Posted on 5/29/2026
An ABS light and a traction control light showing up together can make the car feel like it has two separate problems. Sometimes it does. A lot of the time, though, both warnings start from the same place: one wheel is no longer reporting clean speed information. That is where the ABS sensor comes in. A small sensor near the wheel can affect braking support, traction control, stability control, and sometimes even hill-start or all-wheel-drive behavior. When the signal drops out, the car loses part of the information it uses to keep the tires under control. What The ABS Sensor Does Each ABS sensor watches wheel speed. The vehicle compares those readings constantly, especially during braking, acceleration, and slippery-road driving. If one wheel slows down too quickly during braking, the ABS can pulse brake pressure to help prevent lockup. Traction control uses the same type of information from the opposite side of the problem. If one wheel spins faster than the oth ... read more