Toyota TRAC OFF Light Won't Turn Off: How to Clear It

A TRAC OFF light that won’t go out has four possible explanations in Toyota’s owner’s manuals and in owner complaints to NHTSA. The first is the switch, and it takes a minute to rule out. The other three call for a look at the other lights, a code reader or a Toyota dealer. Work through them in this order.

1. TRAC was switched off and hasn’t come back yet

In Toyota’s manuals the button goes by the name VSC OFF switch. It has two settings, and they undo themselves in different ways. Going by the 2014 Corolla owner’s manual (pp.212–213):

• Quick press and release. TRAC goes off and TRAC OFF lights. Another quick press turns it back on. Left alone, TRAC switches itself back on as vehicle speed increases.
• Press and hold for more than 3 seconds, vehicle stopped. TRAC and VSC both go off, and both TRAC OFF and VSC OFF light. These two do not come back on with speed.
• Engine switch off. Turning it off (LOCK, or off) re-enables TRAC and VSC, whichever way they were switched off.

So if TRAC OFF is still lit after you’ve picked up speed, one of two things happened. Either the long press did it, in which case VSC OFF will be lit as well, or you’re in one of the cases further down. Switch the engine off, restart, and look again.

Trucks and the older RAV4 differ a little. On the 2012 Tacoma, 2WD models and trucks in 2WD mode have only the long press, and it turns off Trailer Sway Control along with TRAC and VSC (p.202). A quick press in 4WD mode turns off TRAC alone (p.203). On a 2WD RAV4 of the 2006–2012 generation, the 2010 manual (p.182) says a quick press lights AUTO LSD and VSC OFF, not TRAC OFF.

2. TRAC OFF came on and nobody pressed the switch

Then it isn’t a setting. Every manual we read from 2011 on (Corolla, Tacoma, RAV4) tells the owner that TRAC can’t be operated and to contact a Toyota dealer. What else goes offline with it depends on the vehicle:

• 2015 Tacoma (p.194): “TRAC, hill-start assist control, downhill assist control system cannot be operated. Contact your Toyota dealer.”
• 2018 Tacoma (p.321): TRAC and hill-start assist control.
• 2014 RAV4 (p.274): on 2WD models the TRAC OFF light flashes, and “TRAC and AUTO LSD cannot be operated”. On AWD models the TRAC OFF light comes on and TRAC can’t be operated.
• 2017 RAV4 (p.310): 2WD models lose TRAC, AUTO LSD and hill-start assist control. AWD models show a message on the multi-information display, and the manual says TRAC and hill-start assist control can’t be operated.
• 2018 Corolla (p.259): cars with the color display show a “Traction Control Turned Off” message instead of the light, with the same dealer instruction.

The 2011 and 2013 Corolla manuals (pp.168 and 174) put it plainly: TRAC cannot be operated, so contact your Toyota dealer.

3. The check engine light is on as well

Toyota’s manuals don’t say why an engine fault would come with TRAC OFF. We also searched 160 Toyota bulletins for the Corolla, Tacoma and RAV4, and none whose text we could search mentions TRAC OFF. Owner complaints to NHTSA do show that the fault behind the pair depends on the model and year:

• 2012 Tacoma: of the 62 complaints that mention both lights, 54 name the secondary air injection system. Toyota repairs it on certain 2012 trucks under Special Service Campaign 20TC01 (Tacoma TRAC OFF page).
• 2006–2012 RAV4: 14 of 63 name the charcoal canister or its filter hose (RAV4 TRAC OFF page).
• 2011–2019 Corolla: no one cause dominates. Owners name a clogged A/C drain, a mass airflow sensor, rodent damage, transmission trouble, the charcoal canister and the fuel pump covered by recall 20V-012, among others (Corolla TRAC OFF page).

The next step is the code. A generic OBD2 reader shows engine (P) codes, and the Toyota code list helps you look them up. Codes stored in the ABS/VSC system need a scan tool that reads that system; our scanner guide covers the choice.

One owner of a 2010 Corolla read code C1201 with a scanner, and the complaint adds: “WE WERE NOT ABLE TO CLEAR” (ODI 11344125). We don’t have an official public definition of C1201, and none of the searchable Toyota bulletins mentions it, so we won’t guess at its meaning.

Before paying for a repair, ask a dealer to run the VIN against Toyota’s campaigns and recalls. The 20TC01 letter promises the work “FREE OF CHARGE” and gives no end date, though one 2012 owner reports Toyota told them in August 2022 that it had expired (ODI 11482001). Get the answer for your VIN in writing.

4. The slip indicator stays on

The slip indicator is a separate light, and steady versus flashing is the whole difference. The 2014 Corolla manual (p.493) says “The light will flash when the VSC or the TRAC system is operating”, which is the system at work. If it comes on and stays on, the same page says it “Indicates a malfunction in: the VSC … or the TRAC”.

The 2009–2010 Corolla is the exception. Its 2010 manual has no TRAC OFF indicator, and switching TRAC off lights the slip indicator, so on those cars a lit slip indicator after you’ve used the switch is the switch’s doing. Their fault warning is a flashing VSC OFF light, which the 2010 manual (p.165) ties to a malfunction in the TRAC and VSC systems. That flashing VSC OFF case gets its own section on the TRAC OFF and VSC light page.

Driving with it on

The 2014 Corolla manual (p.214) asks anyone driving with TRAC or VSC off to “Be especially careful and drive at a speed appropriate to the road conditions”. With the check engine light lit too, the same manual wants a dealer inspection “immediately” (p.493).

Owner complaints show what can come with it. Of the 54 complaints about 2012 Tacomas that name the air injection system, 48 describe the truck losing power or being held to a low speed or rpm.

A flashing check engine light is a different matter. California’s OBD II regulation (13 CCR §1968.2) has the light blink once per second while a misfire severe enough to damage the catalytic converter is going on, though it lets cars that cut fuel during such a misfire keep the light steady. Our page on the flashing check engine light explains it.

Clearing the check engine light afterward

Toyota’s 2023 Camry manual (p.533) describes one case where the check engine light goes out by itself. After a loose fuel cap is tightened, “The light will go off after several driving trips,” and if it doesn’t, the owner should contact a dealer as soon as possible. After a loose cap, the manual adds, the error code isn’t cleared until the car has been driven 40 or more times (p.454).

Clearing it with a scanner is covered in our reset guide. For how the two lights relate overall, start with the TRAC OFF and check engine light overview.