After installing 2 new tires on the rear, the ESC Active light routinely comes on.

ANSWER : This is common anytime the wheels and tires are removed. Your car is equipped with wheel speed sensors at each of the four wheels which monitor wheel speed while relaying this information constantly to the ABS and traction control system which are controlled by the car’s ECU. When the ECU senses an abnormal speed given specific conditions, it engages the ABS or traction control as needed to control the vehicle properly and safely.

Occasionally, these sensors can fail or become faulty working intermittently sending inaccurate signals to the ECU. When this happens, you may experience the symptoms you have described. The ABS or traction control system may be inadvertently activated by these false or inaccurate signals. To avoid any unnecessary repairs. I would suggest having a professional from Your Mechanic come to your home to diagnose your ABS and traction control system and service your ABS speed sensor as necessary.

ANSWER : Hi There,
As you know, your car has sensors at each of the four wheels that monitor the tire pressure at each tire. When these sensors fail, you may notice inaccurate readings as to your tire pressure. In some cases, you may not receive any kind of indication. It may be possible that during the installation the tires did not seal properly causing a small and slow leak which triggered the sensor. I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your tire pressure monitoring system.

ANSWER : Hello. Replacing the stop light socket with a new one should have solved the intermittent problem of the stop light not working all of the time. It is possible that when you tweaked the socket, it caused a short to ground. This could explain why the dash lights only come on when you press the brakes.

The first thing that I would suggest is that the stop light socket be replaced. After replacing the stop light socket, if the dash lights still only come on when you press the brake pedal, the wiring for the dashboard will need to be inspected for any shorts to ground or bare wires touching metal that it shouldn’t touch. Since this issue started as a rear light problem, I would start with having your rear lights inspected by a certified technician, such as one from YourMechanic.

ANSWER : Hi there. In many cases, when you have electrical problems like you’re describing, it’s caused by multiple electrical component failure. It’s likely that a few electrical relays are not working; especially if you have systems that utilize the same components (such as your brake light and tail lights). I would recommend having a professional mobile mechanic come to your location to complete an electrical problems inspection first, so they can pinpoint what is damaged and recommend the right repairs.

ANSWER : Batteries can die due to faults in the charging system so ideally a suspected "faulty" battery should be load tested before a decision is made to condemn it. The only exception to this rule is if the battery is already clearly "old" (greater than 5 years) but even then once you put a new battery in, as a replacement for a "dead" battery, you have to comprehensively check out the charging system. Diagnostic Trouble Code P0460 will result in disruption of the dashboard fuel gauge’s ability to accurately report your tank’s fuel levels. The fuel gauge readings may be erratic, or read somewhere off scale. Vehicles equipped with a low fuel warning light feature may also suffer from erratic low fuel warnings in the event of a code P0460. Unless the P0460 code has been reported alongside other trouble code, all of the vehicle’s essential systems should otherwise function normally. I would recommend that you request a check engine light diagnostic to first resolve the fault causing the P0460 code to set. The check gas cap light warning light could be due a faulty gas cap and/or small leaks in the EVAP system.

ANSWER : Hello, thank you for writing in. The last technicians that worked on your vehicle are not wrong. There are certain types of brake pads that will make a squealing noise when the brakes are applied. These are typically made from a metal composite material. You can always research the brand they put on and find out more about the brake pads. This would give you a good idea of what you should reasonably expect. Are the brakes exhibiting any other types of symptoms? If there is any sponginess in the pedal, shaking or vibrating, hard stops, or other symptoms then there may be more cause for concern. In situations like these, if you are expecting to drive the vehicle a longer distance in the near future, it is recommended that you get a second opinion. Our technicians can dispatch to your home or office.

ANSWER : First, you want to make sure your cooling system is full. Check the radiator not the coolant jug. And check it when it is cold. If it needs coolant, add some. Of course, I don’t feel this problem is an actual low coolant condition. I would expect to find an electrical failure in the instrument cluster or from a component or wiring harness that is connected to the instrument cluster.

As a technician, I have access to reports from technicians across the country. I could not find any reports of this problem, so diagnosing this will require an experienced tech as this is not a common problem. In addition, this happens at intermittent times making it difficult to recreate. The most challenging part of this diagnosis will be recreating the symptom. I suspect it has something to do with the brake switch circuitry because it only seems to happen when you have your foot on the brake. I would begin my diagnosis there with a wiring diagram and test light in hand. The brake switch, instrument cluster, and environmental controls all interact with each other. Something is crossed either because of a failed module or damaged wiring in a harness.

Aside from making sure the coolant is full, this will not likely leave you on the side of the road. If you take it in to be diagnosed, be prepared for them to spend more time than usual to figure it out. Since it isn’t a key problem, you may need to live with it until it completely fails making it much easier to diagnose. Either way, I do recommend having a certified mechanic diagnose the warning light to make sure there isn’t anything serious going on.

Good luck.

ANSWER : I would have the tire size double checked as a 60 series tire will generally be taller if the profile number does not change. The tire light is probably due to a failed tire monitoring system initialization which should have been carried out after the tires were replaced. You may want to have the dealership check out this issue as they were the last ones to work on it. They should be able to provide an explanation on the tire size change and properly initialize the tire pressure monitoring system.