Quick Question ( Solved?)

[bill1013]

Aloha! My 2012 Yukon SLE is getting a Stabilitrac/Traction warning popping up on the DIC. That’s all that pops up, but it does go off after a while. It’s been raining pretty hard out here so I was hoping it was the extreme moist in the air. Any other ideas as to what might be causing this? Any possible solutions? Mahalo in advance. Aloha!

P.S. The Parking Brake Light also illuminates when the Stabilitrak/Traction Light comes on. There’s a brief chiming also. The chime and the light goes off after a minute or two.

Since adding brake fluid the problem seems to have gone away. Let’s just hope Dot 4 Brake Fluid is compatible with Dot 3. I know about 85% of hyd. fluid is compatible with other hyd. fluids.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Do you have a quality bi-directional scanner? I'm thinking that it would give you more information on your issue and point you closer to its cause. Speed sensors in one of the rear wheels would be my first place to look.

 

[mikez71]

Wild guess here, but.... parking brake switch?

Joseph is always trying to sell (quality bi-directional) scanners!

 

[tuckerrnr1]

@bill1013 I had a similar issue with my 2010 Suburban and it was low brake fluid. When going around a steady curve in the road, the break fluid would move just enough to set off the warning.

 

[mikez71]

Did "service brakes soon" pop up with low fluid?

 

[Fubar0715]

How old is the battery? I have had issues with stabilitrak when the battery was low (very cold weather and not started often) or when the battery was dying.

 

[tuckerrnr1]

Did "service brakes soon" pop up with low fluid?

I can't say for certain as I don't remember for sure. It did pop up on the DIC over the years with no resolution when hooked up to a scanner.

 

[bill1013]

@bill1013 I had a similar issue with my 2010 Suburban and it was low brake fluid. When going around a steady curve in the road, the break fluid would move just enough to set off the warning.

I just checked the brake fluid and it’s a little past minimum, so I’ll be servicing it today. Any suggestions on what brake fluid to use? I’ll let everyone know what happens. Aloha!

 

[Doubeleive]

Do you have a quality bi-directional scanner? I'm thinking that it would give you more information on your issue and point you closer to its cause. Speed sensors in one of the rear wheels would be my first place to look.

why the rear wheel sensor? those practicality never are a issue unless someone has been in there doing axles/bearings and messed up the sensor ring.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

why the rear wheel sensor? those practicality never are a issue unless someone has been in there doing axles/bearings and messed up the sensor ring.

Just a thought that there may be a differential being incorrectly 'sensed' between the left and right rear wheel speeds, which could trigger that warning, plus may be related to the brake warning. That was my first thought, followed by the suggestion (sales pitch, according to @mikez71 LOL! Love it!) to hook up a scanner to see if he could get closer to the source of the issue.

 

[Doubeleive]

Just a thought that there may be a differential being incorrectly 'sensed' between the left and right rear wheel speeds, which could trigger that warning, plus may be related to the brake warning. That was my first thought, followed by the suggestion (sales pitch, according to @mikez71 LOL! Love it!) to hook up a scanner to see if he could get closer to the source of the issue.

front sensors are more often the issue because front hubs wear out due to having more wear and tear on them, engine weight, steering forces.

 

[rdezs]

I would expect to see the ABS light come on if it was a wheel speed sensor.

Definitely hook up a scanner. Check for any misfires while you're at it.

 

[mikez71]

Yea I was just ribbing ya @Joseph Garcia!
I'm glad you always tell everyone to get a good scanner.. Too much to guess at, it's really the first diagnostic tool you need..

But in this case, I think the park brake switch must be it (short of a wiring issue)

Since it's intermittent, and the brake light comes on at the same time. It won't show in scanner because it's intermittent (like brake fluid low) but also not anything that stores a code, so no 'service brakes' message.
( If in fact the light comes on with parking brake engaged. )

Partially test by activating parking brake while driving, see if it behaves the same.

And what stabilitrak/traction light? The one that comes on everytime you accelerate out of a tight turn? (I have my chimes off, but I don't think that would be cause for a chime?) If it does chime normally, then maybe it is just the rain, and you're tires are crappier than before..

 

[fredcook]

Parking Brake Light, Stabilitrak/Traction Light, low brake fluid... very common. Every time that has come up (many times) on our our three GMT900 Tahoes totaling 725,000 combined miles, it always meant it was time to replace brake pads. I see it a a great worn pad indicator. Incidentally, I have never added brake fluid. The only reason to do so is if there was a leak. As we all know, when calipers are compressed to put new pads in, the fluid level will right back up to where it was before the pads wore down.

 

[07burban88]

if the brake fluid is low and its not leaking it usually means its time for new pads