2006 Xterra ‘Slip, VDC OFF, ABS’ lit

[DonDavis]

It’s my girlfriend’s truck. 140k, no abuse, 2WD, automatic.

We’re far enough along that she and I are good with me taking a stab at it.



Found the brake fluid was a the min mark. Topped that off. No change.

Negative terminal on battery was loose, fixed that. No change.

Seems the brake light switch near the brake pedal is a bit scratchy when exercised by hand, but brake lights work fine. New sw is $30. Have bought that yet.

Power steering level is good.

On my test drives, I verified the ABS is, in fact, NOT working.

I tried the “drive at 10mph for a mile”…twice, no joy.

The front tires are a more aggressive tread than rear, but all 4 are same size. I’d change first. Makes my eye twitch.

This guy compiled many posts from diff threads into this one thread, it covers a lot…
https://www.thenewx.org/threads/random-slip-and-vdc-off-abs-lights-on-summarized.41877/

Any of you had this?

[Ayles]

I would exhaust all of the options the abs control unit is one of the more expensive bits on an Xterra of this vintage. Have you plugged a code reader into it?

Look up Ry the car guy on youtube. His Xterra videos are fantastic.
https://youtube.com/c/Rythecarguy

I have owned my Xterra for 13 years and its been a great vehicle.

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by Ayles

...Have you plugged a code reader into it?...

I have, no stored or pending codes. Only status lights on cluster. Changing the state of the VDC button does nothing.

She bought this truck new, only averages ~9300 miles each year. Essentially surface roads in metro phoenix.

Straight, mostly flat, 5:30am to 15:00. Light use to markets and gym nearby.

Seriously, this truck is as gently used as you can presume in the sense that it's never off road, no heavy loads, maintained regularly at the same shop for years.

Hoping I can find a reasonable fix and keep it rolling.

It really is a solid, unmolested vehicle. It's worth some effort.

[Starless]

Do you have a CEL lit? On my Toyota at the moment I have a CEL, VSC, and 4WD lit up. It's happened before and if the CEL lights up, so do the other two even though there's nothing wrong with the VSC and 4WD. For some reason, when the CEL lights up the car turns off the VSC and 4WD. Last time it was a OX sensor, but sometimes it's just the gas cap or a loose vac. hose.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

It really is a solid, unmolested vehicle. It's worth some effort.

Indeed. That is a really nice vehicle.

Did a quick search because I am curious: What's Wrong with the Nissan Xterra?

Not much electrical stuff.

No affiliation: https://www.thenewx.org/forums/

http://www.xterraownersclub.com/forums.html

[1990C4S]

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes and starting fresh?

It is odd you don't have codes. That's not good.

[Ayles]

One other thing, has your local shop that does the maintenance on the truck done a brake job at all recently? The Xterra needs to have the battery disconnected when compressing the calipers to install new pads or there can be damage done to the ABS controller.

[fastfredracing]

Has it been scanned with a shop level scanner, or an I phone and an app.? Or even autozone's code readers frequently give customers different readings that what I see .
I have seen times where there are lights on with no codes, but that is a little more on the rare side .
I have replaced wheel speed sensors, and hub bearings in almost all models of Nissan from that era . That would be my parts cannon guess

[Ayles]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Has it been scanned with a shop level scanner, or an I phone and an app.? Or even autozone's code readers frequently give customers different readings that what I see .
I have seen times where there are lights on with no codes, but that is a little more on the rare side .
I have replaced wheel speed sensors, and hub bearings in almost all models of Nissan from that era . That would be my parts cannon guess

Just did this job on mine, the bearing/sensor are a one piece non serviceable unit. Not super hard but you should have a big hammer ready to go.

[DonDavis]

I'm using an Autel MaxiScan MS509 code reader. Is that compatible?

[fastfredracing]

Yes, I would think that would pull ass ABS codes . Are you sure you are checking in the correct module?
You can also try to create a code, by unplugging something ABS related, and see if it will recognize and store that fault in the ABS module, a quick check to see if you are bricked, or have a functioning module .
Also, you may just have codes stored in other modules, that are keeping the light on. I would go through and clear the whole vehicle , each module , one by one Hopefully , its not the brain, there are companies that can repair them if needed .

[DonDavis]

…oh, there are more than one place to connect the scanner?

Keep in mind, while I work on complex medical diagnostic imaging systems, my experience with vehicle scanners in quite minimal. My 1996 Outback that I bought in 2017 is essentially the extent of my knowledge.

[Norm K]

On certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles, issues that you might not expect to cause these lights, do.

My GX470 did exactly what you indicate your Nissan did. I reset the code (lean on both banks) but the lights on the dash illuminated a few days later Too lazy to diagnose the cause, I reset the code again. This time I drove it for over a week before the lights came back on. The car was running fine so being the inherently lazy guy I am, I kept doing this for awhile. Several times, the lights would go out on their own, then pop up again after various periods of time.

I finally overcame my laziness and popped the hood and pulled the engine cover. It took about fifteen seconds to find a cracked vacuum hose. Spent a few minutes replacing that and it's been fine ever since (probably 10K miles ago).

I figure the vacuum leak was small enough that the ECU could sometimes adjust for it - even to the point of resetting the lights itself, while at other times it could not, for whatever reason.

Anyway, this is my long-winded way of saying that you shouldn't discount systems that seeming have nothing to do with your traction control and ABS.

Good luck!

_

[DonDavis]

For reference…

[Scott Douglas]

Do you happen to have an owner's manual?
Sometimes they'll list the different causes for warning lights coming on.

[Ayles]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

For reference…

All of those systems rely on the ABS module being functional and you state in your test it did not function.

"On my test drives, I verified the ABS is, in fact, NOT working."

[DonDavis]

Well, before I kick in for a new ABS module I thought I try and make sure it’s not something else.

I figured that another faulty part could disable the ABS. Like maybe a wheel speed sensor Fred mentioned.

[Ayles]

The problem with that sensor is that its not a serviceable part and you need a new hub/bearing assembly to replace it. Note that mine is 4wd.

[Scott R]

Something additional to consider, I've worked on two of these now that had high mileage and there was a subtle grinding whirring noise from the rear end. Turns out there is a slip sensor on the differential and each time I drained the diff it was full of metal and basically shot. Oh and it doesn't throw a code most scanners can read, even the higher end Snap On's. There are two diff sensors actually.

[pete3799]

You mention different tires front to back (same size) but the diameter of them could be enough different to cause issues.