the bearing,
or the sensor may have been going by itself, may be aided by the bad
bearing,
but the work on the bearing helped it over the edge.
Hard to prove though, especially not having the parts.
I had an almost simular experience (Corolla) but inside the warranty.

Asbjørn

 

[Blair Baucom]

I took my 4-year-old Forester XT to a Subaru dealer on
Wednesday to have the bearings for the right rear wheel
replaced under warranty (because of excessive noises).
When I called on Thursday afternoon a service manager
said that the bearings had already been replaced but the
mechanic was still checking on the ABS. He told me that
it's a standard practice to do this. I wanted to tell him to
leave it alone because the ABS light had never come on
but decided not to say this because I thought it wouldn't
be a nice thing to say.

Then the service manager called me back and said that
the ABS sensor was bad and must be replaced. He said
that it would take several days to get a new one for me
but I could keep driving the car until then.

I went to pick up the car on Friday and noticed that the
ABS light was on even before I started driving. I asked
the service manager about this and he said that it won't
go off until I get the sensor replaced.

This light is so bright that I find it distracting even during
the day while I'm looking at the road in front of me.

Since my 3-year warranty has expired and this sensor
is not covered by the 5-year powertrain warranty I can't
help but wonder what the mechanic could have done to
cause this light to come on.

So if anybody happens to know about ABS sensors
please tell me what you think could have happened.

1. The sensor is located close to the bearings and got
damaged during the replacement of the bearings.

2. The sensor got damaged during its inspection.

3. The sensor was already bad before I took my car
to the dealer but the ABS light had failed to come on
so the mechanic just turned it on for me.

BTW, my car has about 28,000 (mostly freeway) miles.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

I also vote for number 1.

Blair

 

[Rick Courtright]

I vote for number 1 .

Another vote for No. 1, though it's probably impossible to know for
sure, and even less likely the shop would ever admit maybe they dinged
something... it's hardly unheard of to unplug automotive
electrical/electronic connections and then have things not work right
when reconnected. Corrosion, loose wire in the connector, lots of
possibilities exist!

Rick

 

[alf]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:


I vote for number 1 .

voting #i. I have never heard of ABS going bad. Aske them to open it up
and look at and signs of unnatural damage ...

A.