Two days after Christmas I was in a parking lot and all of the sudden, I put my foot on the brake to stop and the car flashed VSC light came on and my brakes were not working. I turned the car off and then back on and put the car into neutral and had my son push me into a stall. I turned the car off and back on and the same light was illuminated as well as ABS, Brake Warning and that triangular warning sign. My husband came down to pick me up 1/2 hr later and of course, the car worked fine. He thought I did something until it happened two more times for me and once for him. Each time the warnings came up and the brakes were not working very well (hit them to the floor and the car finally decides to brake.) We took it into the Toyota Dealer Service and on the way the light were up but after he turned it off the light did not come back on. They told us that because the codes are not coming on and they see nothing wrong when they look at it there is nothing they can do. BTW, it had been raining around the time that this was going on and is no longer raining? We have not hydroplaned or made any sudden movements...2 out of 4 times it happened I was going slow in a parking lot. Anyone have any ideas on what to do now?

 

Shouldn't the car's data recorder have revealed the problems? Did the dealer check that system, which, I believe is separate from the car's OBD (or what ever it's called) system

 

They said they check everything and since nothing is coming up we cannot do anything for you...my husband brought it home and will be driving it while I drive our big ole SUV to work and transport our kids from activity to activity getting 12 miles per gallon all the while hoping that the car doesn't do it again while my husband is in heavy traffic.

 

Three weeks after initial incident, the same thing happened as last post. (VSC light came on, brakes were failing) Finally, this time a sales person saw the light on and tested the car and experienced the same thing as us. The light was not on when the service department tested the car this morning. Thier hands are tied as they can only get the codes from the computer if the VSC or ABS light goes off and so far the car has not had this problem while the service techs are testing the car. Please let me know if you have ever had such a problem and how you handled it as we have now a 30,000 parked car!

 

I would escalate the issue to the general manager of the dealership. Ask him to personally involve Toyota Technical service persons since your service department has not done so.

 

This looks like a difficult case. I don't know what is going on. Originally, I thought that maybe one of your four speed sensors (TCH has one on each wheel) was going bad. I figured if one is intermittently failing, that would cause your VSC and ABS light to come on. However, even if your sensor is bad, your brakes should should still be responsive. That is where I'm disconnecting.

Sorry, I can't help. Please keep us informed.