ABS and ESP warning lamps

[WillesdenBoy]

Hi everybody,

My wife has a 2006 2.0 fsi SE 3dr automatic A3 which has done approx 86K miles.

Today she did a 70 mile round trip to West London from St. Albans.
10 mins into each half of the trip, the ABS and ESP yellow warning lamps came on, and remained on for the rest of the journey.

Is there an obvious cause which would have triggered this?
Is it safe to continue to drive the car until we get it looked at?

Our plan is to contact the garage where it is normally serviced early this week, but it would be good to get a heads up before that.

Bit of a nuisance as the car was serviced at that garage a week ago.

Thanks in advance for your support.



bern

 

[Troubs12]

Hi it’s safe to drive though it means you’re abs and esp systems are deactivated while the faults there. While it’s an mot fail etc I’m the last ten years I can’t remember when I actually needed abs or esp. you still have full normal non abs braking.

Obviously it needs to be repaired but no reason why you can’t drive the vehicle until it is. As for what’s caused it it could be a wheel speed sensor or the old G201 brake pressure sensor fault or anything g else really without a read of the memory it’s hard to say. I will say though if the garage say it’s a wheel speed sensor I’d recommend getting that wheel bearing done as well as the ring the the sensor uses is on the bearing and they can corrode over time

Hope this helps


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[WillesdenBoy]

Thanks for your reply Troubs12.
Yes, that's a big help and reassuring that it is safe to continue driving.

Earlier, I spoke to the garage where it normally gets serviced and we are dropping it in tomorrow afternoon to have them read the ECU memory to see what the fault entry is.

I've just had a look back through earlier repair receipts for the car and the issue (ABS and ESP warning lamps both on) occurred both in January 2017 and March 2018. On both occasions, the issue was a fault on the ABS ring of the N/S/R wheel bearing assembly. The fix in each case was to replace the wheel bearing hub. Strange how the same part failed in slightly over a year (I didn't pick up on this at the time).

Will report back once the memory has been read.



bern

 

[WillesdenBoy]

Hi,

Yesterday, the issue was investigated by the garage who normally service the car.
Turned out it was the nearside rear wheel bearing, which they replaced.
The new one is made by FAG and has a 2 year warranty.

Looking at my notes for the car, this same wheel bearing was changed on 6/1/2017 and 13/3/2018.
I was concerned when I realised this.
Discussed it with the garage and he was not able to throw any light on this.

To me, it's obvious there's something fundamentally wrong that led to the same wheel bearing failing on 3 occasions so close to each other.
We have owned the car since 2013 (it's a 2006) and no other wheel bearings have exhibited an issue during this time.

Could it be a case that something else is failing (e.g. electronics) which is leading the garage to replace this wheel bearing, when in fact the actual wheel bearing assembly is fine?

Thanks,



bern

 

[Troubs12]

Hi Bern I just saw this pop up after my night shift an figured I’d post now. I’m glad you’ve got the issue sorted however you’re right 3 wheel bearing in as many years is abit odd.

Sorry but just a couple of questions:

Do you know if they replaced it due to it being worn ie rough when it’s rotated? or because the abs ring wasn’t being picked up?

I’m trying to see if there’s a mechanical or electrical fault with these bearings or they are spinning the wheel and not seeing any readings and as the bearing is the easier option (15-30 minutes max) and probably cheaper from a parts perspective once they fit a new bearing they then get readings and assume the faults cured. I’ll hold me hands up now I’m guilty of falling in to that trap many times and without diving into the history it’s very easily done.

However if it’s rough when it’s rotated it sounds like it’s a symptom of another fault and you could potentially have a suspension problem or alignment issue which is causing premature wear on the bearing on that side. However you’d notice the drone of a bearing so unless the rides a lot quieter now at the back you could possibly rule that out. Also you’d probably be going through tyres not always but most of the time.

Personally I’d have a look through the history and see what the write up for the diagnosis of this and the previous bearings has been put down as. If it’s down as “abs or electrical issue” I’d definitely get that wheel speed sensor changed and that’s probably the culprit.

Sorry for the long post I tend to ramble in the mornings.


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[mantazzz]

I had to change my wheel speed sensor and magnetic ring on wheel bearing this spring (also rear right side) on my 2004 3 door. In my case small corrosion caused the gap between sensor and ring shorten enough for them to rub to each other.
If this happens again I would advice to check if the ring isn't damaged with magnetic paper (and you don't need to change the whole bearing, just the ring). I also would advice to check if the connector to the sensor is not corroded.

 

[Troubs12]

That’s interesting to be honest I’ve never heard of the ring coming separate but too be honest for the price of the bearing at around £50 ish it’s not that bad really. I suppose it’s true everyday is a school day


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[WillesdenBoy]

Thanks for all your input so far, that's really helpful.

Breaking news; we were due to pick up the 'repaired' car on Wed just gone.
The garage rang us in advance to say as they were reversing the car out of the workshop to park it for us to collect,
both the ABS and ESP lights came on again.
That was after changing the nearside rear wheel bearing the day before.
This eliminates the wheel bearing from being the cause of the issue.

The garage offered to hold onto the car (and said they have ordered a sensor, presume it's the wheel speed sensor).
I took the car away and said I wanted to think about all of this and then I would go back.
Refunding us for 3 wheel bearing changes apparently will not be a problem.

From reading your above comments, question/thoughts I've assembled are:
What is the precise fault code you are seeing in memory?
Take me through the diagnostic steps you took to conclude it was the nearside/rear wheel bearing
What is the sensor you have ordered? Wheel speed sensor?
Are there any other sensors which exist on the wheel?
Mechanical or electrical fault?
Connector to sensor corroded?

Thanks,




bern

 

[mantazzz]

In my case we diagnosed it by looking sensor readings using VCDS and driving around while checking sensor readings (if there are no results then sensor or wiring are bad, but in my case it was bad results for rear passenger wheel (lhd)), then took off the wheel bearing and checked if the ring and sensor did not look damaged and that was the case, because they grinded to each other. Both parts were changed and test drove with VCDS to check if it was working as it should.

 

[WillesdenBoy]

Yesterday, the garage changed the wheel speed sensor on the n/s/r wheel free of charge.
Old one did not show any sign of corrosion.
Before they changed the sensor, the fault code in memory was '00290 | ABS Wheel Speed Sensor, Rear Left - G46 Mechanical Malfunction'
Fingers crossed this resolves the issue for once and for all.

Thanks to you all for your invaluable input.



bern

 

[abmat]

If the sensor doesn’t solve the issue the next check would be wiring, pick up ring, and controller. Quite a lot of info out there no the net.


00285 - ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46): Mechanical Malfunction
Possible Causes

• Excessive Air Gap between ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46) and pick-up.
  • Depending on the equipment this could be on the Rotor or Bolt-on wheel bearing assembly
• Damaged, incorrect or rusted pick-up ring.
  • This photo is from the left rear wheel bearing on a NAR market 2015 NMS Passat (Mk6 chassis) vehicle: 2015 Passat LR Wheel bearing
• Short Circuit in Wiring from/to ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46)
• ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46) faulty

Possible Solutions

• Check ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46) Installation
• Check the pick-up ring
• Check Wiring from/to ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46)
• Check ABS Wheel Speed Sensor Rear Left (G46)