Colorado Edge Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 After a Firestone tire rotation the Traction control comes on in a left turn and needs to be recalibrated. No warning lights. It just thinks the tires are slipping. Had this happen one time after a Ford dealer did the rotation and took it back for the reset. Has anyone done this? I am sure it is knowing what button to push. Thanks for your help. I can turn it off but it needs to be set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar&wr Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 After a Firestone tire rotation the Traction control comes on in a left turn and needs to be recalibrated. No warning lights. It just thinks the tires are slipping. Had this happen one time after a Ford dealer did the rotation and took it back for the reset. Has anyone done this? I am sure it is knowing what button to push. Thanks for your help. I can turn it off but it needs to be set. Got my attention, I was going to rotate tires tomorrow morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Rotating the tires should have no effect on the traction control system. If you're having a problem after a tire rotation then it means the tires that are now on the front are too worn or one side is worn significantly more than the other. There is no calibration procedure to fix this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Rotating the tires should have no effect on the traction control system. If you're having a problem after a tire rotation then it means the tires that are now on the front are too worn or one side is worn significantly more than the other. There is no calibration procedure to fix this. You could always calibrate it by wearing down the good tire to match the bad one......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonedge+ Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 How timely this topic is except I haven't had my tires rotated recently... Just this evening, after a warm dry day, doing about 40 mph, the traction control light comes on and you can hear it as if it's kicking in, but there is no loss of traction. Yes, my treads are getting near the replacement levels, but I can't imagine how the system would detect this and even if it could, why would it engage when there is no loss of traction. I'm afraid something else has gone bad, but I sure hope not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 How timely this topic is except I haven't had my tires rotated recently... Just this evening, after a warm dry day, doing about 40 mph, the traction control light comes on and you can hear it as if it's kicking in, but there is no loss of traction. Yes, my treads are getting near the replacement levels, but I can't imagine how the system would detect this and even if it could, why would it engage when there is no loss of traction. I'm afraid something else has gone bad, but I sure hope not... I think it is probably OK. My understanding is the system monitors all 4 wheels 100 times per second or 1000 times per minute can't remember which, exactly, but it is a lot. If you had tires that were worn unevenly, it could detect slippage due to the different circumference of the tires, especially in a turning situation. I would think there is more tolerance than that, but considering on older 4x4 vehicles they used to say you could take out rear or front differentials with different sized tires, and the fact that changing tire size on newer vehicles makes speedometer recalibration necessary, I'd say it is a safe bet the problem is just the uneven tire wear. I'd probably get new tires sooner than later so you don't cause damage to the AWD parts. Of course, this is all assuming you have an AWD unit. If your tires are pretty good, it could go away once the tires "even out" from normal driving, but I just like to error on the side of caution. Good Luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonedge+ Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thanks for the insight Primetime. I didn't have any problems today, so maybe it was just a one time thing. Just for clarification, mine is not AWD, just FWD. And I keep the tires rotated so they wear fairly evenly. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it and looking for a pattern. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CET999 Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 FYI the system that is doing the actual sensing is the ABS system. That system sense each "wheel" individually and computer part of it detects the difference between the rotation speed of each wheel. It then makes a judgement based its software parameters to engage "traction control".That judgement is based on: if it senses a rotation difference greater than a software specified value/parameter that is based on the argument: that if a wheel rotating faster than the other/s, it is therefore slipping between tire and road surface. Unless the tires are in bad shape, different diameters, different amounts of rubber from one side of the car to other, or brakes are being applied differently front to rear there should be no engagement. Other conditions that can cause unexpected slippage: is contact with sand/sandy road surface by one wheel while going around a corner, in winter on ice strips under one side of the car, ice patch under one tire, oil slick/sheen on the road surface after/during a rain, driving on non-asphalt/concrete road surface, tire air pressure is vastly different between a t least 2 tires. What else can bring on traction control when you do not expect it. Well 3 come to mind: careless/wreck-less/driving too fast for road conditions and ABS wheels sensors are going bad or a bent wheel or wheel no mounted correctly. It only takes one of the 4 to make incorrect detection and the difference could trigger engagement of traction control (bring on the brakes and kick in awd system). Rotation of wheels: If the system kicks in after a tire rotation and has NEVER occurred before-- I would first check: loose wheel nuts, the wear differences of tire comparing fronts to fronts & rears to rears, then air pressure, then wheel mounted correctly, wheels not bent. If car is going back to tire shop and it comes out w/o a further problem - then they have found their mistake and corrected it: tightened wheel nuts, tire pressure, wheel mount. The first thing they check when it gets on the rack is a check for a bent wheel. Wheels can get bent at the tire shop, by incorrectly placing wheel tire mounting machine. And if alloy wheels -- theses wheel type need a centering ring. If the centering ring is missing or damage the wheel will not run true. In rare cases: an incorrectly balanced wheel could be sensed by the ABS sensors. And even rarer is technician banging up against the sensor and damaged/moved it while mounting and dismounting wheels. Under normal circumstances their in re-calibration of the ABS system to affect the TCS. This is done by a Ford technician in the process of repairing a car after a traffic accident that impacted any of the wheel sensors and wiring. The only thing the tire shop concerns itself with is the air pressure monitoring system (PMS) sensors and system reset. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyedd Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 What about if you are doing this at home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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