6 replies to this topic

[bigman]

My son got a rear nearside puncture in his 2001 Yaris and put the skinny spare wheel on. Now the ABS light is on. Is this normal?

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I shouldn't think so. Get a new tyre ASAP and see if it stays on. If it does then take it into a dealer for advice.

[XJ900]

Is the still ABS working? Dead easy to check on these icy slippy roads,
my ABS went crazy the other day when I braked on what appeared to be a wet road & was infact sheet ice, no harm done & my skid control course came in really useful.

[alfiejts]

Its possible that if the skinny spare isn't quite the same diameter as the other tyres, then the ABS system is detecting that one wheel sensor is reading a different rotational signal to the other three and this would make it think that the system could be faulty.

It would expect to get the same rate of "rotational pulses" from all four wheels under normal driving.

Are the other wheels/tyres of the standard size? If they've been upgraded, that might make a difference too.
Normally you pick upgrade wheel & tyre combinations that still maintain the same overall diameter, but there will be a "tolerance" that the ABS software allows between each of the four wheel sensors and if the wheels have been upgraded, that might give you an increased chance of exceeding the tolerence.

Unless somehow someone damaged the wheel sensor or wiring changing the wheel, then I suspect its down to the different rotational speed of the skinny spare...

My 2000 Yaris didn't have ABS so even though we used the spare wheel, I can't help from personal experience, I'm afraid...

[Raeman]

I got a front wheel puncture on mine once and had to use skinny space saver wheel. It was only on for a couple of miles to get me to the tyre shop though and the ABS light never came on.

Although it could be something serious at fault so best to get these things checked fully.

[bigman]

Its possible that if the skinny spare isn't quite the same diameter as the other tyres, then the ABS system is detecting that one wheel sensor is reading a different rotational signal to the other three and this would make it think that the system could be faulty.

It would expect to get the same rate of "rotational pulses" from all four wheels under normal driving.

Are the other wheels/tyres of the standard size? If they've been upgraded, that might make a difference too.
Normally you pick upgrade wheel & tyre combinations that still maintain the same overall diameter, but there will be a "tolerance" that the ABS software allows between each of the four wheel sensors and if the wheels have been upgraded, that might give you an increased chance of exceeding the tolerence.

Unless somehow someone damaged the wheel sensor or wiring changing the wheel, then I suspect its down to the different rotational speed of the skinny spare...

My 2000 Yaris didn't have ABS so even though we used the spare wheel, I can't help from personal experience, I'm afraid...

I think this is exactly what the problem may have been, in that the space saver wheel is of a slightly different diameter. Now that the original wheel is back on the car the ABS light is no longer coming on. The tyre diameter of my sons Yaris is 14inch, the same as is on my daughters Yaris so I guess this is standard size on 2000 and 2001 Yaris's.
Many thanks for the reply.

[alfiejts]

Yes - they are standard size. My 2000 Yaris was 14 inch with 175/65 tyres on it as standard fit.

You would have thought that they would build in a "tolerence" to allow for tyre wear and the use of the spare wheel, but maybe not....

Anyway, as long as all's well now.....