tc warning lights come on ,when suns out?!

[craig3.2]

My traction control warning lights come on from time to time,and usually when the suns out(like today). it hasnt done this all winter/since last autumn,when it came on 2-3 times a week ,at times?
bmw dlr said new sensor was needed,at £200+,but any ideas on where this sensor would be,and maybe clean any crud out of it,as it seems that during cold wthr its perfectly ok(dry connection??)

its the circular and triangle brake/traction control lts (in amber),that are on in dash,btw
any ideas/info appreciated,cheers

 

[PCBung]

May sound stupid but are you sure it isn't the sun that is lighting up the light? It happens to me and I think crap then realize its the sun, only seems to be on 3 of the lights.

 

[jhbuining]

Does this happen most frequently around your favorite sections of road? Is it somehow linked to the width of your grin? :lol:

 

[GAZA62]

Mine flash everytime i drive the car

Remember the state of British roads they make the car jump around all over the place this can set off the light

 

[craig3.2]

Definitely not the sun,lol
They both come on(orange round brake lt and triangle tc lights/acrdn to owners man its a fault with the traction control). has been checked by stealer last yr,in summer,they said it neede a new tc sensor!!/never came on all winter,until now,as the wthr has improved.

dry connection?
does any1 know where the sensor for this is,ie front or rear wheel/brake hubs??
cheers

 

[Griffithskyle]

The same lights have just come on with mine, anyone else had this problem?

 

[Anonymous]

I am having the same issue (night or day) with my recently purchased 04 3.0i - The car had bald tires on the rear when I got it so I had new tires installed. On the drive home I started getting the light :!: and could feel the DTC kick in when exiting from the highway (70 mph or so). At first I thought it was the new tires being slick but after 150 miles I still have the same problem. I was following a SUV through a highway interchange and was getting the DTC light and corrective action... I would think that a Z4 should smoke a jeep through a bend without even trying. Tire pressure is spot on (33 and 36 front /rear as specified in the owner’s manual) - 18 inch Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S on the rear and Bridgestone on the front - all tires correct specs, by the book. ALSO - the car gets "twitchy" above 80 - it wants to wander and requires corrective steering input to stay in the lane. What the heck? Any advice would be appreciated - I still have 2 months of CPO so I want to get the squared away as soon as I can.

 

[Griffithskyle]

light went off the day after, been fine for last 10 days but now come on again this morning, any ideas? :|

 

[TanguyM]

Is this the problem you meant?
Like you can see if got the same problem, but when you shut down the car and pull and the key from the ignition for 10 sec en that start your Zed again, the icons will disappear.
I just keep driving around. If it was a serious problem, the light wouldn't go off.

 

[Griffithskyle]

light went off again yesterday, as you say if it was that serious then the light wouldn't go off

 

[sturge]

I have the same problem. Mine started last year after I had a 4 wheel allignment done. At first the light only came on after a long run, but now it comes on every time I drive the car. I have been told it could be the ABS sensor or a steering angle sensor? Seems possible that the steering angle sensor could be something to do with it as the light never came on until I had the allignment done. I was also told that the sensors forthe tyre pressures are part of the same thing and that would possibly be the reason why the light comes on in the summer or after a long run as the tyres pressures increase with the heat.
Hoping to get mine looked at next week, cause at the moment this light is really getting on my nerves.
If any one has anymore ideas please let me know.

 

[craig3.2]

Mine does the same,been doing so for over a year.
do notice it hardly ever/if at all/comes on in winter;only in the summer(warmer)weather,and also only comes on intermitently?!
I took it to local dealers last august,and was told it needed a new dsc/traction sensor/at £220 fitted!! so have left it,with no adverse affects,as the t/c still kicks in when neede
wil get it fixed eventually tho,as it can be annoying if it doesnt go back out

 

[yg54sg]

i had this when i had a flat and swapped out the flat for an old 17" tyre of my 3 series compact, so I had 1 odd size wheel on, the light would come on and go off all the way back home... I would check you have correct tyres sizes fitted? I believe the diameter of all 4 wheels needs to be same in order for the traction control to operate?

 

[sk93]

isn't it something to do with the ABS sensors?
As I believe they also do the flat-tyre checking....

or am I so far out it's funny?

 

[Zed]

Just as a heads up guys I had the same problem last year, transpired to be a binding calliper which was throwing the whole TSC/DSC system a wobbler causing the lights and fault mentioned above. Changing the calliper fixed my problem (DIY), easily identifiable by the excessive dust on one wheel but certainly not pulling braking or not. Not saying this is the cause for everyone but worth checking anyways...

As an update the car failed it's MOT this year as there was a miniscule amount of pulling under braking during the rolling road test, BMW contacted me saying it was due to a new calliper and two new disks/pads (all OEM) or an improperly bled system. Shout out to Douglas Park of Hillington who cleaned up the system (their words) for FAC, car then sailed it's MOT. Ever since then, I’ve had the lights coming on intermittently (shown by TanguyM), too busy at the moment to take the car in but they have agreed to investigate as my argument is the system was stable until they had the car for MOT... we shall see!

Interestingly the system failure only occurs when it's ambient hot (I say failure because the Z4 mechanic said with the dash lights lit the system is turned off, worrying if it happens mid corner at speed on Scottish roads!), I'll be keeping an eye on tyre pressures based on the hot/cold theory.

Hope the info helps.