Avensis Asb "speed Sensor & Bearing" Problem

April 3, 2008

Hi, just joined and this is my first (and hopefully only) post looking for help.

My Avensis has just been looked at by the local Toyota service centre because there was an intermittent 'springy' noise from the brakes as the car came to a stop.

I've been told that I need a new "Speed Sensor & Bearing" as the problem is ABS related. They have quoted me £600 inc VAT.

Only bought the car in October so not happy at all. Luckily I also bought a Customer Protect 12 month warrenty... what a waste of paper. They won't cover (even though ABS modulator and sensors are specifically mentioned as covered in the agreement) because they say it's wear and tear.

So, 2 questions really.

1. Has anyone else heard of this problem and is it really expected as wear and tear on a car which is 5 years old on 51k miles?

2. Is this a job that can be done for less than £600. They wanted to charge me £200 for parts, 90 quid an hour labour and the rest is VAT.

PS, now some advice in return...

I was told by the warrenty people that I had to take the car to one of their authorised 'Nationwide Auto Centres' so I did. This particular garage (I'm not saying they are all like this) had the car for 5 days. They experienced the problem though said that they were unable to fix it. So, for my troubles I was without a car for 5 days, when I picked it up it had a nice dent and scuff on the rear door which I know wasn't there before (though I couldn't prove that) and I had to take the car back after the brakes made a terrible NEW noise 50yrds down the road. Absolute Muppets! Highly unrecommended.

Hense the pricey Toyota garage as I was told to then take it to a specialist.

Its a shame because other than that, I love the car!

April 3, 2008

To ChuckB.

Wheel (front or back ? ) bearing can quite easily wear out at this milage. Your ABS sensor picks up signal from serated ring fitted to CV joint. If all parts are in perfect order, as wheel turns a constant gap is maintained between ring & sensor. You need to check with Toyota again to see if this gap has altered due to wheel bearing wear. Sounds like an awful lot of wear to make this happen ? I think you need to get back to Toyota & ask them to be a bit more specific. Its not beyond the realms of possibility, but with wheel bearing wear you may get a rumbling sound to denote problem with a bearing.