Trouble lights on dash came on VDC, ABS, Slip

Forum for Infiniti M35 and M45, and Nissan Fuga owners.
realfisher
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 9:48 am
Car: 2008 QX56

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Driving home this eveing with cruise on. Cruise kicked off, looked on dash VOC off, ABS and Slip indicators had come on. Any help??


Rotty421
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:54 pm
Car: 2006 M35X

2003 Mustang Cobra
Location: Edmonton, Alberta

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It seems like just about any fault can cause these warning lights to come on in a domino fashion.

Since I have had my 06 M35X I have had the dash light up like a Christmas tree from worn brake pads, a bad front wheel bearing and low brake fluid on separate occasions.

The warnings are nice but I find it disappointing that one minor problem can lead to the deactivation of so many safety and convenience systems.

realfisher
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 9:48 am
Car: 2008 QX56

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Thanks for the reply, guess the 06 is off to the garage. Will let you know what it was. Thanks again.

mazz
Posts: 326
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:27 am
Car: 2013 M37x Advance, Tech Touring and Premium, Black with Stone Interior
Location: Davis Illinois

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more than once it was brake fluid for me just add a little bit even if it appears normal save a trip to garage

cruzad3r
Posts: 1340
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:34 pm
Car: 2006 M35x fully loaded
Location: CT

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really guys??? come on,

first, you want to scan for codes. you can do the cheap way by buying a bluetooth dongle and the torque app so you can use your smart phone as a scanner.

second, if those lights come on, i'm willing to bet that it's the camshaft position 1 sensor malfunction. Now if you have those lights and your car suddenly stop, power cuts off and car basically stalled, then it's definitely the camshaft sensor. cost of sensor OEM is around 150 or less but if you have the dealer do the work, i'm sure it'll cost you at least 250 or over.

i've done these things and posted on here. you can search my my sn for more information.l

06M4.5
Posts: 2478
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 6:04 am
Car: 2006 M45
Location: Florida

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it happen to me when I got the car, it was low on brake fluid.

I got a 4-wheel brake job.

cruzad3r
Posts: 1340
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:34 pm
Car: 2006 M35x fully loaded
Location: CT

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Freddie, you're telling me the car showed those 3 lights when it's low on brake fluid? Seriously?

and what's 4-wheel brake job? sorry but i'm not familiar with the term :D

Rotty421
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:54 pm
Car: 2006 M35X

2003 Mustang Cobra
Location: Edmonton, Alberta

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@ cruzad3r

Yes, seriously

Clearly confirmed by multiple occurrences

I am sure the camshaft sensor is another viable cause but would also have other indicating factors

The00Dustin
Posts: 1042
Joined: Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:05 am
Car: 2006 M45
Location: Bloomington, IN

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@ cruzad3r

If you've been here long enough to see the "what's your real name?" thread (and you have), I can't believe you're surprised by the brake fluid comments. Even when those three lights come on because the pads are worn, it's not because there's a sensor on the pads, it's because the wear of the pads has brought the brake fluid low. There have been several threads about this (although I believe I do recall your sensor issue, and concern that it was the crankshaft sensor instead). IIRC, one thread about this had a warning to remove some brake fluid before changing pads if some has been added when the pads were worn so the reservoir wouldn't overflow when the brake pistons were pressed all the way back in.

Rishi1331
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 6:47 am
Car: 06' m45s

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Camshaft sensor.......just had it done last week on my wife ride for the same problem.

06M4.5
Posts: 2478
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 6:04 am
Car: 2006 M45
Location: Florida

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cruzad3r wrote:Freddie, you're telling me the car showed those 3 lights when it's low on brake fluid? Seriously?

and what's 4-wheel brake job? sorry but i'm not familiar with the term :D
cruzad3r

Yes I picked up my car at a used car dealer in the evening and the next morning driving to Infiniti to get the car checked out and get a full print out of the history the 3 lights turned on.

Infiniti told me rear brake pads needed to be replace and front rotors needed to be turned. Brake fluid was low. I asked what it would cost to get all new brakes pads & rotors and I think they said about $1,300 with tax. For some reason I was still standing after that blow and was able to say very quickly NO THANKS. :ohno:

The car was checked and I let them do an oil change, I also got a new air-filter from the parts dept. and installed it myself because I was scared on how much they would charge me.

Around here a 4-wheel brake job means everything is new, 2 set of pads with 4 new rotors and replacing old brake fluid. Nothing is re-used and rotors are not turned, this type of work here is called brake service.

So for those that get the lights on the dash do yourself a favor and check your brake fluid first, it's a cheap fix.

Sad part is I have to take my car to the dealer to fix driver seat, hood shocks and right mirror hits when tilting down. :ohno: I hate going to the dealer. :frown:

cruzad3r
Posts: 1340
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:34 pm
Car: 2006 M35x fully loaded
Location: CT

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Ridiculous i tell you :)

i still stand with the comment of getting the car scan for codes before guessing the issue. but if everyone here confirmed that low brake fluid can cause those light up like xmas tree than go and check that first. through my personal experience with the other two infiniti in the family, i have not see anything light up due to low brake fluid. the brake light does go off but that's a different story altogether.

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MaxBolus
Posts: 176
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Car: 2004 M45

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my 2 cents-
had the lights come on, tried the brake fluid check, no go.

Mine turned out to be a bad wheel speed sensor- something else to consider that I did not see mentioned above.

And as I recall, the error code did not point directly to the sensor because the OBDII interface does not support some Nissan-specific error codes relating to the ABS/VDC system. I had to go to the dealer to get the exact diagnosis.

The brake fluid thing does seem nonsensical, but it apparently has worked for some, and it's a cheap and easy thing to try.

realfisher
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 9:48 am
Car: 2008 QX56

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Thanks for everyones suggestions and info. After a day of serveral short trips, started car and lights were gone. It's been 4 days now and no lights. Just went out and popped the hood, Brake fluid just above the MIN level. Filled it back up - but will follow up on the other suggestions just to be sure. Thanks for saving me a trip to !@%?Dealer.

wazzu mille
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2012 8:19 pm
Car: 2006 M45

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VDS, ABS, Slip AND lane departure warning symbol all lit up just now for me as well. I stopped at the grocery store and came back, started the car and it was back to normal (other than the lane departure warning light is still on). Odd. I don't have a dealer here and with most vehicles, a scan only works if there is a fault code for it to read, meaning it needs to be lit up or stored in memory.....not sure if these keep the fault code in memory for me to get someone to scan.

06M4.5
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Location: Florida

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wazzu mille wrote:VDS, ABS, Slip AND lane departure warning symbol all lit up just now for me as well. I stopped at the grocery store and came back, started the car and it was back to normal (other than the lane departure warning light is still on). Odd. I don't have a dealer here and with most vehicles, a scan only works if there is a fault code for it to read, meaning it needs to be lit up or stored in memory.....not sure if these keep the fault code in memory for me to get someone to scan.
Always check your brake fluid first, easy & fast to do. This may save you some money.

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The Bodyguard
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It only happened to me once and I needed a little brake fluid... I followed that with a full brake job a few Weeks after that.. (Ebay kit) been going strong for about 27.5 k miles

Also keep in mind for those that get frustrated with the fact that all lights come on for any little thing... The electronics in our safety systems are all connected with the brakes!! ABS, VDC, SLIP, ICC, LDW, LDP, if the brakes fault, none of these will work properly!! :bigthumb:
Just my two cents on the issue...

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OmegaRoach
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Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:55 am
Car: 06 M35 Tech

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I had all three lights coming on too. They would come when the brakes were depressed hard and would stay on until I turned the car off and back on again. I filled up the brake reservoir but that didn't help. I replaced my front brakes and that didn't help. I checked my rear pads, but they were fine. After a couple of weeks of trying to figure this out another issue arose.

I started getting this HORRID ROTTEN EGG smell in my car from the AC system. It would go away with the AC on recirculate at highway speeds, but otherwise it was there. This went on for about 4 days. On the 5th day I went to start my car up and NOTHING! When I went to jump it, I noticed that it looked like fluid had been leaking from the top of my battery. I ran my finger across the top of the battery and sniffed it, and guess what, it had that HORRID ROTTEN EGG smell! Low and behold looking behind the battery I could see the INTAKE FOR THE AC SYSTEM! I was VERY EXCITED I found the source of the smell, sulfuric acid from the battery!

I jumped the car to see if I could get anything more out of it and it started, idled fine in P, but once in D it wouldn't allow me to give it any gas. I did notice however, that the VDC, ABS, and Slip lights would come on when I was in D but go off once I was in P. So, since this was a Sunday, I went to WalMart to "borrow" a battery until I could get my warrantied Infiniti battery replaced. Once I got the new battery in ALL PROBLEMS WERE GONE! No more smell, no more trouble lights. So, I assume a bad battery would also cause these warring lights to come on.

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The Bodyguard
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95 J30-sold 155k miles
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Pretty cool ^^ Omega... I actual did the same with a Walmart battery..lol It was more expensive than my warranty battery and wasn't even the recommended size (it was out of stock) but it held me through the weekend.. :bigthumb:

Glad you fixed your problem though!!

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OmegaRoach
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So... The VDC, ABS, and Slip lights did start coming on again, so that issue was not resolved. Back to the drawing board on that. Brake fluid is fine so I guess I need to visit a stealership to find out what the problem is

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OmegaRoach
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cruzad3r wrote:really guys??? come on,

first, you want to scan for codes. you can do the cheap way by buying a bluetooth dongle and the torque app so you can use your smart phone as a scanner.

second, if those lights come on, i'm willing to bet that it's the camshaft position 1 sensor malfunction. Now if you have those lights and your car suddenly stop, power cuts off and car basically stalled, then it's definitely the camshaft sensor. cost of sensor OEM is around 150 or less but if you have the dealer do the work, i'm sure it'll cost you at least 250 or over.

i've done these things and posted on here. you can search my my sn for more information.l
Only thing is your camshaft sensor throws the CEL whereas this issue throws the ABS light. Two different issues.

Will a code reader be able to determine why these lights even come on? I thought the code reader would only detect codes for the CEL. If I can figure out the issue without going to the stealership that would be great.

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MaxBolus
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Car: 2004 M45

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OmegaRoach wrote:Will a code reader be able to determine why these lights even come on? I thought the code reader would only detect codes for the CEL. If I can figure out the issue without going to the stealership that would be great.
That is my experience, see my comment above.

The VDC codes are only accessible via the Nissan CONSULT data readers as far as I know. I tried using a software package I bought a few years back called NissanDataScanII, but it won't bring those VDC codes back.

Unless there is a new 3rd party package out there, you're basically stuck with the dealer. Or you can buy a used CONSULT-II for about 5 grand and let us borrow it sometime :chuckle:

And if the dealer tells you it's a bad wheel sensor, make sure they tell you which one it is, then buy one online and replace it yourself, save buncha bucks.

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OmegaRoach
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MaxBolus wrote:
OmegaRoach wrote:Will a code reader be able to determine why these lights even come on? I thought the code reader would only detect codes for the CEL. If I can figure out the issue without going to the stealership that would be great.
And if the dealer tells you it's a bad wheel sensor, make sure they tell you which one it is, then buy one online and replace it yourself, save buncha bucks.
Any idea on the part # and/or price for the wheel sensor?

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MaxBolus
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OmegaRoach wrote:Any idea on the part # and/or price for the wheel sensor?
Sorry- I'm sure the part No. for your car will be different than mine. My part no. was in Roman Numerals due to the vintage of my M ;)

You'll probably need to know which corner(s) the sensor will be installed on- even though the sensor itself is probably the same all around, there are different wiring harness and bracket configurations that may be specific to the wheel it services.

Easy enough to find on InfinitiPartsUSA.com, that's where I got mine:

47910AG060 Front suspension, Brake components, Abs sensor, Abs sensor Right 136.24

Good luck!

dball
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Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:37 pm
Car: '07 m35x
Location: Marlton, NJ

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happened to me like 2 months ago, came up after i had my regular maintenance done, took it back and all it was was a connection that got jarred loose during the tune up

EcstaSPT
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Location: Houston

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Low brake fluid for me.

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The Bodyguard
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Car: 08 M35 black loaded custom VIPDOUT
08 G35s sold 92k miles
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95 J30-sold 155k miles
Location: Cypress, TX (Houston) o.g. from southern cali (North Hollywood)!!

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EcstaSPT wrote:Low brake fluid for me.
You know that's a sign of brakes wearing down.... No big problem you can keep adding fluid if it uses it up but your breaks may need changing soon... Or of your brakes were bled the old fashion way they didn't top off your fluid after bleeding! :gotme

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jonlex99
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I think the guys that are saying brake fluid are seen the VDC,BRAKE,SLIP. I had those lights come on the other night looked at my brake fluid lever it was right at the min line..

Split Chicken
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:43 pm
Car: 2004 Inifiti G35 Sadan
2011 Nissan Aramda

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So my VDC comes on and stay on after a wheel slip situation, until restarted. Break fluid is down buy 2/3. Think this sound like a faulty wheel sensor?
Does any one know of a manner of testing on the wheel sensors, rather than letting those bastards at the dealer grope MY gal?

RappinJB
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:37 pm
Car: 2006 Infiniti M45

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I had the same issue with the warning lights about 6 to 8 months ago... saw the advice to top-off the brake fluid, even though it was already basically full, and I did and that made the lights go out. On Monday they came back on again (for whatever unknown reason) and it's not the brake fulid, that's still basically 'full'.

I did have some air slowly leaking out of one of my tires that I had serviced/checked and they said it was a "faulty sensor" on the TPMS, so I'm wondering if that could be playing any part at all in the warnings?

I had the brakes/rotors serviced about a year ago (local shop, not dealer) and have never had any issues, so not sure it could be something there...
Will inquire about the camshaft sensor but want to try to get an idea of what/why they've come back on again after all this time. Have owned the car for 4+ years and this was the first time I ever had the warning lights come on (when it occured about 8 months ago).

Will try to keep you posted~


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