Custom wheel issues

I've upgraded my wheels on an 02 Yukon to 20". Other than an issue getting them balanced correctly, I haven't had any problems in over 8 months.

I've recently had some issues with premature ABS activation and the light is on. I took it to the dealership since the shop I usually go to didn't have the ABS scan tool. The dealership is now telling me that my over-sized wheels are causing the problem, and they are bad for the hub bearings. I find that odd considering some Yukons come with 20" wheels.

I'm going to have them determine if the ABS recall applies to my vehicle but I was wondering if anyone else has had issues with custom wheels, bearings and their ABS system. If so did you upgrade to a heavy duty aftermarket hub assembly or some other preventative measure? Any advise would be appreciated.

They are right on one aspect. Higher backspacing wheels do put a little more stress on things. I am guessing you have the same aspect ratio though. Ie wheel is 20, but the tire sidewalls are shorter so the effective height is the same as stock? If that is so, then the wheels are not directly causing abs activation, BUT a bad wheel bearing/hub WILL. They should be able to narrow it down to one hub bearing. Don't know if the dealer will put them on, but you can get unit bearing assemblies all day off ebay for WAY less than the dealer costs. I'm talking like 1/3 the cost. They are chinese, but anything from napa, zone, oreilly's is too, and costs more.

ALSO, I worked at the dealer and probably had my hands on well over 150 abs recalls. NOT ONE had an actual problem. I am sure they do in the salt belt, but it was really more of a formality.... 999999999 out of 1000000000 that will not fix your problem. You most likely have a bad unit bearing(wheel bearing assembly). THAT is common.....

WITH ALL THAT SAID, yes they can put a tad more stress on things, but it is negligable at best. You were gonna have the same problems either way. You MAY have had it a BIT faster with them, but who can say that?

They are right on one aspect. Higher backspacing wheels do put a little more stress on things. I am guessing you have the same aspect ratio though. Ie wheel is 20, but the tire sidewalls are shorter so the effective height is the same as stock? If that is so, then the wheels are not directly causing abs activation, BUT a bad wheel bearing/hub WILL. They should be able to narrow it down to one hub bearing. Don't know if the dealer will put them on, but you can get unit bearing assemblies all day off ebay for WAY less than the dealer costs. I'm talking like 1/3 the cost. They are chinese, but anything from napa, zone, oreilly's is too, and costs more.

ALSO, I worked at the dealer and probably had my hands on well over 150 abs recalls. NOT ONE had an actual problem. I am sure they do in the salt belt, but it was really more of a formality.... 999999999 out of 1000000000 that will not fix your problem. You most likely have a bad unit bearing(wheel bearing assembly). THAT is common.....

WITH ALL THAT SAID, yes they can put a tad more stress on things, but it is negligable at best. You were gonna have the same problems either way. You MAY have had it a BIT faster with them, but who can say that?

Not a fan of the huge rims and "skinny" tires on a truck so 20" is as large as I'd go, but I do have a slightly larger aspect ratio with the 285 tires on there. I expected the wheels to put a little more stress on the hub assembly but didn't think it would cause a problem within 8 months. Thanks for all the info. What do people do to prevent this problem when they put those insanely large rims on their trucks?

Turns out the hub was causing the ABS problem and they replaced it. They continue to blame the bad bearing on the rims though. They also stated that they performed the recall. I'm in DC so I have no idea if it was even necessary.

I purchased an extended warranty when I got the truck three years ago so luckily, I'm only out $120. My truck is an 02 with 100k miles on it so I suspect that I'll be replacing some of the 10year old parts. I don't want to be an idiot and wind up with the same problem a year from now though.

There is nothing you can do to make it less. I HIGHLY doubt that it caused it in 8 months though. See what happens. Like you said, it is 10 years old... A bit higher aspect ratio is not the cause. The backspacing has to be deeper to make it possible to install them. That is to say that effectively, the footprint of the tire is further out now than with stock rims. That is what has more leverage on things.