Chino075

Searched and all i got from DSC was to turn it off or not, and how it's useful and not useful. Was going around 55-60 mph on 5th, i then slowed down just a lil' bit and the DSC light started blinking and felt the car slowing down. So then i downshifted to 4th (rev matching it) and it continued. Again downshifted to 3rd and it still continued blinking like crazy. Until i finally just slowed down enough to shift to 2nd and it disappeared.

The other weird thing is my tire pressure has been on for 2 days and after the incidence above happened, it disappeared. So, im just totally confused and worried as to what in the world happened or is happening. Anybody have any clues as to why DSC keeps going on? (or is it my rusty manual shifting habits) Thx

Al

Spazm

Your tire pressure has been on for 2 days...did you check your tire pressure?

pret

i have both tpms (obviously) and these valve caps that visually depict tire pressure. after the second week of ownership, tpms came on, but a visual inspection of the valve caps indicated all was well. took it in to dealership for inspection. ended up i had picked up a nail. tpms detected a 2-5 lb loss. thank you tpms!

Chino075

Didnt have chance to check the tire pressure. Gonna do it tomorrow. Im thinking is the tire that they changed, cuz they had switched one tire due to some major scratches on the rim when i was getting my car (ie 2 fronts original, back left tire original, but back right tire taken from another rx-8). I dont know, if its because of this my tpm is on and it causes at the same time my DSC to activate (where i was going around 50-55 mph in 5th gear and DSC blinking, and so forth blinking until i downshifted to 2nd gear). Which is right now the main thing that concerns me. Keeps on activating.

Al

Atacdad

perhaps the dealership forgot to "register" you new tire's TPMS module with the car?

Chino075

Alright, finally had the time to check the tire pressure and as i suspected: the wheel that was changed was at around 25ish psi. So had a chance to try out the compressor (just so i know how to use it in case of a real emergency) and put it back around 34-36, and at the same time checked on the other 3, which were ok.

Now ill just have to wait for another week to see if my DSC will kick in while cruising in 5th gear at around 50-60 mph.

Al

sferrett

The DSC thing doesn't sound normal - perhaps the place damaged a sensor when they replaced your wheel? I'd take it back to the dealer and have them check it out, it sounds like what you've got going on could be dangerous.

Simon.

Chino075

Im not sure, if its my driving (it's been 10 years, since i've touched a manual...and the last time i drove a manual, was a 1980ish dodge truck). But here are the 2 situations:

1st time: Highway was almost flat. Traffic mild. Shifted to 5th then 6th, speed was around 60-70 mph. But then had to slow down a bit to 55-60 mph. Thats is when all of a sudden the DSC flashes and it starts kicking in, trying to compensate for power. So, shifted to 5th....blinking. Then 4th....blinking. Then 3rd.....blinking. Until i hit 2nd, which was a horrible big jerk that i got, is when it stopped blinking.

2nd time: Highway was slightly inclined. This time only on 5th and was going around 60-70 mph. When suddenly a car swirves into my lane. I brake and the car was approximately around 50-55 mph. DSC starts blinking all the way, until i downshifted to 2nd gear.

So from what i've done and analyzed, i seem to be downshifting one gear at a time once DSC starts kicking in. Im not sure really, if i should just go from 5th to 3rd, whenever DSC blinks. Or am i doing something wrong? A quick crash course of what i should do from someone would be nice. Or is it the car? (which then i have to take it back).

Al

sferrett

Well that's definately sounds abnormal - it should only kick on if there's wheelspin or hard cornering. You should take it to the dealer asap to have it looked at.

zoom44

when the dsc starts blinking stop downshifting. you had some wheelspin. when you downshifted and downshifted again the change in gearing caused more wheel spin so the dsc is still trying to correct. stop all that excess downshifting and you should be fine.

sferrett

I can't imagine you'd be getting wheelspin at 50-60mph in 5th gear... unless the surface was quite slick. This sounds like a malfunction to me...

Chino075

Roads were dry in both situation. You could say that as i braked in 5th gear to avoid the other car my speed declined from 60-50 mph and when i tried accelerating, it felt like the car didnt have enough power to continue for me to "stay" in 50 mph and thats when it kicks in. What i did was to let go of the gas (and pressing a lil' bit) and let DSC do the work, but the longer i let it correct wheelspin the slower the car kept on going (almost to 40 mph and with a big pack of cars coming at 50 mph behind me). The feeling is like when ur in 2nd gear and u stop at a stop sign, and as u release the brake (without clutching) u accelerate and the car starts to bog a lil'. Thats how it feels, when my speed decreases in 5th gear. Somehow i get no problem in 4th gear tho (altho, going 60-70 mph at 5k-6k rpm is not really fuel efficient)

Al

Matt-man

Could it be that the difference in pressure caused a difference in tire circumference, which in turn caused a difference in wheel speed that was interpreted by the computer as wheel spin?

sferrett

I could imagine that driving around with a under-pressure tire could have that effect - I know with locking diffs on 4x4's if you have one tire that is substantially different pressure than the other it can cause the locker to make noises etc. Either way, driving around with under-pressured tires is never a good thing. I guess it's not clear if the DSC issue recurred after correcting the tire pressure issue or not. If it did not then you could probably chalk it up to that...

sohcpunk

Please keep us updated. I think I have the same problem. But DSC kicks in sometimes on low speed right turns only. So weird

John Corbitt

I think you are getting bad wheel speed info to the DSC computer. It would not suprise me to find a loose connection at the sensor, especially the one at which they replaced the rim. I would check all of them by pulling gently at the connector on the sensor and then pushing back in. if it clicks, then it was not all the way in. If none move, tate it to the dealer. That is not normal.

John

sohcpunk

Where can these sensors be found?

Chino075

Alrite, just came back from my joy ride. Started the car and drove on local road heading to the highway to get it "warmed" up. No TPM on, so dealer did register the wheel that was changed. Then as i went in the ramp to the highway, sped up til i hit 5th gear around 55 mph. I slowed down just to see if it would go on......nothing, A-ok. Was thinking, lets try dropping it below 3k rpm.....no DSC, everything ok. Tried all kinds of situations, stopping from 60-50ish, still good. And last try was getting off a ramp with an incline of approx. 20-30 degress. Was around at 40-45 mph and stayed in 5th all the way....perfect.

So the moral of this is: tire thats under-pressure (esp. rear wheels) = wheelspin and DSC blinking like a X-mas tree. Sferrett/Matt, u guys were dead on.....now i can feel a lil' bit relaxed (was so worried)....thx for the help!

Might look dumb, but this is my first actual sports car and coming from a beater that has no safety or helping mechanism to improve driving. All i knew about under-pressure tire was it made screetching noise when u make sharp turns (then i would put air into it).

I guess, i learned something new and hopefully will learn more.

Al