Check Brake System, Check ABS System, Check VSA & Check Power Steering

KendeR

Well-Known Member
10
3
Hey All... Been lurking in the forums and have had this baffle me.

I have a 2012 Civic EX-L Navi and had it for almost a year. I keep regular maintenance on schedule.

On a road trip yesterday I all of a sudden as I was driving received the following message in this order on my dashboard and iMID :

Check Brake System
Check ABS System
Check VSA System
And after a minute...
Check Power Steering System.

Then, I power the car off, and drive off it's fine for a while and then, repeats.

The power steering abs and brakes were perfectly fine with no loss of power to the engine or anything strange it drives perfect even with the lights on.

I had the voltage checked on the alternator and the battery and they both are perfectly fine. So now I'm left a little baffled as to what the situation is because clearly it is an electrical short somewhere.

I've seen threats started about this but nothing ever really concrete about what the solution was.
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Do you have any aftermarket headlights, intake etc?
 
If you're stock getting those warnings and your battery is testing fine, you'll prob need to call Honda. I've seen a couple of people report Honda updated their ecu software when this came up and it was resolved.
 
Awesome. I will have to give them a shout. Much appreciated. That might be the issue.

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This happened with my 15 ex about 4 months after I got it. Took it to honda and it just needed am ecu update like @webby said. Haven't had the issue since. Also, I know it sounds crazy, but check your fuses. I was told it could also be from that. If one that controls those systems is blown or missing in the fuse box it will cause the same thing

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This happened with my 15 ex about 4 months after I got it. Took it to honda and it just needed am ecu update like @webby said. Haven't had the issue since. Also, I know it sounds crazy, but check your fuses. I was told it could also be from that. If one that controls those systems is blown or missing in the fuse box it will cause the same thing

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Thanks for confirming the ECU update. It's odd it would just malfunction. With the fuses, Good thinking. I will check those too!
Your ideas are much appreciated.

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I just called Honda and they told me it's likely a software update - though they want to charge diagnosis of 120$ first lol. Ah well. But your thoughts gang, seem to be spot on, and for that I thank you. Though it's not a firm diagnosis, I will update once I have it remedied for those like me who have this happen to them.
 
In a surprising turn of events....vsa modulator. And that's after I called 3 different Honda service depots all saying it's likely an electrical fault.

And...price tag is $1500 including parts and labor

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In a surprising turn of events....vsa modulator. And that's after I called 3 different Honda service depots all saying it's likely an electrical fault.

And...price tag is $1500 including parts and labor

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They physically looked at your car and said the vsa modulator was faulty?
 
They physically looked at your car and said the vsa modulator was faulty?
Yes indeed. That's what they told me at the dealership. They had it on diagnostic this morning and physically inspected. Called me and said that's the culprit.

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well that really sucks. I'm guessing it's not going to be covered by any type of warranty at this point?
 
The part itself was 1250$ plus labour, inspection and tax. Good good. I feel like I need to sell a kidney.

Btw....kidney for sale.

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Ask for the bad part when you pick up the car. At least you know they didn't just update the ecu and screw you for $1500.
 
Same thing happen to wifey's car and same module went out. IIRC it was around $700 for the part but it was covered under warranty at the time... few years back. Just curious how many miles does your car have? Wifeys car had around 80k
 
Same thing happen to wifey's car and same module went out. IIRC it was around $700 for the part but it was covered under warranty at the time... few years back. Just curious how many miles does your car have? Wifeys car had around 80k
Mine was at 117km

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I had the same problem yesterday with my 2012 Civic ex, I read many many forums in the 45 minutes it took me to restart the car at a random parking lot.
Here is what happened:

In the winter I killed the battery, where I live it gets to -40C and I left the car outside, not plugged in and didn't use it for over a week. I boosted the car with a dual battery truck, it started in 5 seconds. The next day I had to boost it for 15 minutes with a regular car and drove it for 30 min on the highway, turned it off for 30 and then I had to boost it again for 10 seconds using a regular car from a nice bystander.

In short, the battery is probably reaching the end of it's lifetime.

Yesterday I drove for 30 min on the highway and then parked at a restaurant, went to buy food and ate in my car - Fan on, speakers on, GPS plugged in to the lighter socket - After 10 minutes I heard a pop and got all four messages,
Check Brake, ABS, VSA, Power Steering System.
Tried to restart the car, nothing.

I waited in the car reading forums, after 5 minutes I tried to restart - nothing. Then kept reading someone hinted it could be the battery, tried again in 10 minutes, this time it barely cranked. That minor crank gave me hope, I had booster cables in the trunk but instead of bothering a stranger I decided to wait a full 30 minutes while I read more forums and found this one.... which didn't give me much hope.

After 30 minutes the car had a hard time but it crancked enough to restart the car. All four messages still showed up. After 5 minutes driving all four messages went away.

In short, before you spend $1000+ dollars getting the car repaired, what I found out:
1. Boost the car.
2. Check the fuse box and make sure all work.
3. Replace the battery. These you can do yourself for under $150.

If it fixes it, great, otherwise it will require professional work.
 
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