03 GT Traction Control Issues

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lt1guy

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Dec 5, 2005

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#1

• Dec 5, 2005

• #1

A friend of mine just had the brakes done on her '03 GT and now the traction control is acting up...even at low speed, part throttle. She says she has never even noticed it coming on before (hasn't had it long). She is turning it off for now, but what could have happened when replacing the front pads to affect the traction control? Thanks a lot guys!

 

03ghoststang

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Jul 16, 2005

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Dec 5, 2005

#2

• Dec 5, 2005

• #2

it shouldn't have any ehwn replacing the front pads. the TC engages when one of the rear wheels has a loss of traction, so it reduces the power being delivered to the rear and the little green tire klight should go on.

 

ponysarepretty

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Jul 25, 2005

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Where do you live? If it is getting cold, there is no way about it. I chirp my tires whenever I need to do something substantial. If she hasn't had it long and it has gotten a lot colder, I think it would be pretty natural.

 

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lt1guy

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Thats what I was thinking, but since the only Mustangs I have owned (two 5.0s and a trio of 65s) didn't have ABS or traction control I wanted to check first. It was just really weird, since she had never even noticed the traction control light coming on before (she bought it used, and its almost out of warranty) and it started acting up right after the front brakes were done. Thanks!

 

ponysarepretty

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#5

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A good way to make sure is to see if she gets any wheelspin with it off and if she does then it is safe to say that traction control is trying to retard spin.

 

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lt1guy

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Thats the weird thing, I drove it and it did it with me too, and I know the wheels weren't spinning. Maybe its a calibration issue? Its still under warranty, so it'll be going back to the dealer to get checked out. Thanks a lot!

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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#7

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What do you consider "acting up"

During the summer time, i rarely got my T/C to kick on. I could bang the 1-2 shift and not even see the little green wheel come on.

Now that winter is here, the T/C has been working overtime even when i don't think i am spinning. Just today i was driving in a snowy parking lot and it was kicking in killing all power and griding the car to a stop.

That's the thing about T/C...when it kicks in, it feels like the car blew up or something. It doesn't slowly apply brake, it just bogs the car badly.

 

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lt1guy

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Dec 7, 2005

#8

• Dec 7, 2005

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Will running wider tires on the rear (ie different sizes front and rear) effect the TC? This was the dealers reason for the TC issue... different sizes front and rear made TC and brake light come on. The brake light only came on as of this morning.

I know in f-bodys you can run different size tires and never have TC control or brake issues

 

03ghoststang

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Dec 7, 2005

#9

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what is the tire size on the rear wheels

on the stock mustang GT rims you can fit 275/40/17 and it wont change the overall tire diameter by much

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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#10

• Dec 7, 2005

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Yes, tires sizes do cause issues on Mustangs with the ABS and T/C

It's not the width, but the hight.

WHat tire sizes is she running front and rear??

 

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lt1guy

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Well its a used car that was gotten with bald tires. We had to put some 17s on the front we had around on in a pinch to be sure the car was safe to drive in the rain. Fronts are 235/55/R17... rears are 245/45/r17s. Thought it was close enough in a pinch, but had not clue Ford monitored front wheels.

Any idea if this would the brake light come on and stay on. Dealer thinks it related

 

topgunz_1

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Oct 6, 2004

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Dec 7, 2005

#12

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I have 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 rear, no different effects on traction control. traction control sucks in general, unless its raining i turn it off every time i start the car.

 

03ghoststang

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#13

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lt1guy said:

Well its a used car that was gotten with bald tires. We had to put some 17s on the front we had around on in a pinch to be sure the car was safe to drive in the rain. Fronts are 235/55/R17... rears are 245/45/r17s. Thought it was close enough in a pinch, but had not clue Ford monitored front wheels.

Any idea if this would the brake light come on and stay on. Dealer thinks it related

Click to expand...

i think its relavant since their is a speed sensor there so that could be something to look at

 

ponysarepretty

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#14

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lt1guy said:

Well its a used car that was gotten with bald tires. We had to put some 17s on the front we had around on in a pinch to be sure the car was safe to drive in the rain. Fronts are 235/55/R17... rears are 245/45/r17s. Thought it was close enough in a pinch, but had not clue Ford monitored front wheels.

Any idea if this would the brake light come on and stay on. Dealer thinks it related

Click to expand...

Hmmm definitely you have different heighted tires, the fronts are bout 1-2 inches higher than the rear, thats your issues right there.

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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#15

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lt1guy said:

Well its a used car that was gotten with bald tires. We had to put some 17s on the front we had around on in a pinch to be sure the car was safe to drive in the rain. Fronts are 235/55/R17... rears are 245/45/r17s. Thought it was close enough in a pinch, but had not clue Ford monitored front wheels.

Any idea if this would the brake light come on and stay on. Dealer thinks it related

Click to expand...

Yup, there is your problem right there. The reason why the fronts matter is because the traction control system works through the ABS system. It monitors the wheelspin of all 4 wheels and senses if one of the rears begins to accelerate faster than the other 3 or the two fronts. With the mismatched tires (fronts being larger) the car is thinking the rear tires are spinning when they are not due to the smaller rear tires.

235/55/17's are 27.2" tall

245/45/17's are 25.7" tall.

The ideal tire size on the stock 17x8 wheels is 245/45/17.

This calculator helps you determine what sizes will work ok.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

 

J

Jakes

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May 8, 2004

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Dec 8, 2005

#16

• Dec 8, 2005

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They probably screwed up the abs speed sensor when they did the brake job. She should take it back and make'm fix it.

 

2wheeliepeelie

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Feb 18, 2003

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Dec 23, 2005

#17

• Dec 23, 2005

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topgunz

You runnin stock 17 x 8s in the rear, or 9s for those 275s?

Thanx

 

J

JohnyD05

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Dec 24, 2005

#18

• Dec 24, 2005

• #18

i hate TC, i shut it off whenver i rememebr i know what i am doing, and i know when the tires are going to spin, i hate it if i hit the gas, the TC comes on and bogs my power exspecially when i need the powerer, like trying to get out of my icy driveway into traffic.

 

LB0193

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Dec 24, 2005

#19

• Dec 24, 2005

• #19

Turned off forever in my car...useless

 

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n0v8or

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Dec 24, 2005

#20

• Dec 24, 2005

• #20

I agree with Jakes, since you say you did not have the problem before the brake work was done.
They may have thought the front ABS sensor bolt retained the caliper, so removed it and forgot to put it back. There is a wheel rotation sensor at each of the 4 wheels. They are peroidicaly tested by the ABS computer. If one is disconnected or damaged, the light will come on to indicate a malfunction.