Urgent: All warning lights on after strut replacement

[blue_and_shiny]

You can go ahead and blast me after the fact. I have a 2016 CX-5 AWD that needed struts. I bought KYB for the model and paid a mechanic I know to install them. He did yesterday. Today, I drove to and back from work -- about 80 miles round trip -- and the car handled fine the whole time. About a mile from home, after a stop, suddenly every warning light came on, and a few seconds later, a very faint intermittent scraping sound from the front end. I limped home. Parked in the driveway, let it sit a minute and restarted it. The check engine light,ABS and (I think) AWD lights are on.

I left a message for the guy who did it, but I'm going to need this fixed tomorrow. The more expensive shop I was trying to avoid seeing is about a mile away. Any idea what happened, how to fix, and if I can drive the car safely the mile to the shop?

TIA.

 

[yrwei52]

Since you do have CEL, either find a code reader or “limp” to an AutoZone to havd them read the code first. Honestly I don’t believe your current problem is related to (front) strut replacement, unless he screeed up the ABS sensors.

 

[Silly Wabbit]

Best to take a picture to show the exact lights on

 

[blue_and_shiny]

research online shows the ABS sensors are hooked into the struts on some Mazdas. I am suspecting that is the issue.

Here are the lights on, after restarting:

 

[edmaz]

80 miles IMO is just about enough to significantly loosen up a bolt that wasn't torqued properly. And a major ABS fault, due to parts moving around, could certainly trigger the CEL as well. Strut replacement includes disassembly/reassembly of a significant amount of the suspension/steering/brake components, and any one of them being ready to detach could literally be fatal. There is no way I'd drive this vehicle without first having someone who is competent taking a close look at what's going on. Your safety (and anyone who is on the road with you) is more important than anything you need the vehicle for.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

80 miles IMO is just about enough to significantly loosen up a bolt that wasn't torqued properly. And a major ABS fault, due to parts moving around, could certainly trigger the CEL as well. Strut replacement includes disassembly/reassembly of a significant amount of the suspension/steering/brake components, and any one of them being ready to detach could literally be fatal. There is no way I'd drive this vehicle without first having someone who is competent taking a close look at what's going on. Your safety (and anyone who is on the road with you) is more important than anything you need the vehicle for.

At the very least, hopefully OP checked his braking system before driving anywhere.

 

[blue_and_shiny]

breaks work fine. I drove very slowly and took care around corners especially. Some research online shows the ABS line/sensor is tied to the struts in the front. Except for the lights and the slight metal-on-metal sound, the car handled the same as ever, but all the lights came on and there was the noise. I suspect the line/sensor has been damaged, but will take any opinions.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯ Strut replacement includes disassembly/reassembly of a significant amount of the suspension/steering/brake components,

 

[yrwei52]

breaks work fine. I drove very slowly and took care around corners especially. Some research online shows the ABS line/sensor is tied to the struts in the front. Except for the lights and the slight metal-on-metal sound, the car handled the same as ever, but all the lights came on and there was the noise. I suspect the line/sensor has been damaged, but will take any opinions.

You have the CEL, we need to know the code.

Even if the ABS sensor got damaged, you still have the brake to stop the car if needed.

 

[Tchman2016]

Wheels speed sensor or abs sensor damage or not connected will throw ALL those lights

 

[MyFirstMazda]

My guess is he didn't pug the connectors all the way and it came unplugged. Maybe the sound you heard was the plug end occasionally touching moving parts.

 

[blue_and_shiny]

So, as a resolution:

I took the CX-5 to my regular (more expensive) mechanic. Something in changing the struts (which were fine) did disturb the ABS system, but also alerted them to the fact that the wheel hubs were stripped. So, two new struts and nearly $2k worth of front end parts later, I'm back on the road and it drives like new.

Sigh. Love this car.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

So, as a resolution:

I took the CX-5 to my regular (more expensive) mechanic. Something in changing the struts (which were fine) did disturb the ABS system, but also alerted them to the fact that the wheel hubs were stripped. So, two new struts and nearly $2k worth of front end parts later, I'm back on the road and it drives like new.

Sigh. Love this car.

Just wondering... how did your bearings wear/fail in just 5-6 years ?

Are you running low offset rims or large tires ?

Just curious if this is a mazda problem as never had to replace my hub in any of my ford or toyota vehicles(trucks, suvs, cars) and ran those for 12-15 years each. Always kept the stock size tires though.

One of those things...meant to change them but they never had a problem so just kept em running.

 

[edmaz]

.... the wheel hubs were stripped ....

If that's exactly what they told you, you might want to go back and ask what the problem really was, because wheel hubs don't strip.

 

[Ohio_CX-5]

Might you be referring to the wheel bearings in need of replacing? Like others said, wheel hubs are not something you ever replace. Even when wheel studs get stripped, they can be replaced with new ones without replacing the hubs…

 

[Tchman2016]

Wheel bearings are integrated into hubs and are an assembly on modern cars. Sometimes bearings can be replaced independently on the hub by new ones being pressed on and the hub reused but it's cheaper and easier for a whole new assembly to go labor cost wise. There can be magetic honing rings integrated inside the hub or gear sets that external wheel speed or abs sensors read to calculate speed and grip when the wheels are turning. These sensors can also be integrated into the hub/bearing assembly and if fail or get damaged would require replacement of the entire assembly. Not sure what happened in the OP case but this is just some info for everyone to understand.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Wheel bearings are integrated into hubs and are an assembly on modern cars. Sometimes bearings can be replaced independently on the hub by new ones being pressed on and the hub reused but it's cheaper and easier for a whole new assembly to go labor cost wise. There can be magetic honing rings integrated inside the hub or gear sets that external wheel speed or abs sensors read to calculate speed and grip when the wheels are turning. These sensors can also be integrated into the hub/bearing assembly and if fail or get damaged would require replacement of the entire assembly. Not sure what happened in the OP case but this is just some info for everyone to understand.

Thanks. Not much of a sensor guy and was wondering how it was affecting the sensors.
Figured that sensors detect all sorts of things. Thanks for explaining how the sensors work.

The questions remains though. How did his bearings go in just 5 years? And do Mazdas have shorter than usual hub life?

 

[yrwei52]

So, as a resolution:

I took the CX-5 to my regular (more expensive) mechanic. Something in changing the struts (which were fine) did disturb the ABS system, but also alerted them to the fact that the wheel hubs were stripped. So, two new struts and nearly $2k worth of front end parts later, I'm back on the road and it drives like new.

Sigh. Love this car.

This $2K repair, both cost and parts replaced, confuses me. The second shop seemed to believe the first shop who replaced front struts damaged BOTH front hubs? Why couldn’t they reuse the still new KYB struts even if the first shop really “stripped” BOTH hubs? And this’s out of my imagination that how did the first shop damage the hubs? Or if the damage is front bearing? And both?

I still believe the culprit should be, like MyFirstMazda’s guess in post #11, somehow one of the front ABS wheel-speed sensor wiring connectors didn’t plug in properly.

At least after $2K, the problem is fixed.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

This $2K repair, both cost and parts replaced, confuses me. The second shop seemed to believe the first shop who replaced front struts damaged BOTH front hubs? Why could they reuse the still new KYB struts even if the first shop really “stripped” BOTH hubs? And this’s out of my imagination that how did the first shop damage the hubs? Or if the damage is front bearing? And both?

I still believe the culprit should be, like MyFirstMazda’s guess in post #11, somehow one of the front ABS wheel-speed sensor wiring connectors didn’t plug in properly.

View attachment 305604

At least after $2K, the problem is fixed.

For what he paid the 2nd shop, he should, at the very least, pull the wheel off and make sure he got brand new hubs/ bearing assemblys.

Maybe the repair was needed and nothing is amiss.

However, it's one thing to perform an unnecessary service...you're still getting something for your $$$.

It's quite another to charge for something not done at all...that would be theft.

I've always had any shop, except for my current local shop, provide me all the worn out parts back so I can see what they changed. Hopefully OP did this.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯ I've always had any shop, except for my current local shop, provide me all the worn out parts back so I can see what they changed. Hopefully OP did this.

Agreed. I’ve been urging people doing this, even just a simple oil change with your own oil and oil filter. Make sure to ask the dealer or shop to leave the empty oil bottles and oil filter box in the truck.