NHTSA Complaint #10592624 — 2008 TOYOTA CAMRY

THE ABS LIGHT ON MY DASH STARTED APPEARING INTERMITTENTLY IN OCTOBER; THE MECHANIC SAID THE CODES WERE INCONSISTENT AND MUST BE DIAGNOSED BY DEALER. DEALER EVALUATED IN FEBRUARY; THEY FIRST SUGGESTED IT WAS MY ABS ECU GOING BAD ($2400); UPON PRODDING, THEY SAID JUST MY REAR TIRE SENSOR MUST BE REPLACED ($600). THE INCONSISTENT ANSWER AND COST HAS DETERRED MY FROM REPLACING EITHER. INTERNET SEARCH INDICATED MANY PEOPLE HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEM AND AFTER MANY MISDIAGNOSIS, ABS ECU APPEARS TO BE CULPRIT. LAST WEEK, ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT LIT ON DASH; TACHOMETER, TEMP GAUGE AND SPEEDOMETER WENT TO ZERO. CAR DROVE AND BRAKED OK. GAUGES FLUCTUATED FROM NORMAL READINGS (AVERAGE TEMP, TACH 3000RPM, MID-LEVEL TEMP) TO ALL VALUES AT ZERO, EVEN WHEN I AM DRIVING 65MPH ACCORDING TO GPS READING. READINGS WOULD RECOVER AND FAIL CONTINUOUSLY, AND IN OTHER CASES WORKED PROPERLY FOR 30 MILES. IN SOME CASES, AC STOPPED BLOWING COLD. FURTHER INTERNET SEARCHES SUGGEST AC, DASH LIGHTS, ABS ALL POINT TO BOSCH ABS ECU. I FOUND THREE NHTSA COMPLAINTS THAT LOOK SAME/SIMILAR FOR CAMRY: 10587648, 10555094, 10521931. REPORTS FOR ABS ON OTHER CARS SOUND SIMILAR (POSSIBLY BOSCH ECU?). THE FAULT CODES POINTED TO MULTIPLE TIRE SENSORS FAILING AT ONE TIME; OTHER FAILURE CODES WERE ALSO REPORTED. THE FAULTS DID NOT POINT TO THE ECU. WHILE ABS IS NOT NECESSARY FOR DRIVING, IT IS DESIRABLE. HOWEVER, IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND A FINANCIAL BURDEN TO HAVE WRONG OR INCONCLUSIVE CODES THAT EITHER LEAD TO FIXING THE WRONG THING (TIRE SENSOR VS ECU) OR PREVENTING SAFETY INFORMATION FROM BEING PROPERLY REPORTED (0 MPH, ENGINE TEMP 0, BRAKE LIGHT ON, ETC). I HAVE NOT DECIDED TO REPLACE ECU YET, AS I AM STILL TRYING TO CONFIRM THERE IS NO OTHER POSSIBLE PROBLEM THAT WILL COST EVEN MORE THAN $2400. *TR