ABS and Brake Warning Light problem

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goomba

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I just took my MM in for its first service visit (5,000 miles). Everything was working fine when I dropped it off. The next day the amber ABS warning light and the red warning brake light both came on when I was on the freeway. I pulled off, turned off the engine and restarted and the lights stayed off. I pulled back on the freeway. As soon as I hit 60, the lights came back on again. I pulled off again and this time shut the engine off and set the parking brake, thinking maybe a relay was stuck or something. Started up again and the lights stayed off until I hit 60 again.
The brakes felt fine, but I took it back in to the shop. One of the service guys was there when I pulled in, so I showed him that the warning lights were on. The service guy called me back later and said that they couldn't find a problem. The computer had kicked an error code but when they consulted with the Ford engineers the error code didn't tell them anything. They took off the wheels, inspected the brakes and the sensors and everything looked OK. They took it for a test drive and the lights came back on. They then checked the tire pressure and they noticed that the pressures were differnt between the tires, so they leveled up the tires and were no longer able to make the lights come back on.
I picked it up and all was well. I drove it around town all weekend without a problem, but never took it on the freeway. Monday morning, I pull on to the freeway and the lights come back on as soon as I merged into traffic.
I dropped the car back off at the shop today.

Anyone else had this problem or has any ideas on what's causing the warning lights to come on? :help:
 
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It doesn't surprise me the Dealer can't seem to find the problem--they
(the service guys) are probably in the mind set of the GM and can't figure out the uniqueness of the MM...so be persistent..make them fix the problem....make them take you out on a test drive after they have so called "fixed the problem".....just to make sure you got it fixed..don't take their word for it..... believe me--they really don't know as much as you want to believe they know.....don't get told anything without verifing it out before leaving....we( us memebers) seem to always have to be training the people at the MM dealers...unbelivably!!!
 
Good Advice!

Thanks marauderman.
I'll make sure to take it out for a test drive before I accept the car. :up:

One of the reasons I took my MM to this particular service center was that I was hoping they would be familar with the different components that make up the MM.

This shop is a Ford place so I thought they would know my Mustang-like engine well. They also work on taxi-cabs, so they know GM's. They also work on the San Francisco Police cars, so they know CV PI's too.

I just got a message back from the service guy. They're going to keep the car another day so "the shop foreman can confirm the diagnosis". I'll post as soon as I find out what the problem is.
 
Had a similar problem with wife's old mini-van (yes - mini-van, a 99 Windstar - may it rest in peace).

First dealer couldn't find the problem. Took it to another dealer and presto!

Point is: not all service departments are the same. Some just give up if the computer can't tell them what to do.

Keep after 'em. Maybe try another dealer if there is one nearby.
 
For what its worth: had same problem in a different car once (not the MM). Turned out to be an ABS ac***ulator pump with an intermittent fault. Pump replaced, problem fixed.
 
It's Fixed!

Marauderman was right when he said that the mechanics "are probably in the mind set of the GM and can't figure out the uniqueness of the MM".

It turns out that when they rotated the tires, they did a full rotation and the front tires ended up on the back. They finally figured out the problem when they talked to a Mecury engineer who suggested testing the wheel speeds and they discovered that there was a 5mph difference between the front and back. I guess that's why the warning lights only came on when I hit the freeway. Around town, I wasn't going fast enough to make a large enough difference between the front and rear wheels for the sensors to notice. I got a voice mail message from the shop foreman and he left his business card on the dash. He sounded pretty embarrassed about the whole thing.

At least they'll know the next time a MM rolls in.
 
Hmm... You're saying they actually did a traditional rotation on all four?

OK, one, how did THEY not notice the difference in tire size?

Two, how did YOU not notice the difference in tire size?

Not meaning to sound abrupt, but that's just unreal!
 
Goomba...Now, call the shop foreman back and tell him...Smile, You're on candid camera...LOLOLOLOLOL...
 
Let the ribbing begin!

You would think I would have noticed that the tires were back to front. To be honest, I didn't check visually. When I was putting around town, I didn't feel anything different in the handling. As soon as I hit freeway speeds, the warning lights came on, so I turned around and headed back to the shop. I didn't notice then either.

We're not talking funny car style wheels here, but let the jokes begin...
 
Unbelievable. Well, maybe not. A couple years ago, my better half managed to blow two tires on one side of a '96 Passat VR6, in downtown Phili. She limped it to a tire shop, and fortunately they had the tires (low profile Eagles), and she went on her way.

Next morning, I walk into the garage to look at the car, and it's leaning like it's jacked up on one side. Wrong size tires.

Good service people are like gold if you can find them.
 
Hey Goomba, just tell everybody it's a prototype FRONTwheel drive MM!
:beer: :lol: :bounce:
 
Just goes to show you the dealers don't know to much about the MM. The tech should have noticed the difference in tire size. This site should be mandatory viewing by all Mercury dealers. They may learn a thing or to about the MM. John
 
Now I just took my MM in for the 5000 mile service and the same damn thing happened. And when I dropped it off and they said they were going to rotate the tires, I had to tell them that it was going to have to be side to side and not a full rotation. When I picked up the car, the same thing happened with the ABS light and the brake light. And this is with just a side to side rotation. When I took it back, they said that the problem was with any rotation at all on the tires and so they put them back and now no problem. Now I swear, I would have noticed had the f***ed up and moved front to back. And so my question is what is the deal with the tire rotation on our MM?

Mightypeter
 
Mightypeter, I'm thinking they did do a front to back rotation on your car.

side to side shouldn't create any problem, unless tires are directional, which ours are not
 
When I took mine in for the 10,000 mile service I insisted that they write down on the invoice to *not* rotate the tires front to back, but to only do it side to side. When I picked it up this time everything was fine.
 
Ha! Ha!

My dealer already knew to ONLY rotate side to side. When I went in for my service, he offered to rotate, telling me that it was time for it, and that he wanted to make sure I understood that it would only be a side to side rotation. I told him that I did and was happy to see that he did also.

I get a kick out of some of the dealers you other MM owners have!


Now, if it was me, and my dealer was to rotate my tire wrong, I would have them put it in writing that it was their fault, because from the sound of it, this is what happened:

They didn't do just a straight "front-to-back" rotation, where you would end of with smaller tires on the back. It sounds to me like they did a "clockwise" rotation, which made the car end up with one large tire, and one small tire on the rear axle. This is what the computer was seeing wrong, but at the same time, this is BAD for the rearend. Just think about what they tell you about the spare tire being used on the rear, it shouldn't be done, at least not for very long.

I would have them extend your warranty on the rearend, just for the hell of it! Never hurts to have a little extra "free" warranty!
 
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