Paying attention to your car is imperative in these modern times, in fact, if you do not do the minimum service of it, or if you do not take into account signals of abnormality, you strongly risk to see your car getting in bad conditions. This is precisely the theme we are going to discuss today, one of the indications that most disturbs motorists is the ABS warning light on Toyota Highlander. In an attempt to help you analyze this warning light, we will first take a look at what this ABS warning light corresponds to, then in a second how to proceed if the ABS light is on Toyota Highlander?.

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What does the ABS light on Toyota Highlander signify?

We will start our content with the meaning of an ABS warning light on Toyota Highlander, to do this, in first, we will see what an ABS is, and later on, why the ABS light on your car lights up.

What is the ABS on Toyota Highlander?

To start with, it is vital to explain to you what the ABS of your Toyota Highlander is utilized for so that you can understand the remaining of this content. The ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) is a system that prevents the wheels of your car from locking during braking. The objective of this system is to optimise the braking distance of a car by preventing the wheels from locking, sliding on the road and you losing control of your car. The ABS system of your Toyota Highlander is made up of different parts, here they are:

  • Speed sensors on each wheel, which will examine if one of the wheels locks up.
  • A hydraulic system and valves that will control the pressure of the pads on the discs to control the braking power of the car
  • A computer that is the control center of your entire ABS system as well as the ABS light of your Toyota Highlander

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The truth is, you can quite easily experience how your car’s ABS works. If you have to steer, you will find that your car will brake by pawing, this is exactly the behaviour that ABS permits, it will optimise braking to the maximum by associating the phases of pressure on the brake discs and the phases of release to prevent the wheels from locking up.

Meaning of an ABS light on Toyota Highlander

Now we move on to the section that you are most probably more interested in, meaning of an ABS warning light on a Toyota Highlander? First of all, it is an orange light, so if it is on it denotes that your ABS system is defective. You should be aware that when the ABS warning light is on, the ABS will be put into security mode, so you should adjust your driving and not take any risks. Here are the different problems that the ABS warning light on your Toyota Highlander can point:

  • It could be a simple short circuit, a damaged wiring harness, a defective relay or fuse. Use a pressure gauge to examine it.
  • A malfunctioning ABS sensor: A malfunction of one of them causes the ABS light on your Toyota Highlander to come on
  • The ABS hydraulic block of your Toyota Highlander: If it is defective it is possible that the indicator light will turn on and you will no longer be able to use your ABS.
  • The ABS computer: If the computer has a trouble, being the center of all decisions made to manage your ABS, the light will undoubtedly come on.

What if the ABS light activate on my Toyota Highlander?

We will now move on to the section where we will try to give you some answers to switch off this light, and thus answer the following question, what to do if the ABS light is on on my Toyota Highlander?. The answers will could depend on the failure you are enduring. First of all, pass your Toyota Highlander to the diagnostic tool, if you don’t know how to read a fault code on Toyota Highlander, don’t be reluctant to browse our content which explains the steps to take. Once you have determined the cause of your trouble, here are the steps to take to solve it and turn off the ABS light on your Toyota Highlander:

  • Problem of the ECU or the hydraulic block: It can only be altered, and in this situation, you will have to go through a professional, but if it’s dead, it could cost you around 1000€ to replace the ECU and 1500 to 2000€ if you have to replace both of them.
  • Electrical trouble: Once you’ve identified an electrical trouble with your manometer, if it’s only a fuse or a relay, count around 10€ maximum, in any other case you’ll have to repair the wiring harness.
  • A defective sensor: In some cases a simple cleaning of the sensors will be enough to solve the trouble, in any other case changing a sensor can cost up to a few hundred euros.

To get more tips on the Toyota Highlander, take a look at the Toyota Highlander category.