The Car Care Clinic with the Dr John

2001 Chevy Venture - Warning lights

Raul, London

Question

Doc I have an 2001 Chevy Venture, With ABS & Traction Control. Both the ABS & Traction Control warning lights came on at the same time and stay on. Are these systems interconnected? In your opinion what might I expect from the dealer for after warranty repair service on a '01 Chevy Venture with 51,000 miles? Everything seems to be working okay at this time.

Answer

It wouldn't hurt to ask the dealer if there is something that they can do for you. But, if the vehicle is out of warranty don't get bent all out of shape if they say no. The ABS system and the Traction Control system both use many of the same input sensors to operate. If a jointly shared sensor fails both warning lights will turn on. For the cause of the joint failure to be known all that has to be done is ask the system computer. As a rule it will gladly share the information to guide you to a repair. I'll bet a coffee that you'll have a wheel speed sensor failure. This has been the most common problem that we've seen on these vehicles. So ask the technician to do a scan for you.

Good Luck!
Dr. John