ABS/ESP problems

[drgene]

2013 Sprinter bought new. 2nd ABS/ESP malfunction in 6 months. Speed sensor on one wheel replaced 1st time. Currently in shop. Cruise also goes out with malfunction. Any owners out there with similar problems. Any info greatly appreciated. 18000 K miles

[weirdstuff]

We have a 2013 with 27,000 miles on it. Our sensor just went out too. Mercedes has one on order. Waiting for it to arrive from Germany. We didn't have any problems, just that the warning light came on, and upon testing, they said it was a faulty sensor. Still under warranty.

[Kwils25]

We have had the warning light come on twice on our 2014 Ext in the 22K miles we have driven it, both in very windy conditions. After parking the vehicle and turning the engine off and letting it set for a few minutes, the warning light stays off after starting it back up. So far, I'm blaming the windy conditions.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[Saratliff]

Originally Posted by drgene

2013 Sprinter bought new. 2nd ABS/ESP malfunction in 6 months. Speed sensor on one wheel replaced 1st time. Currently in shop. Cruise also goes out with malfunction. Any owners out there with similar problems. Any info greatly appreciated. 18000 K miles

Have same problem in my 2013 with 48000 miles , dodge mechanic changed left senior. Worked for a couple of days and quite, will get it to Mercedes when I have time.

[Titus]

I just experienced three problems, that became four.

When applying the brakes I noticed an odd sensation in the pedal. Don't know how to describe it, just felt different. But it stopped just fine. Then next time I noticed a slight vibration or chattering in the pedal feel, but not in the braking itself. Then a couple of minutes later I noticed three warnings on the panel
1) ABS visit workshop
2) ESP visit workshop
3) 'tire symbol' visit workshop, where the 'tire symbol' means ASR/BAS

Per the OM it seems that a problem with the ABS causes the EPS and ASR/BAS to be deactivated. So maybe the underlying problem is with the ABS??? It also says that the cruise control has been deactivated. I confirmed that - tried to use the cruise and got a fourth error message associated with cruise control. OM says that engine power may be reduced. Mine has not (yet?) been reduced. I do not have a red brake system light, so it seems that it is still safe to drive. The service advisor I called says that the errors will reset on their own if the problem goes away. Somewhere I read that the wheel speed sensor may just be dirty. I am going to try to find that reference and see if I can find the sensor and clean it. If not, then a 100 mile trip to the nearest MB dealer. I have not been on any especially dirty roads lately. I did get new tires 200 miles ago. Might they have bumped something when changing tires?

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Titus

I just experienced three problems, that became four.

When applying the brakes I noticed an odd sensation in the pedal. Don't know how to describe it, just felt different. But it stopped just fine. Then next time I noticed a slight vibration or chattering in the pedal feel, but not in the braking itself. Then a couple of minutes later I noticed three warnings on the panel
1) ABS visit workshop
2) ESP visit workshop
3) 'tire symbol' visit workshop, where the 'tire symbol' means ASR/BAS

Per the OM it seems that a problem with the ABS causes the EPS and ASR/BAS to be deactivated. So maybe the underlying problem is with the ABS??? It also says that the cruise control has been deactivated. I confirmed that - tried to use the cruise and got a fourth error message associated with cruise control. OM says that engine power may be reduced. Mine has not (yet?) been reduced. I do not have a red brake system light, so it seems that it is still safe to drive. The service advisor I called says that the errors will reset on their own if the problem goes away. Somewhere I read that the wheel speed sensor may just be dirty. I am going to try to find that reference and see if I can find the sensor and clean it. If not, then a 100 mile trip to the nearest MB dealer. I have not been on any especially dirty roads lately. I did get new tires 200 miles ago. Might they have bumped something when changing tires?

Sonds like a wheel sensor problem as that effects all the systems you mentioned. There is a lot of discussion on wheel sensors on the Sprinter Source forum. Might be worth a search of that forum.

I pulled the attached description from my copy of WIS. It might help locate the sensors.

[HiHoAgRV]

Keep us posted to the outcome. My older Mercedes car has done the exact same thing with one additional oddity. As the brake pedal pulsed slightly the car would throttle up on its own! As soon as the ESP/ABS lights come on, the throttle would resume normal operation. I was kinda glad when they just decided to stay on permanent now!

[Boxster1971]

Found the remove/replace instructions for the wheel sensors. These might help more than the files I posted earlier.

If the error is just a temporary condition the it will self clear after three re-starts. That is common on all modern vehicles. My 2001 Prius will do the same thing for a temporary error. My Interstate threw a DEF countdown when the tank was full, but it self-cleared after the third re-start and has not reappeared for last 8,000 miles. This seems to be the nature of these electronically controlled vehicles. If you have a real problem it will not self-clear the error message.

[Titus]

Thanks Boxster. I have been on the Sprinter forum but did not find the files that you sent. Three restarts did not clear it and I have tried a battery-disconnect reset without success. Have found somebody local who can supposedly read the error codes, and will try them next week. Hope that it points to one wheel speed sensor - which seems to be the most likely cause.

Now that I think about it the second strange brake pedal sensation did feel like a very weak activation of ABS - but it happened during a mild stop. Not the strong noise that I experience on cars in the winter. I suppose a failed, or failing, wheel sensor could cause ABS to activate. But then I wonder how/why it knew a wheel speed failure - maybe different wheel speeds when brakes were not applied??? Guess I need to stop my theoretical diagnostics and wait for the real thing...

[Titus]

Got an update on by ABS issue, but problem is not yet solved.

Found a local business who works on Sprinters - saving me a 100 mile drive to MB dealer now that I am out of warranty. On the way to the shop the transmission suddenly decided to shift into neutral and the engine light came on. Pulled over and shifted to Park then back to Drive and it ran fine the rest of the way in - but for the various warning lights. (Seemed not to have an engine power derate.)

The shop has an Autel scanner that has worked in the past for these kinds of things. He found a left rear wheel speed sensor error, a couple of transmission codes, and the engine code. He was able to clear the transmission and engine codes, but not the LR speed sensor code. But he drove around his parking lot and was able to see signals from all four wheel sensors. So his next step is a call to his contact at a MB dealership.

The saga continues - stay tuned.

[Boxster1971]

Smart for him to reach out to his contact at dealer. Independents need to get help from mother ship Daimler for complex problems unless they can afford the $30,000+/year for full factory scanner capability.

[Titus]

Titus is healed. MB dealer reported seeing frequent failures of rear speed sensors when 3500 chassis is used in motorhomes. MB dealer suggested that the mechanic replace both rear sensors, which he did. He cleaned the tone rings with shop air while he had the sensors out. He could clear the codes after installing the new sensors. Good for another 4 years and 40,000 miles???

Seems odd to me that he could get a signal from all four sensors yet the sensor was bad and he could not reset the code. Mechanic mentioned how difficult it was to get to the sensor wiring due to generator and tank (propane?).

[HiHoAgRV]

Closing the loop here. My older Mercedes car had the same symptoms, transmission acted odd after a sweeping turn, no ABS or ESP due to a bad rear wheel sensor. It's an odd build, last year of a chassis style but has the stability control from the next body style so it's been very difficult finding sensors. I replaced both for $80 and the computer cleared its error and everything works again.