I just picked my car up from the shop after having the front main seal and rear diff seal replaced. I’m getting “ACT HNDLG WARMING UP” on the DIC after going about ½ mile or so. It does NOT go off, even after an hour on the freeway. If I hit “RESET” the DIC message goes away, but the orange active handling light on the instrument cluster stays on. I’ve never seen any such messages in the 25,000+ miles I’ve driven the car.

After several minutes it then starts cycling though “SERVICE ACT HNDLG” and “SERVICE VEHICLE SOON” and “ACT HNDLG WARMING UP”. At one point I also got a “CHECK TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR SYSTEM”, or something similar to that. I’ve also noticed that when accelerating a little harder than a normal take off from a stop light, the red “BRAKE” light in the instrument cluster comes on for a brief moment (as if the hand brake was on). Again, none of this has ever happened before the work was done, and it began three blocks away from the shop.

The rack and pinion steering was removed and reinstalled in the process of the main seal replacement. I read where the steering wheel can end up 360 degrees off, causing the steering position sensor to not realize the steering wheel is pointed forward. Is this my problem? If so, I also read that turning the steering wheel that far past its normal movement can damage or break the wiring for the air bag. Is that true? If so, how can I know if the air bag wiring has been damaged or not, short of going out and hitting a tree?

Or could the issues be due to a grounding problem? . . . Or something else?

The shop doesn’t seem to know what to do. They checked to make sure the position sensor on the rack and pinion was hooked up and clean. They insist that all ABS sensors are plugged back in. At this point they are waiting for a friend of one of their customers (who had a similar issue once before) to call back with suggestions. Then I can make the two hour round trip back to their shop so they can fix it. HELP!

Thanks for any help anyone can offer!

 

There probably is only one problem. You will probably need the Service Manual diagnostics to sort through the various symptoms. From my own experience if the steering wheel sensor is off by 360 deg you will get the Service Vehicle Soon message. I have not gotten a SVS message with open wheel speed sensor lines. The steering sensor also plays a role in Active Handling and Traction Control. One of the first things to look at are the grounds. Maybe they loosened a ground strap while working on the car and don't realize it.
Bill

 

It could be gremlins. My car did this same stuff a few months ago so I called my mechanic and he said to hit the reset button and not worry about it because sometimes these cars do this for unknown reasons. I was skeptical but relieved and sure enough he was right, after several ignition cycles the warnings stopped and have not come back. Hopefully this is what's happening to your car and it will go away. The best thing to do is continue to drive the car normally and give the car a chance to straighen up on its own.

 

I had this happen to me and it was the steering position sensor.

Once replaced everything was fine.


Good luck.

 

I agree with laewless99. It happened to me once. This was when I turned car when when the AH/TC was off, and occurred a few minutes after I turned the car on. I took it to the dealers, and everything checked out fine. Try turning the AH/TC back one before you shut the car done. See if that helps.

Lewis

 

Check your DIC for codes, if the C1283 or 1286 codes come up (Current or History) then what Bill Dearborn said is the problem. For diagnostics, you can also tell with a VOM. The sensor connector is on the steering column next to the fire wall. With the ignition ON, separate the connector and measure the voltage on the MIDDLE blue wire. It should read 2.4V, it it is in the .24 or 4.9, then the steering wheel is 360 out. Disconnect steering and turn 360 right and measure voltage. If its not 2.4-2.6V then turn it two complete turns the oposite way. If it is not the C1283 or 1286 codes, then it probably is the ground.

 

However, first do a manual diagnostics to trouble shoot for problem codes to narrow down what might actually be the culprit.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. Take it to the dealership and let them fix it for you. Do not let a shop that doesnt know what they are doing EVER work on your car.

VR

 

 

VR,

I thought they did know what they're doing! You've used them, too.

I did figure it out. The steering wheel was installed 360 degrees off. I fixed it myself. I would have expected them to (1) know that they need to put it back in the right position, and (2) know what the error messages mean in regard to the work they had just done.

Now the rear diff is still leaking, after they put a new seal it it a few days ago. And gee, it's only a two hour round trip (add 1 more hour if there's traffic) for me to get the car back to them!

 

Thanks everyone for all the advice and help!