I replaced my front rotor/hub assemblies about three (3) years ago. Immediately, my ABS Light came on, and AE made it clear that I was getting error signals from both front sensors. Because Alabama does not require inspections, my weekly road trip time was cut in half, and my brakes worked fine, I've ignored the issue until this past week while preparing for my move to North Carolina where inspections are required.

I was replacing my ball joints due to recently discovered excess wear on the PS, and decided to finally chase the ABS Light to ground.

All this time, I've suspected that the reluctor rings were simply pressed too far onto the wheel hub for the sensors to read. You'll never guess what I discovered....




well, guess.....










OK, I'll tell you...




There were NO reluctor rings EVER installed on these hubs at all! The NAPA supplier simply missed it altogether.

Have not been able to find new rings separate from the hubs, so I seem to have three choices (since I'm going to have to get this fixed anyway) ....

1l Two used rings off of some used hubs at a junk yard, OR

2) Buy two new hubs from Napa, remove the rings from the new hubs, install them on my hubs, and return the new hubs back to Napa for a complete refund as being defective, OR

3) Just put the new $300 hubs on fns move on with life.


Option 1 offers some inconvenience and costs I don't want to incur.

Option 2 has some complications, would cost only fuel and time, would let me keep my perfectly almost new hubs, and would hold Napa accountable just as if I had made the discovery when I first did the initial install.

Option 3 is completely unacceptable given the complete lack of any wear on my existing hubs, and I just don't have $300 to throw away.


What do you guys vs to say about this?

 

It is unlikely that the NC safety inspection is going to check for ABS functionality. Check the inspection criteria.

If not checked and if you don't care about restoring ABS functionality, simply remove the ABS light bulb or otherwise disable it. You've been running without ABS since the last repair anyway.

 

Option 2, as long as the supplier is the same.

Also, you should not feel like an idiot. Someone else made a mistake that got by you and now you have figured out what their mistake was.

 

Option 4: Float a call on FTE for anyone who has recently done their hubs for their old ones.

 

I dont think ABS light on in NC is a issue.. only check engine light. I live in nc and have the same issue with truck and no problem.

 

NO inspections for Diesel in NC because they decided it’s more eco friendly lol also the epa is deciding certain places have enough “carbon credit” so that means they may not even have to inspect cars for emissions in certain areas.

 

OK, then. I'll confirm with Union County that there is either no inspection required for diesel and/or that ABS is a non-issue. That will give me some breathing room for which I'm very grateful until we get completely settled and the existing house sold.

However, I'm a little **** about keeping things working as they should, so I will be fixing this regardless of inspection requirements. After all, I'd really rather have the ABS system functional for its intended purposes.

Mark... great idea about polling for donor rings! If that doesn't show any results for me, I'll probably pursue Option 2 and get it behind me.

Thanks guys. I've been sort of swamped since arriving in Rock Hill Sunday evening. The new job is going awesomely, but I'll be glad to be back in a house and not living out of a hotel.

 

I'm in the market for some spare front ABS sensors. My coil spring upgrade uses '05+ unit bearings, but the truck needs to see a signal from the '99-04 ABS sensor. Many of the replacement unit bearing come with a new ABS sensor.

 

Call NAPA and see if they can get you the rings from whoever does the hub assemblies.

 

That's right there is funny.

 

Yeah... I've already called Napa and they cannot provide the rings as separate items. Their suggestion was for me to replace my practically new hub assemblies with two more brand new units which have the rings pre-installed (the way mine were SUPPOSED to have been suppplied)! NOT happening!

 

Replace them at your cost or theirs. Should be theirs. Even with the amount of time that has passed they should be able to see what you were supposed to get vs what you received.

 

They won't honor it at this point. I've tried. That's why Option 2 is on the table for me once I land in the new house in NC... If I can't obtain donor parts, I'll buy the new rotors with the rings, move the rings over to my existing rotors, and return the new rotors back without the rings for a refund. That way, Napa eats the cost as they should have in the beginning, had I discovered the reality when I did the install - I keep my used rotors and get the new rings which SHOULD be new since they were never installed anyway, and Napa eats the "defective" rotors which have no rings.

-- I don't even still have the receipt for the original purchase, so all they will say is "Prove it's one of ours and not someone else's!"

 

Funny auto zoo, the irish store, amazon, and many other places can go back multiple years with just your phone number and see what you bought and when. Guess it just depends on if they want to keep you as a customer.

Option 2 sounds good then.

 

It is an issue of people being crooks. They keep going back with all kinds of "warranty" issues so the company decides to become hard nosed about it. You come to me with no paperwork and lie that you bought it last week and cost me money, OK. No proof, no warranty. Those places do record your phone number BUT you must remember it or they may not be able to trace you. If they can find you and it is within the warranty period, you're golden. Autozone is lifetime so as long as you can prove you bought it, you will be serviced. OTOH, buy a set of Duralast or Duralast Gold rotors and come back 6 years later, (warranty expired 2 and 3 years respectively) and they can't do much. You need to give the guy something to go on for warranty besides your good word.