My ABS light and Trac Off lights came on today after going over a speed bump. They didn't reset like the book says they should. Do I have a major problem? Should I bring the car in for service?

Repair the antilock brake system first. That should stop the engine light from coming on. If you don't do the repair, no matter how many times you reset the computer, the engine light will come on. Run a diagnostic test to find out what else is wrong. You reset the computer by disconnecting both battery cables, touch them together for a few seconds then reinstall.

You need to have the rear axel differential oil serviced. Metal dust has collected on the speed sensor resulting in loss of speed sensor signal. Damage to Trac Lock friction plates can occur which is very expensive. The diff. lube should have been serviced at 80,000 miles. Check the maintenance schedule in your owners manual for info on miles and intervals

The service engine light does not affect the abs.You most likely have a broken wire in your abs system which is affected by suspension movement.A code reader which does abs codes will tell you which wheel circuit is turning on the abs light.When there is no abs available the track will turn off.

I have a 2000 oldsmobile silhouette minivan and my abs/trac lights came on today and I would like to know if it would be safe to drive

This soundslike a bad speed sensor, you will need to have the computer scanned for codes, the computer turns on the light and stores the code, the code will tell you what has gone wrong and with some testing you can find the problem, the most common problem could be a bad wheel speed sensor, both light are on due to the abs problem because the trac control uses the abs speed sensors to watch wheel speed so if the computer sees a problem with the abs it turns off the trac and turns on the light. after the abs is repaired the trac light will go out, start by having the codes read, a scan tool is needed to get the codes, there are many auto part stores that scan the computer for free but i dont know if they scan for abs codes, you will have to check that out. good day.

Could have a ABS wheel speed sensor going bad, once this happens will disable the ABS and the trac control. Have it scanned and find out which sensor is bad. Small possibility of ABS module failure, but not as likely.

No, they are unrelated. If the Trac Off light came on - you could have an ABS or wheel speed sensor problem. You can go to any major auto parts store and they can hook up a scanner to your vehicle and retrieve the details behind any trouble codes that are present. They can then also reset them. This is a free service, too! :)

Hope this helps and good luck!


-KC GTO Dad

I'm sorry to say that you will need to see a dealer or repair shop so they scan your ABS for trouble codes first and then find your problem.

this means one of the wheel sensors are probably bad, car needs to be scanned for ABS codes,get back to me with the codes and we'll go from there. most major parts stores will do this at no charge

its is the abs comp