I’ve a weird one here. Two or three months ago my ABS warning light started coming on intermittently. The mechanic said the system was flagging a problem with the front left sensor but the reluctor disc (?) was dirty and when he cleaned it up the problem went away. Sorted ...? Then a few weeks ago the problem recurred but this time the error code is for the rear left sensor and this time cleaning it up doesn’t help. The light generally only comes on after about half an hour of driving. Sometimes the rear left code is followed by a rear right code, all indicating a sensor problem. Another driver helpfully caused me to test the ABS (!) the other day and it worked fine. It seems too much of a coincidence for two or three sensors to fail within the space of a few months. Has anyone else had anything similar? And where can I get a replacement sensor anyway? (07 plate, 1.3L). Several dealers have drawn a blank.
Help! This gets worse: mechanic can't get hold of an ABS sensor; none available online; Daihatsu UK website doesn't work (just freezes when I try to submit a service request); dealer numbers given on the Daihatsu website are all "out of service"; Toyota deny all knowledge. It shouldn't really have passed the last MoT and if I can't find a replacement it will fail the next one. What do I do?
Firstly, you need to approach the search with a degree of flexibility. While the numbers on the Daihatsu website may well be out of date, you might find that the dealer is still in business under a different franchise. My nearest dealer is now flogging Great Wall motors Hepworth Motor Co Ltd. Used Cars in Holmfirth So with some lateral thought, or a further enquiry here, you may well find a local place that still has the necessary expertise. Secondly, while I’m sure you want to resolve the issue quickly, one post is enough for us to get the gist.
Thanks Rob To address your second point first: I re-posted because I had further info and because, after three months with no reply to my original post, I suspected it had become submerged amongst more recent posts before being read by anyone with anything to offer. I was initially puzzled by your reference to Great Wall but I see from this item Daihatsu out, Great Wall in that they started working through a lot of former Daihatsu dealers around 2013. However I think you're particularly lucky with Hepworth Motor Company: my nearest Great Wall dealer makes no mention of Daihatsu and has some of the worst online reviews I've seen so I won't be trying them. I did manage to track down the nearest dealer listed on www.daihatsu.co.uk (still nearly 30 miles away). They told me that ABS sensors for Copens are no longer made; that the front right sensor is no longer available; that there's only one front left available (at £250!) and that availability of the rear sensors is questionable. So I'm faced with a real prospect of having to scrap an otherwise perfectly good car for want of one part. The plot thickens. I've found a post from 2010 (which I missed in my earlier searches) from someone with identical symptoms to mine, but replacing the ABS sensor didn't fix the problem. The optimist in me wonders if there's an underlying problem here that falsely reports as a sensor fault, so that in fact I don't need a part that's either unavailable or stupidly expensive: the pessimist in me points out that, with two instances of the problem in nine years, I'm unlikely to find someone who knows the answer. However my optimist has faith in the CopenWorld community!
Have you tried getting a sensor from a Copen that is already being parted out? Also the problem doesn't necessarily have to be the sensor, it could be a bad wire or the abs module could be faulty. Start by testing the sensor it's self to make sure it is the real culprit.
I’d get another mechanic. If the fault has shifted, it could be the ABS block, which is the bit that transfers the brake pressure around. I’m no expert, but I understand it has some wire gauze filters in there that could be clogged (think I saw it on Wheeler Dealers). Find that and clean/flush it. Otherwise as far as I know, ABS sensors are fairly generic but rely roar rings are very specific to the model.
It appears this is a rare problem but I know I’m not the first so I’m certain I won’t be the last. I’ll therefore post my experiences here for the benefit of the next person who, like me last July, is searching Copenworld for a solution. Sorry for the repetition of info in previous posts – this is the complete story: SYMPTOMS The main symptom was the ABS warning light coming on, which these days means an MoT fail. However there was also sometimes an unnerving noise, like a pump running dry. That only ever happened immediately on starting (usually after a 20-30 minute break in a long journey) and never persisted for more than a minute or so. PROBLEM 1: Ambiguous diagnostics It’s well-known that a lot of diagnostic testers aren’t compatible with Daihatsu. My mechanic’s is, and indicated an ABS sensor fault, but it kept changing its mind which wheel it was on. The solution, I’m afraid, is to find a specialist Diahatsu repairer – see below. PROBLEM 2: Parts unavailable A Copen requires specific ABS sensors which are no longer made. My mechanic tried all his suppliers and I tried everywhere I could think of online and we both drew a blank. At this point I was facing the real prospect of having to write off an otherwise perfectly good car for want of one part. Once again the solution was to go via a Daihatsu dealer, and even then it was a close call: there was only one available in the country and if the problem had been on the front rather than the rear there wouldn’t have been any at all. PROBLEM 3: Finding a specialist repairer As you all know, Daihatsu no longer operate in the UK (and Toyota weren’t interested in helping me). There’s therefore no such thing as an “approved” Daihatsu repairer and the Daihatsu website is years out of date so can’t be relied upon. However with a bit of searching and ringing around I found one local to me (Bristol) who I can recommend unreservedly: Hursley Hill Garage Wells Road, Whitchurch, Bristol BS14 0QZ www.hursleyhillgarage.co.uk
Given that it probably is a part of the toyota parts bin, I'm sure there is a readily available replacement somewhere, but it probably has another part number. Thank you for shaing your experience
My Copen also said that the ABS Sensor was broken (I believe the right side), however, this wasn't the case. For me, the ABS pump itself was broken. I looked on Facebook for another one, bought one for 90 euros, and got it placed in for another 75. This solved the problem for me. This is probably not the problem with your Copen, however it might be something to look for!
