2001 rear wheel frozen?

OK, we had a major ice storm with rain/snow/ice/ flooding, you name it. I was out driving in it for a spell last night. I must have driven through a rivers worth of deep, deep puddles. Everything worked well other than some sliding here and there, but that is to be expected. Well, I went to drive to work this morning and the van was struggling to move. I got out of my driveway and while I started driving away, my neighbor across the street yelled to me that my rear driverside wheel was not rotating. I opened the door and drove a few feet, it was as if the brake was stuck on it or something. I then noticed the ABS light was on. I drove maybe a hundred feet to see if it would free up, but it did not. I backed down the street and right into my driveway. Then I got $1.50 and went and froze my nuts off waiting for a bus. I have to deal with this when I get home later. Has this happened to anyone else? Could it be a frozen drum from all the high freezing puddles I drove through? Will heating the wheel up free it up in peoples opinions? I dread having to take a bus home and deal with this, but I must.
:banghead:

sounds like your going to have to take wheel off..it's probably froze up in there and it might have knocked a sensor off..good luck....

OK, we had a major ice storm with rain/snow/ice/ flooding, you name it. I was out driving in it for a spell last night. I must have driven through a rivers worth of deep, deep puddles. Everything worked well other than some sliding here and there, but that is to be expected. Well, I went to drive to work this morning and the van was struggling to move. I got out of my driveway and while I started driving away, my neighbor across the street yelled to me that my rear driverside wheel was not rotating. I opened the door and drove a few feet, it was as if the brake was stuck on it or something. I then noticed the ABS light was on. I drove maybe a hundred feet to see if it would free up, but it did not. I backed down the street and right into my driveway. Then I got $1.50 and went and froze my nuts off waiting for a bus. I have to deal with this when I get home later. Has this happened to anyone else? Could it be a frozen drum from all the high freezing puddles I drove through? Will heating the wheel up free it up in peoples opinions? I dread having to take a bus home and deal with this, but I must.
:banghead:
I think you will get an ABS error if you are getting normal signals from the other wheels but no indication of wheel movement on the frozen wheel.
I would get it into a garage for thawing out. Watch how you do it so you don't overheat anything including the tire, fuel tank etc. Hopefully the ABS light will go out after you get it thawed out and turning normally. I think an electric hair dryer or electric paint remover gun would work with the wheel removed, if done carefully in some spot out of the wind. Some ABS errors lock in and don't go away for 3000 miles or so after returning to normal. The errors don't go away by removing batt voltage either. After you get it thawed, I would test the ABS in an icy parking lot to verify you can feel the ABS working when you slam on the brakes.
In my case, in the winter, I avoid water and slush if possible, I don't use the emergency brake either in the frigid weather. All because of just your sort of problem. If I have went through some deep water in cold weather, one thing I have done to get the brakes dried is to lightly apply them while I drive around a bit to heat them up and dry out(within reason).
Stay warm out there.

I think you will get an ABS error if you are getting normal signals from the other wheels but no indication of wheel movement on the frozen wheel.
I would get it into a garage for thawing out. Watch how you do it so you don't overheat anything including the tire, fuel tank etc. Hopefully the ABS light will go out after you get it thawed out and turning normally. I think an electric hair dryer or electric paint remover gun would work with the wheel removed, if done carefully in some spot out of the wind. Some ABS errors lock in and don't go away for 3000 miles or so after returning to normal. The errors don't go away by removing batt voltage either. After you get it thawed, I would test the ABS in an icy parking lot to verify you can feel the ABS working when you slam on the brakes.
In my case, in the winter, I avoid water and slush if possible, I don't use the emergency brake either in the frigid weather. All because of just your sort of problem. If I have went through some deep water in cold weather, one thing I have done to get the brakes dried is to lightly apply them while I drive around a bit to heat them up and dry out(within reason).
Stay warm out there.


Believe me, living in New England for 40 years, I've got the braking after going through puddles down. This is the first time ever that anything like this ever happened to me or anyone I know. I'm going to try the hair dryer thing later. Unfortunatley, I do not have a garage, so I'll be braving the elements. I appreciate any and all advice on this people. Thank you!

It's just frozen, it's supposed to warm up next week if you can wait until then. The hairdryer thing will work, but you'll freeze your nuts off in the process.

OK, here's an update. I tried to move the van today and the tire still wasn't moving. I jacked up the van and removed the tire. I was able to spin the drum with my hand. Since I had it all off anyway, I used a hair dryer to warm everything up. There was alot of ice around, but not too much around the drum itself. I put the tire back on and was able to turn it without effort, but the ABS light was still lit on the dash. I drove down the street really slow and after using the brakes a few times, the ABS light went off. I drove around for awhile, lightly pressing the brakes intermittently to warm them up. Everything seems to be working fine for now. I'll post if this changes. :grinyes:

Good for you, glad to hear it!