Thread: ABS, ESP, Steering Lights - Lights galore!

Given its an 08, you will definitely have a path for a goodwill mate as they give this on 5-6 yr old cars with gearbox/turbo issues, I know that from experience.

Racks are stacked upoto the ceiling in audi's warehouse because they're synonymous for going wrong on the 8P, I once checked with my guys & they said there were 200+ racks on shelf at audi, that is unheard of for a replacement/new part trust me, which tells me its constantly being replaced & thats not because its an upgraded part beneficial to us modders either lol.

You would get a gen 3 rack if not fitted already & possibly new loom, they're not cheap either, if they wont give goodwill then let me know rack price & part as there are some differences & I'll see if I can find cheaper, no promises but I'll try.

Also, rats get everywhere, I'd make sure its not got into a loom somewhere else tbh as seems very coincidental dont you think.

I also have a used rack laying around which works perfectly iirc, plus maybe removing mine for a mod I'm working on, so that maybe available.

Thanks Nigel, im going to ring them and ask them to search further and also mention a good will on the steering rack. If they are being difficult about it im going to take the car back and ill contact you about buying the steering rack.

Defo coincedental as all the faults came on in sequence after the faults had recycled powersteering would be the initlal fault that would come up first followed by the esp etc.

I do remember that when reversing the car out of spaces there was a slight knock which was related to the power steering but inever thought to much of it as it was never loud enough to worry about and i read loads of threads about the same issue.

received a call back - so far very happy with audi being really good at keeping me informed of the whole situation....I swear this thread cant go on any longer.

They inspected further regarding the power steering.....Yes you guessed it rats have been chewing the powersteering looms aswell!

As I advised, too coincidental, although that knock noise on turn lock is a well known issue that only gets resolved by replacement.

defo, mine was very minor so im not going to bother lets hope audi are just kind and replace it free of charge for the hell of it LOOOL.

Seeing as they are half way there

Originally Posted by Farhan

lets hope audi are just kind and replace it free of charge for the hell of it LOOOL.

they just called again and said they have repaired the wiring and the steering is receiving all signals but the steering sensor is still messed up.

They are calling audi head office to see if the sensor alone can be replaced or if its a new rack?? Again all going to cost me but they are adamant that the fault is with that sensor regardless of the wiring which they say they have fixed.

Nige, can the sensor be purchased seperate from the rack or is it built in?

Depends on what sensor you're referring to fella, there's an internal sensor in rack yes, they can replace & wtf are they doing ringing audi when elsawin shows them how to effing do it ffs!!!!

he vaguely mentioned steering rack sensor, I understand theres a G85 sensor to somewhere.

I dont understand em either....They just call give me good news...then drop me more bad news constantly. This is taking ages aswell its hitting 3 weeks from monday now.

G85 sensor is in the column not the rack on an 08 non facelift car, so what are they on about.

called again, WATER CORROSION on the terminal. they are going to try and clean if not they have to replace the rack....

Obviously im totally confused i have never seen the steering rack but it just seems like problem after problem here. Is it possible for water to damage any terminals on the rack?!?

Just caught up on this thread. Its still going on?!?!

Water corrosion??? If it really is water corrosion causing the problem and you need a new rack then I would still be blaming the rats. Tell them that the rats must have p*ssed all over it and caused the corrosion!!

Is it me or are they going through there book of faults to make the time seem worthwhile lol.

Water in the connectors can make things read wrong, but simple hairdryer/heatgun usually resolves this, now of course it could of shorted across the internal sensors, but atm still not sure what is wrong as they just say shows a fault, what fault, logs??

Bloody hell Farhan, so sorry for you, this just doesn't seem to be going away.

As per Nige's comments I would want fully qualified evidence of the faults before I was prepared to spend any money as unless you can be certain they're bang on with their assumptions you could go round replacing all sorts before they nail it.

Fingers crossed for you mate, best of luck.

Been speaking to Steve who has honestly been very helpful. Prompt with calling back and keeping me posted so no complaints at all.
They have tried a few things and iv now agreed to just let the insurance company pay out as he confirmed that we have to replace the rack as trying to clean the terminals and stuff did not work.

From what he explained this is a problem caused by the rats, By them creating holes in the loom seals its allowed water to get in and corrode the terminals and sensors. He also confirmed that it is not a faulty rack which was on its way out but genuinely all of it was caused by rodent damage.

Nothings going to be done on the weekend now but monday hopefully they should get approval to change the rack over so all should be fine.

I was quoted 1380 for supply and fit of the rack and all things related to the power steering. Bill for the removal of manifolds and repair to a loom worked out 580. Considering how much work has been done at the courtesy car costs which was 140.

Its just making sense now to pay the insurance company and take the hit (We have protected no claims) Lets hope they pay out now eh.

Well glad to say we are rolling again. Received the car back today after lots of huffing and puffing west london audi managed to repair everything which i am very pleased about.

I want to specifically thank Steve Hearn (Workshop manager at West London Audi) The guy is epic he kept me informed the whole time and was very helpful. I admit some other technicians there drove me nuts with the conflicting information but steve stayed back most days possibly over time to sit and talk me through what was happening (Even on his day off he passed me updates)

I would certainly recommend if you ever have work carried out at west london audi...See that guy.


The following work was carried out, Repair to nearly all the harnesses near the firewall area
Repair to power steering wiring
Oil Level Sensor Replace (FOR FREE...YES FOR FREE as insurance was being a nightmare and audi needed to eliminate the cause of the light they just replaced it out of good will)

Oil level sensor wiring replaced
Power steering rack replaced (Generation 2 - they said they could not fit a gen 3 in but a brand new Gen 2 has been fitted and they are offering warranty for 2 years on the unit)
My engine bay wiring also has a warranty for the work carried out which i am pretty happy about.

West london audi have been good i cant really fault them, I was a bit annoyed at some people there for example today...I called up to collect the car after being informed by the workshop manager at lunchtime its mechanically sound and i can collect it.

At 4pm i get a phone call from a technician saying car will be ready tomorrow ....Errr i asked WHY? he said mechanically its fine we just want to wash it.

Alarm bells started ringing i was like you want to keep my car for one more day so you can wash it? I said no thank you he was adamant to have it washed. I didnt want it washed because they swirl the cars up nicely. (EVIDENCE TO FOLLOW)

so right got the car all happy no problems steering feels lovely, gears feel tighter no more errors and im 600 quid lighter with a nasty claim on my insurance.

Lesson - If your s_it is playing up...And you dont know what to do...LOOK FOR RATS.
on the plus note iv been busy as soon as the car arrived back i threw on my intake


Evidence of the swirl inflicted unregistered brand new audi TT inside the main showroom....Shocking

Hi Farhan, glad you got the car back at last.

Glad to hear it got sorted and you got your car back Farhan. Well done on perservering to get it sorted.

Glad to see this is all sorted mate!

Damn those rats were hungry, glad its fixed, enjoy driving again now

Cheers guys good to have it back, Steering feels amazing but still wondering why they fitted a gen 2 hmm

I'm bewildered by this aswell, gen 3 is what they should use now & tbh mate I'd be asking them why you didnt have the latest fitted.

I did nige they replied its not compatible?!? Obviously we know it is but i didnt want to argue any further as it was a sensitive situation regarding whether the insurance would even pay out for the rack. Obviously aslong as the work and part comes with warranty i dont mind but i still think how? When all the newer racks are supplied as gen 3s.

There is no knocking noise present no more though steering feels very good.

Cant understand that at all as it clearly states in etka the supersession as such, anyway if its warrantied then guess its ok, rack has been superseded again aswell to a K/KX now, was J/JX not so long back.

What part no. did they fit, ask them, should be on the bill.

Originally Posted by NHN

Cant understand that at all as it clearly states in etka the supersession as such, anyway if its warrantied then guess its ok, rack has been superseded again aswell to a K/KX now, was J/JX not so long back.

What part no. did they fit, ask them, should be on the bill.

Will do nige. I havent had a receipt yet its going to be mailed to me via the insurance company. Will send you the details when it does come though.

Just ring the dealer tomorrow, ask them what part number was fitted, simples, forget insurance docs, quicker & better to ask directly.

I’m feeling your pain! Sorry to jump onto your thread with my problem to, just thought they are both similar no point starting another. There is a lot of reading to do on this thread!! Read all page 1 and then skipped to page 3 so apologies if ive missed part of the story and I’m talking gibberish!

My car is something similar with all the lights up on the dash:

ESP
ABS
Red Steering wheel
Hand break
Engine management (now and again)

Ive been doing a lot of googling and reading as my mate which is an Auto Electrician was a bit stumped with mine. Started off with rear driver’s side ABS wheel sensor, 2 days after passenger side, then driver’s side again so changed the bearing. After that went all crazy with all the above lights!! My mate checked all the wiring and tests etc and just come up with different fault codes each time.

Next step for me is send the ECU away to be checked OR diagnostics with Audi. He thinks it could be the ABS pump, commonly there is a valve in them that goes.

BUT……….I found this and does relate to my car i.e. battery going flat. And now and again struggles to start and the alternator does a funny ticking noise.
ESP, ABS and now Power steering warning

Have you checked for Rats munching on your wiring like Farhan had?

Your joking!

Ive had a bit more time to read now and glad to hear he's managed to get it sorted! Just opended another can of worms!!

Best way to check for the rat damage IF it could be is the firewall area, under the scuttle panel near wipers. Also near the oil level sensor the cellulose sealant used on the looms or to seal the looms into the firewall are the areas the rats went. That allowed the issue to just spiral out of control once they made themselves a home.

Hopefully your problem may just be a component. Maybe take it to audi and pay them the standard inspection charge for my diagnostic i paid only 78 for them to ascertain the faults. They did a thorough road test until they could replicate the problem and they then went from there. Maybe worth paying that small sum just to get a more definitive answer from then.

Next best bet is NHN he advised me to check all my grounding etc that also eliminated any problems.

also here is the part number of the new steering rack fitted to the car...Just checked and im pretty certain they fitted a GEN 3

the invoice has the following on it

Harness - 971 111 AJ
Steering 052428 - 1K2 423 055 J

Originally Posted by Farhan

Best way to check for the rat damage IF it could be is the firewall area, under the scuttle panel near wipers. Also near the oil level sensor the cellulose sealant used on the looms or to seal the looms into the firewall are the areas the rats went. That allowed the issue to just spiral out of control once they made themselves a home.

Hopefully your problem may just be a component. Maybe take it to audi and pay them the standard inspection charge for my diagnostic i paid only 78 for them to ascertain the faults. They did a thorough road test until they could replicate the problem and they then went from there. Maybe worth paying that small sum just to get a more definitive answer from then.

Next best bet is NHN he advised me to check all my grounding etc that also eliminated any problems.

Ideal! Thanks for that! Car going into Audi on Wednesday. Could they identify what the rats had chewed with their computer or was that just an inspection?

Groundings all checked.