triggering ESP/ABS

[rand0mn00b]

Hi Guys,

First timer here love the forum that's happening and hope to be contributing (and asking) a fair bit over the course of time.

Picked up an August 2007 LT Zetec Sedan 2 weeks ago privately. Was an economic write off from hail damage so no warranty I believe. It has just ticked over 23,000km.

Have been taking it easy familiarising myself with it. Occasionally I drive a little more 'aggressively' and the handling on this thing is great.

Over the last 5 days I've progressively pushed the car harder and may have reached its limits before ESP/ABS to kick in. This is from taking corners/roundabouts a little too quickly where the road is not even so momentarily a tyre becomes airborne and the rear slides out.

It is at this point that I (and probably ESP) back off on the throttle and the car moves in the direction the steering is pointing again.

However the ESP and ABS lights stay illuminated and the display says "ESP System Fault" even after the moment has passed.

I fix this by pulling over and turning off the engine. When I restart the engine the ESP and ABS warning lights stay on until I roll about 50 metres then they disappear.

Has anyone else triggered ESP? What happens for you?

Does this behaviour seem normal otherwise? Should I get it checked out?

Thanks in advance!

[pertuan]

To my knowledge, the light should not stay on at all. It will be on while the system is working but should extinguish after that.

I'd get it checked.

[marg99]

my ESP comes on if you hit uneven road surface when cornering, but the light is only on when the system is working. The most likely suspect is a faulty sensor however it should be checked as the system may not be working while the fault shows.

[rand0mn00b]

ok thanks guys. i guess a ford dealer is best for this kinda thing?

any particular dealers I should stay away from? or that I should go to first?

thanks!

edit: i'm in sydney

[Tj-zetec]

Not sure who're the ones to miss in sydney but i've heard good things about the service dept at Power Ford in Castle Hill.

[BlackLS]

Sounds like an dud ABS sensor is to blame.

[Turbodiesel]

Originally Posted by marg99

my ESP comes on if you hit uneven road surface when cornering, but the light is only on when the system is working. The most likely suspect is a faulty sensor however it should be checked as the system may not be working while the fault shows.

That's handy to know, I have to turn mine off before I go around a certain corner on the way to work because the corner is bumpy and it activates.. I hate the sound it makes...

Yep the orange light should flash for a few seconds and then stop if the ESP is activated.

[Forest Bear]

Does anyone know if the car's management system records the number of times ABS/ESP is triggered when plugged in at ford for servicing?

[Mullett]

it sounds to me like one (or more) wheel sensors are losing sync, after 50m of straight driving it sounds like they work it out among themselves and get on with it. It's definitely a systems fault.

I don't know much about it, but I wouldn't have thought that being an economic write-off would have voided the warranty...

How much did it cost you to repair the damage?

-RM.

[rand0mn00b]

Originally Posted by BlackLS

Sounds like an dud ABS sensor is to blame.

Originally Posted by Mullett

it sounds to me like one (or more) wheel sensors are losing sync, after 50m of straight driving it sounds like they work it out among themselves and get on with it. It's definitely a systems fault.

thanks guys

Originally Posted by Mullett

I don't know much about it, but I wouldn't have thought that being an economic write-off would have voided the warranty...

I'm not sure either, but it said that in the manual if it's a 'write off' (their exact wording) then it's no longer covered under warranty. I emailed Ford Australia about it and was told to visit my nearest dealer so I might just do that.

Originally Posted by Mullett

How much did it cost you to repair the damage?

Not sure, I bought it after it was repaired.

[rand0mn00b]

Heh well I've had ESP go off legitimately a couple of times and yes it only blinks for a few seconds and then off. So at least it's working when the ESP system error light isn't on.

It now happens even if I hold the steering slightly to the right for prolonged periods of time when taking a large bend.

It's worst when I'm quickly braking, pressing clutch and turning right around a sharp bend I will also hear a single clunk, but it sounds like some metal is scraping against the bottom of my car. it stops once the ESP faulty lights come on

And I'm also hearing what sounds like some springy noises. The most similar noise I can think of is when you lean back on an office chair and you can hear the spring compressing... it sounds like that. This continues even after the fault light comes in

So it sounds like driveshaft/CV joint/maybe ABS or ESP sensor related - might be costly without warranty =(

[BlackLS]

Lucky you have warranty due to hail damage only affecting the cosmetics of the car and not the mechanicals.

[rand0mn00b]

Originally Posted by BlackLS

Lucky you have warranty due to hail damage only affecting the cosmetics of the car and not the mechanicals.

I checked with several ford dealers, everyone who's replied back has said it's no longer covered by warranty even if it was just hail damage :(

[marg99]

if you are getting front end noise at about the time the ESP triggers I would suggest one of the front brake sensors and the front hub assembly are not properly aligned causing the sensor to misread or loose a signal. My falcon had that issue when it lost a front bearing in the hub assembly and it was touching the sensor arm.

[BlackLS]

Mr Random, you got a PM.

[rand0mn00b]

I'm very pleased with the team at the service department of thomson ford in parramatta. Service, response time and communication has been excellent esp by Lee, the assistant service manager

so far they've:

1. validated the warranty status of my car with ford australia (excluding the body and any damage deemed to have been caused in the process of its repair, which is fair enough)

2. took the car in to have it looked at, turns out the problem was a 'tone wheel failure'. parts for that and the drive shaft are incoming - all covered by warranty

tracked down and diagnosed a couple of other issues i mentioned while i was there that will now also be repaired under warranty

when all the parts arrive she'll be going back in to have them fitted

let's hope the rest of the journey goes as smooth as it has thus far

[BlackLS]

Awesome to hear!!!

[AnthonyTDCi]

Originally Posted by Turbodiesel

That's handy to know, I have to turn mine off before I go around a certain corner on the way to work because the corner is bumpy and it activates.. I hate the sound it makes...

Yep the orange light should flash for a few seconds and then stop if the ESP is activated.

hmm...i just made a thread on what i think might be the exact same problem....

[rand0mn00b]

just a few points of interest for the information of anyone else who might stumble across this

re: warranty, it's not stated in the user manual, but in the log book it states that even if it's been written off but you can prove that it's a fault in manufacturing then you are still entitled to make a claim

I think most dealers can't be bothered checking with Ford, Thomson Ford impressed me in that regard (even though I didn't buy my car from them)! A couple of dealers checked too, but weren't as attentive or at least appeared to be concerned in a good outcome.

re: tone wheel, apparently it's a magnetic wheel that tracks how a wheel is moving and feeds that data back to the ABS/ESP/ECU. in my case the front left one was damaged and so yeah, I guess it was losing sync with the rest of the system. I don't know if it's the same thing as an ABS sensor but its function seems similar.

[rand0mn00b]

just collected the car from Thomson Ford today. All appears to be well, for now... :p