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ESC off then SERV 4WD, 4 LOW and 4WD lights on whiles driving

129K views 81 replies 39 participants last post by  Ex-Calif 
#1 ·
So, its a '10 sport trim, completely stock and sometimes used for light offroad. Today I was driving on the highway and then the light of ESC turned on and the computer said ESCOFF, I tried the ESC button but couldn't activate it again, it stays OFF... after comple minutes the SERV 4WD turned on, then 4LOW and theeeeen 4WD turned on. I was driving on highway and nothing was wrong while driving, driving on D under normal conditions

I stopped just to check what was wrong, tried to engage 4H with no results, the transfer case doesn't shift to 4H or 4L.



Does anybody have had this situation?

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Most likely a sensor failed. It should still be in warranty. Take it in to a dealer. That happened to me minus the 4wd part. My cruise disengaged, tsc and service engine light came on. Turns out it was the passenger front abs sensor.
 
#4 ·
I have a 2011 Liberty Sport 4x4 and just yesterday my ESC OFF light started coming on as I was driving. Then it would turn back on for a few miles, then shut off again.
It's sad that I would never catch that lol. My TCS is always off. I don't believe in TCS. Sure in a high powered car maybe, but in every day driving with an average powered car, there is no reason you should ever need traction control unless you're messing around. ABS, however, I can see due to emergencies. No one thinks/knows to threshold brake and instantly slams on the brakes when something happens lol.
 
#6 ·
Sorry for bumping such an old thread, but my wife's 08 Liberty Sport recently had the same problem with the ESPOFF, SERV4WD, 4 LOW, and 4WD lights.

The dealer initially diagnosed the problem (for which we paid a diagnosis fee since it was out of warranty) as a failed Final Drive Control Module (FDCM) and said it was out of warranty and we'd need to pay to have it replaced for ~$450. Long story short, months later the service manager offered to cover the cost minus a $50 deductible as a good will gesture. Interesting to note that the part was on national backorder.

We dropped off the vehicle yesterday to have the FDCM installed. They needed to keep the car overnight since it seemed the FDCM wasn't fixing the problem. Today they confirmed it was the "transfer case actuator motor" and not the final drive control module and is covered under the powertrain warranty.

Hopefully this information helps someone else experiencing the same problem.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the update ^. The funny thing about the traction control. I drove a 2012 Silverado 4x4 LT crew Cab for a few days and the traction control fully on worked better then when I shut off the traction control on the Liberty. The good thing about it, when it rains and your driving on a toll road, the oil that build near the tolls, the tc helps a bit.
 
#8 ·
I can understand turning off the ESC when you're off-roading as sometimes you either want or need to get the wheels spinning and keep them going to get through a muddy patch. But ON road it's a great safety feature. It's so effective that I believe the gov't is going to ( or already does ) require all cars to have it. It prevents accidents. It really does.
 
#9 ·
My wife's 2012 Liberty goes in the shop tomorrow morning for this very reason. And you better believe I'll be bringing up this tread topic. Luckily though, we're under warranty so everything will be covered. I'll post the results of the work done when I get it back. Thanks to the OP for starting this tread!
 
#11 ·
I had the same problem with my 09 Jeep Liberty. The lights ESPOFF, SERV4WD, 4 LOW, and 4WD lights just came on when I was driving and the car went into 4wd LOW while it was engaged in 2wd. Brought it to the dealer last yr because the SErvice 4wd light kept coming on. They replaced the transfer case motor. This winter the above problem occured and it is apparently a faulty FINAL DRIVE CONTROL. Thank goodness the dealer is goign to cover it even though it is out of warranty due to it not being fixed properly last yr. Is this a common problem with Jeeps? If so, why are they not recalled? BTW the error code for this issue is C1408.
 
#12 ·
Found your thread through a search and wanted to share my issues with the ESC and 4WD.

I was driving home from vacation when the ESPOFF warnings started going off. It was intermittent and the warnings went on and off for the last 3 hours of the trip (all highway). I called the dealer to make an appointment earlier in the week and is scheduled for tomorrow. After doing that, I decided to crawl under and check the transfer case shift motor connection - all looked good. I also checked the wiring in the console to make sure the selector knob was making a good connection - all good. Started the Jeep and voila, no ESPOFF warnings and no other lights on the dash. I started to drive and went into 4HI to test it out - all good. Also went into 4LO for a test and ran into problems. It drove and shifted fine, but I could not get the transfer case to shift back into 4HI or 2HI for 30+ minutes. I tried it with the Jeep rolling in N, stopped in N, and foot on brake in N. When I would attempt to shift back into 4HI, it sounded like it was trying, but just wouldn't go. Finally I got it back in 4HI then into 2HI and parked it. Throughout the process, I have never seen the service 4WD light or the check engine light come on.

Does anyone have any clue what this could be? My only guess is that a sensor or the transfer case shift motor (or its connections) have gone bad. Also, where is the final drive control located on the Jeep?

It has 45k on it, so there is going to be a diagnose fee and the only parts covered under the powertrain warranty are "internally lubricated parts." Sounds like I will be responsible for anything electronic.
 
#13 ·
May sound crazy but when mine did this i took it to my local auto store and had them hook it up to the basic scanner. It gave me enough information to let me know it was a speed sensor. I went home and cleaned my sensors and made sure the connections were right and has not had this problem in 2k miles. Before you spend any money at the stealership try this, you will be supprised at the result. (Unless your still under warranty)
 
#18 ·
Finally made it into the dealer and got the following codes:

FDCM C1403 - Transfer Case Range Position Sensor Performance (stored)
FDCM C1404 - Transfer Case Range Position Circuit Low (active)

Any help is appreciated! Still having the same issues as posted earlier in the thread.
 
#21 ·
jc_cshmny said:
He mentioned that it could be anything from a short, to failed sensors, to a bad FDCM. My issue is with them charging $100/hour to hunt for the problem, then paying them to fix it, especially since it is only 9k out of the bumper to bumper. This should really be covered under powertrain since it prevents me from using 4WD.
If you bought it new or if it's under 100,000 miles then it should be covered, I think. Ask Jeep Cares
 
#23 ·
It is the car alignment dude. If you are driving and it happen that means that you become beyond the proper car alignment and by this it means that one of your front or back suspension components is damaged "end tie rod, ball joints in the upper contol arm or the lower one and the bushing for both, sway bar bushing..etc." for these parts or the other parts that is related to your frontal suspension if any of them is damaged the esp and the 4wd and the abs will stop working because the will accure an unwanted car stabilizating. Check them because they are the one's that cause the sudden change in your car alignment and the stop of the esp function and the rest that is related to it.
 
#24 ·
Getting tired of this....

I have been dealing with this same issue on my '11 Liberty(25k) for a month now. First time dealer had to reprogram the computer and now 3 weeks later every light regarding ABS, parking brake, seatbelt, serve 4wd, hill descent are on and after shutting down you must wait a few minutes to restart. I am not happy as this is my second Liberty after trading in my '09 w/sky slider roof issues. Has anyone continued to have problems after being "repaired"?
 
#25 ·
I have an 2010 bought new in Feb 2011 ,Jeep Liberty. I have had The lights ESPOFF, SERV4WD, 4 LOW, and 4WD lights come on for the forth time now. The first time was within 2months after buying it and I took it back to the dealership and they unhooked the battery left it overnight and connected it back up and they were off...that lasted until about june of 2011 and it happened again. I had moved to Colorado and took it into the local jeep dealership which found an C1404 error and replaced the Transfer case motor..still under warranty. Everything was good until Dec of 2012 and it happened again. Went back to the dealership and they once again found an C1404 error and replaced the Transfer case motor and was told would be covered under the pwer train warranty. Well guess what, its 2014 and its back. I called (877)426-5337Jeep Company Customer Service and explained my issue. What I was told was that I would have to have diagnostics run at a dealership to determine what the problem was. . And depending on what it was they would then assign a case worker to my issue and see what they could do for me as far as paying for the problem.
I called the Jeep Dealership in colorado since I am no longer there and asked for copies of my work and then called Jeep Company Customer Service back and asked if my Jeep was still under power train warranty. They confirmed it was so I am hopeful that when I go to have it diagnosed, I am in So California now, that it will be covered under warranty, if not I have a case number with Jeep and will continue to fight for 100% cost coverage. Its obivious that this is a known issue. It has really disheartened me towards owning a jeep in the future. Good Luck everyone!
 
#26 ·
this came on when I ended up getting stuck in a snowbank today. my brakes are pretty jumpy now and I cant engage or dis engage 4wd. all its saying is ESCOFF. After reading this im lucky that it doesn't say service 4wd or else I would die. what do I do to get this fixed? or do I have to take it in to fix it?
 
#27 ·
This thread is muddled with a few different issues. Considering you were stuck in snow, I would check for packed snow in the brake area. More than likely a speed sensor is clogged up. If a speed sensor at one of the wheels isn't able to signal the system it disables 4wd as well. Hopefully it's just that simple.
 
#29 ·
Yup YZF125... was up early this morning, answered that post and got ready for work. Right after getting on the highway in ice and snow, my dash lights lit up and now my stuff is shut off as well. I have really just about had enough of this POS. I have tried so hard to remain positive. I so loved my Cherokee's back in the day. I even forgive stuff knowing it is built to a price point. It seems lately that every other week it's something.
 
#30 ·
I bought mine to AVOID having trouble like this !! I upgraded from a 03 Chevy Silverado that was nickle and diming me to this ??? Its not a comfortable feeling knowing all that can and will in most cases happen eventually.. I may seriously just try to sell mine in the spring to avoid going through any of this nonsense... Wish I would have read this forum head to toe before buying mine.......
 
#32 ·
ESCOFF/4WD/4LO lights on dash

Had this problem twice - once in deep snow and once in heavy rain (turning). Found an article and I don't recall seeing this info in the owners manual. Read it, know it, love it.

http://www.c-suvs.com/electronic_stability_control_esc_-2219.html

In my case I can attribute both instances to wheel slip, etc. Getting the lights to go out was trickier. Shutdown/startup - no love. Disconnect the battery - no love. No codes from the key-wag. Only when I got the vehicle above 40mph or so on dry pavement did the lights go out.

It seems the vehicle tries to stabilize itself until a point that it finally throws up it's hands and relinquishes control to its master. Best way to avoid is to hold the TC button down for 5+ seconds after shifting to 4WD when in harsh conditions. This switches the ESC to FULL OFF. Works well on trails also.

Some in this post clearly have other issues since it's logical that this behavior should never occur on dry pavement, etc. I hope this helps. :cheers2:
 
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