# abs, Brake and DSC light



## cdawg786 (Nov 3, 2004)

It's been raining here for the past few days and as i was driving back home, i noticed that the ABS, Brake and DSC lights came on, the light does go away after i let the car sit for a little while, but when i switch on the car and drive for a bit, i have noticed that the brakes seem to seize and slip on the front passenger tire and the car shudders after which the lights come on and braking seems fine, obviously abs is disabled.


I'm guessing that perhaps the wheel sensor might be bad, but some help on this matter will be appreciated guys.

I have a 2000 540ia btw


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

*I have had the same problem !*

I have had the same problem as you, do u freaquently hear a "boing" sound, and screeching? My problem was, whenever both lights used to be on the brakes were operating normally, once they go off automatically for some reason, the brakes started seizing up on me, started making sounds, plus stopping was hard. I sent my BMW to the Dealer to address this problem last week, and haven't gotten a reply back since.


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## marinakorp (Oct 3, 2003)

Here is my story (again)


THIS IS BAD


I thought... no big deal.. I don't use ABS or the Traction control (usually turn it off) ... until the car did the exact same thing AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, in a turn, during rush hour traffic, going under an overpass (concrete barricades near my car at 70 mph!)


so, as I was going under the over pass, the front righ locked up, then rear, then some other one lockked up... bucking the car like a rented mule... controlling the car was difficult, s the weight transfer and subsequent lockup gave unpredictible results in braking ,etc...


car went in for service


at first they thought it was the speed sensors... replaced (this was prior to this episode) ... turned out to be the ABS controller... niot cheap

aparently there are "kits" that address some of the issues for cheaper than the whole controller and ABs unit... car was under the CPO, so I had not hoice to replace it all


good luck

THIS IS A SAFETY HAZZARD... please file a complaint with the NHTSA


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## E39spd (Mar 4, 2004)

marinakorp said:


> Here is my story (again)
> 
> THIS IS BAD
> 
> ...


Yep, I had the same thing hapen in our E38 (2001), it was the computer, good thing we had the CPO, the cost as over 1K or so from what I heard.

The car would be normal (no lights on) after stopping, resting it, and restarting, then it would not come on for 5-10miles, I would try to stop and then the car would shutter (with brakes applied) and all the lights would come on (ABS, "Brake" in yellow, and Traction Triangle).

Car only had 44k on the clock.

Symptoms were just like cdawg786 (they thought sensor at first also, but it was not)


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

marinakorp said:


> Here is my story (again)
> 
> THIS IS BAD
> 
> ...


Man, the day i read your post on my thread, was the day i had my car towed, it was able to run but i would have been scared driving it. Anways, i took the car in, and for some reason i got all 4 brakes replaced, but they couldn't still find the code, and the car has been gone for a week. I thought i was the only with the problem but guess i am not. Now what is really wrong with my car? , i am usually a very fast driver, and don't want my brakes failing on the high way :eeps:


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

*How much does it cost to fix the problem?*

How much does it cost to get the problem fixed? ABS controller, and speed sensor how much do they cost?


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## cdawg786 (Nov 3, 2004)

So this is a common problem, luckily i have extended warranty on it, and i'm taking it in today to the dealership to have this thing sorted out, one thing i have noticed is that at really low speeds the brakes seem fine, but as soon as i cross the 20 mark, everytime i touch the brakes, they seem to seize up, the dealership better fix the problem  

i'll post back what the dealer tells me, thanks for replying guys.


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

cdawg786 said:


> So this is a common problem, luckily i have extended warranty on it, and i'm taking it in today to the dealership to have this thing sorted out, one thing i have noticed is that at really low speeds the brakes seem fine, but as soon as i cross the 20 mark, everytime i touch the brakes, they seem to seize up, the dealership better fix the problem
> 
> i'll post back what the dealer tells me, thanks for replying guys.


if its under warrenty, get them to give you a loaner for free, and tell them this is a common problem


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## E39spd (Mar 4, 2004)

BMW528i_Bilal said:


> How much does it cost to get the problem fixed? ABS controller, and speed sensor how much do they cost?


They had told me the cost was about $2k for the abs controller, not 1K like I first posted. Sorry about that.


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

E39spd said:


> They had told me the cost was about $2k for the abs controller, not 1K like I first posted. Sorry about that.


$2000 American dollars, YIKES !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Lscman (Aug 5, 2003)

There's a guy on another forum drumming up a big order to one of the West Coast BMW dealers for new ABS units. The price is $550 and dropping......... 

Wheel sensors are cheap and can be swapped right to left side to isolate defect before buying one.

Dealers highball you so they can make a profit even if they misdiagnose, throw parts at the job & essentially do a repair twice.


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