Stability System Kicking in Randomly

[BatsTDK]

Have had a weird thing come up a few times now.

I’ve noticed when I enter or exit a freeway and do one of those cloverleaf loops, occasionally I suddenly get the “Stability System Active” message and lose engine power, feel the brakes applying, and get a grunting or groaning noise in the engine bay.

Now I’m not taking these corners too fast or tight, yet it still kicks in sometimes. And even when I do take a corner faster or tighter, the system does not engage.

So I guess it’s doing it’s working and doing itsjob somewhat, but why is it kicking in when I feel like it shouldn’t?

 

[nonickatall]

I don't know how this stabilisystem in the Tahoe is working practically, but I know the systems from many other cars and I think it will be equal.

You have four ABS sensors on your wheels, a steering wheel ankle Sensor, which is mostly located on your steering wheel and you have as well the sensor which measures the turning and acceleration rate of a car, which must be for technical reasons located in the middle of the car, so mostly under the middle console.

If this sensors give information that the car moves im uncontrolled condition, the controller of your stability System brakes single wheels with the ABS system to Return to a controlled situation, that is the noise you hear from tha engine compartment and reduce paralell the accleration, that is your feel of losing engine power.

So I think the most common reason for this problem is a weak turning and acceleration sensor. When this Sensor delivers wrong data, the turning into a curve would be interpreated at the car is coming into instable condition.

So I would first replace this sensor which mostly is very cheap and easy to change.

If you have the possibility you can also read the system with Software while driving and watch live data and look which Sensor deliver which data.

I'm not sure if ist possible at our cars, i know that only from other German cars, I'm as well not sure if you call that in the US "turning and acceleration Sensor". But I'm sure that this is the princip of the system, and I think it's very likely that your problem come from that.

Excuse my english i am from Germany..

 

[BatsTDK]

Thanks for the info. I think I recall doing a scan with my OBD reader and it said something about a ABS sensor being bad. I’ll have to double check.

 

[rockola1971]

If you have an active ABS sensor code the Stabiltrak should be disengaging and a system warning in the message center of your cluster since the Stabiltrak needs valid inputs from all 4 ABS sensors to work. When your Stabiltrak is engaging, are you sliding any? Ice? During Rain?

 

[BatsTDK]

Nope. I’m in Southern California. No ice here. Rarely rain. When this is happening, it’s always a dry sunny day. No slipping. It engages even when I’m taking the turns gingerly. And yet today when I laid into it around a corner to get around a dipsh*t, it didn’t engage. I was even chirping the tires a bit.

 

[bmidd]

There's 1 particular corner coming down the mountain that causes my Suburban to do this. It's a tight right-hander, with a steep elevation change and it activates the system only going down. Nothing is slipping or losing traction.