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ESP/BAS light on

49K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  pJarhead 
#1 ·
I've had this light, along with the squiggly car, come on twice now in the last couple of weeks.

The first time I pulling up to a stop sign behind another car where the over grown vegetation makes it hard to see on coming traffic. He crept out, I crept up and "ding" the light came on. It stayed on all of the way to my next stop where I pulled into a tight diagonal parking space. The light went out after I got under way for the trip home.

The second time the wife and I were driving home from a short outing, we had just gotten threw a curve when it came on again and stayed on for the rest of the trip.

I checked for codes and none came up, then I did some searching on the net and found the two main causes for this on other cars with this kind of system were the Steering Angle Sensor and the Brake light switch.

Of course if the Steering Angle Sensor is bad it needs to be replace but I read that you could also reprogram it by cranking the steering wheel all the way left, then right and holding it in each position for 5 seconds or so before returning it to neutral. I gave that a shot, the ESP/BAS lights stayed on until I actually got under way on another trip and they went out within about 15 feet.

The commonality between the two occasions when the lights came on were that I was using the brakes and I was making a turn adjustment.

The commonality to the "fixes" was that when I backed out of the parking space I had to turned the wheels a hard left and a hard right just I had done after reading about the reprogramming.

I have no final conclusion on this yet. I have always suspected the non-adjustable brake light switch to maybe be the problem with my intermittent Cruise Control and with that being the cheaper or the two switches it will be the first one that gets replaced. And no, my brake lights do not stay on with the brake pedal released.
 
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#2 ·
Hey Bob, remember this is one of things I complained about shortly after lifting mine. It has since gone away and come back and gone again. One thing I learned though is to always ensure I check my tires are properly inflated. It seems to go off more with lower tire pressure and has stopped entirely now that I I run my slightly higher than recommended. You may want to give this a try.
 
#3 ·
If I remember right yours did it right after the lift and taller tires. My pressures have been up around 41 - 43 with the temps above 70 F. I'm just "observing" for now, certainly not a crisis. :thumbsup:
 
#4 ·
this happend on the jeep even before i had the lift put on...has happend again once in a while in the year and a half the lift has been on.
 
#5 ·
ESP, BAS & TC lights

Hi, Y'all,

I have had the three lights come on several times when just driving straight. The first time it happened, I was heading to MT and it happened on the highway in ND. Try finding a Jeep dealer in ND! They scoped it and said that the sensors were malfunctioning and would have to be replaced. I had them replaced about a month ago, and it's happening again. ARGH! :brickwall The Jeep seems to drive fine, no problems driving it when the lights are on. I have a 2009 Jeep Patriot Sport E, 2WD, which I just bought in March.

Any ideas?
Caliro in the Twin Cities, MN
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the heads up. The wires running under the chassis on the drivers side don't have the best protection. Is that where they were?

yea, this happened to me yesterday, I still have yet to find and answer to the problem...looking for more updates
Are they still on or did they go out. Which lights, seems to be several combinations?
 
#10 ·
this happened on our 09 compass this past saturday, right after we left the dealership (had to pick up our precious car care kit lol). was still on when we left the house again later that day, but went off after i hit the "ESP off" button. no issue since but will keep an eye on it.
 
#12 ·
This happened on my MK back in June. The steering angle sensor, like Merlin suggested, is the likely problem.

It's done it twice again in the last 2 weeks after I slid off the ice into a snow bank and had to be towed out. The alignment has been off since then so when I take it in for that I'll see if I can get more info.

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#13 ·
Up date. The light came on and I got it to turn off several times by turning the wheel full left and right. It's been miserable to drive since the slide off incident. No body damage but the steering has really been out of whack and lots of "clunking".

I finally got it to the shop today and they couldn't do an alignment because the Tie Rods and Lower Ball Joints/Control Arm Assemblies were shot and that would throw off the steering angle sensor, too. All fixed no more ABS/ESP light.

This happening for the first time back in June may have been an indication of the steering getting loose, I don't know for sure. If it was, having it winched out of a ditch from a 30 degree side angle finished them off.

If your lights keep coming on check the Ball Joints and Tie Rods. If they are not be the problem them check out the Steering Angle Sensor, but that's a $90 diagnostic fee.

The good news - my CV joints are doing fine since the RRO lift. :D
 
#14 ·
My '14 Grand Cherokee Overland has the same issue with less than 2000 miles on the clock. The sensor needs to be replaced. Downside that here in the U.K. the part has to come from either Turin or the U.S. The fix is covered by the warrantee otherwise the part alone would cost over £500. Interestingly, the dealership has a Grand Cherokee in the shop with the same issue. Coincidence perhaps? Or a faulty batch of sensors have been fitted? Oddly enough, the warning message ''Service Air Suspension'' also showed.
 
#15 ·
2007 Jeep Overland

I really enjoy reading these threads. I have a 2007 Overland, and it bucks hard, almost loses power, dings, and then the lightning bolt light flashes real quick. Shop said it's from using brake and accelerator at same time. However, I don't ever recall doing this.
Any thoughts out there?
 
#16 ·
Our 2009 Jeep Patriot is in need of an alignment. We just had the front subframe replaced and many of the parts that attach to it. The steering wheel is slightly off straight and sure enough the esp/bas light came on. I turned it off by doing as said above (turn wheel left all the way hold for 5 seconds then turn left all the way and hold five seconds then center it) I got about 150 ft down the road and out went the light! Sweet! Cool thing to learn, thanks. Alignment will be done asap.
 
#17 ·
We had the alignment done today and my wife told me it drives like a dream and handles so well she was smiling ear to ear. Phew... I was concerned she'd make me sell it and to be honest there is just something about the handling of our Jeep Patriot I'm having a hard time putting into words... just feels so nice, beyond anything I've driven before. I think I'm hooked!
 
#18 ·
ABS, ESP/BAS, Traction Control and 4WD SERV

All 4 lights came on at the same time and have stayed on. 2008 Jeep Liberty, 98,000 miles, city/highway, no off road time. No codes returned from ignition switch. Tried turning the steering wheel both ways, no luck clearing the ESP/BAS.
 
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