ESP/ABS Fault - P059B

[Mack04]

Guys, just wanted to run this by you before taking it into the "dealer".

Over the past few days i have had a warning light coming on "ESP/ABS Fault, refer to owners manual", Then straight after it states "parking brake malfunction". Once you stop and restart the engine it clears. I have taken the car into my local garage who put the car onto a Bosch diagnostics, it read PO59B - Pressure Sensor Signal Improbable. The guy at the garage seems to think it the sensor fitted inside the ABS Pump and told me it can only be changed by Audi as it is component protected and needs to be synced into the car.

Rang the dealer today and he has quoted a rough figure of £1,500, oh plus £75 to run it by the diagnostics.

Has anyone had something similar or can offer any advice.

Cheers all

Martin

[DanG]

Brake / ESP issues are a dangerous thing, particularly with winter coming, £75 is probably worth it IMO.

£1,500 sounds steep for the removal of an ABS pump, refitting of a new unit and a system purge...

[Mack04]

Had it into the dealer today, couldnt rind any fault although it showed it in the history. Tech gave me a couple of options, 1 replace the brake pedal switch @ £90, 2 replace the ABS pump £1,650. I'm gutted but going to go with the first option in hope of it clearing the fault. Either that or I part ex it against newer car via dealer. Car has 104k 05 plate 3.0 Tdi quattro so I'm guessing it's with 7-8k without the fault.

[Mack04]

Guys, just an update, had the brake pedal switch today replaced and the fault reoccurred straight away, audi tech has stated the ABS pump needs to be replaced at £1,650. they state its 4-5 hours work and the part is £1,200. going to have to bite the bullet here as when it goes off the car is all over in this weather.

[cruiser647]

Guys, just an update, had the brake pedal switch today replaced and the fault reoccurred straight away, audi tech has stated the ABS pump needs to be replaced at £1,650. they state its 4-5 hours work and the part is £1,200. going to have to bite the bullet here as when it goes off the car is all over in this weather.

Bad luck geezer.

Any ideas why it's gone wrong?

Also, make sure that the garage know that is the fault - if they replace it and it still has the error, then you shouldn't have to pay for it. Ask them if any of the ABS wheel sensors could cause that fault.

[Mack04]

Yeah they did the diagnostics on the car, couldn't find any independents that could do this so I'm in the hands of the dealer. Even tried ringing round but they all quoted the same price. Not sure how it failed maybe just age as it's 5 years with 100k. Still waiting for the dealer to ring as the parts are on order. This is the most expensive tin of sweets and valet I've ever had. Lol.

[ainarssems]

I had similar fault years ago on my old A6 when I bought it. Guy I bought it from said local garages could not find a fault and Audi wanted £135 just for diagnostics so he decided to sell the car. I bought a cheap diagnostics cable on e-bay for less then £20. It showed fault with pressure valve solenoid in ABS pump. Could not find second hand unit with the same number, Audi wanted around £1500 for supplying new and £250 surcharge for returning old unit. That was not the option so I started investigating further and found that water had gotten into the ABS pump plug and corroded several pins completely away from the ABS pump. So I made new pins using copper from water pipe tinned, soldered on the remaining part of the pins in the plug cutting some plastic away. cleaned plugs, reassembled and sealed the plug off to avoid any problems in the future. Had a car for 4 years without any issues with ABS sold it to mate and he still keeps driving. Total cost less then £20 for the cable which I continue to use on other cars for myself and friends and a couple quid or less for a bit of copper, solder and electricity and a 2-3 hours of work for finding and fixing the fault.

For intermittent faults always check the wiring and connections first, don't forget ground connections as well.