Buick Century ABS Light After New Pads And Rotors

Live Chat: Please help. 3800 v6 engine, my Buick Century had the brake rotors and brake pads changed with a complete new set. A few hours of driving later I noticed that the anti-lock light stayed on while I was driving. What is the problem? My car is a 1994 Buick Century.

Answer: It is possible that when doing the brake job, the mechanic may have damaged an ABS wheel speed sensor or wiring to one of the front wheel speed sensors. I would take it right back to them and tell them this problem started right after their repairs. Most quality auto repair shops will give it back to the mechanic that orked on your Buick and he will check it out real quick for free. If they caused the problem, they ill fix it.

Thanks! If there was damage to one of the ABS wheel speed sensor etc, will it cost me a lot for the mechanic to fix this problem? How easy or hard are such kinds of problems? Is this something I could do myself? I do have some basic tools and know a little about car repair from doing some work to my other cars over the years. I have worked on my Chevy and Pontiac cars before i got this Buick.

ANSWER:

If he damaged something they would have to repair it for free. It may just be a loose connector or pinched wire that is casuing the warning light. That would only take a few minutes to fix. A faulty front wheel speed sensor can run a few hundred dollars. This is not a repair you really can do yourself in your garage unless you have the proper tools, knowledge and skill to do the repairs. The brakes would have to come apart and the wheel bearing hub would have to be replaced since the sensor is part of the hub assembly. You can buy this at any of the local parts stores instead of the factory part since that would be much less expensive.

Thanks again for all your help. I hope it's an easy problem to fix. Hope that the problem is not about a faulty front wheel speed sensor on my Buick. If that turns out to be the case I guess I will have to spend a few hundred dollars to fix the problem. Right? Or, will the mechanic take care of it? I'm a client and they know me well, if that can help.

An ABS wanring light will not effect your normal braking system. It will only disable the antilock system. If you are a good customer, they will fix a small wiring repair or damage their mechanic caused for free. If one of the sensors went bad as a coinsidesnse, they may work a deal with you at a discount, since it happened right after their work was completed. It all depends on how much the shop wants to keep your business and you as a returning customer. All repair shops work a little different and hopefully this one is quality.

That is a very helpful answer and I thank you very much for your expert time on this chat. I'll be going back to the mechanic shop early in the morning tomorrow. By the way, the regular brakes where working fine before any repairs so at least that is good for me.