Steering Angle Sensor / ESP
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 44
Likes: 15
From: Sydney, Australia
2007 clk350 coupe, 2013 C250 coupe, 2013 C250 wagon
Steering Angle Sensor / ESP
My 2013 C204 C250 Coupe is showing ESP/ABS unavailable and Run Flat unavailable warning lights and the ECO, cruise control functions do not work.
I have researched this a fair bit and seek help, please.
The story so far:
I had a faulty turn indicator stalk which did not return to the off position automatically, but had to be manually "helped".
I replaced the combination switch with a fully working used item (which includes the turn indicator stalk). All was good, test drove perfectly until after about 20km I got the ESP/ABS / runflat errors as described above.
Thinking the used combination switch must be faulty I swapped the old one back in - result same errors.
I have tried resetting the SAS by rotating the wheel fully to both locks, to no avail.
The steering angle sensor (SAS) shows a live data reading of about -15 degrees with the steering wheel and road wheels centred. The SAS adjusts properly (from -15) through the range when the wheel is turned.
The data stream shows about 14v to the ESP. The battery is only a year or 2 old.
This led me to think I had a failed ESP/ABS module due to the battery shutoff necessary for airbag removal when replacing the switch.
I had an ECU / ESP repair company scan the ESP/ABS and it showed no codes.
The ECU / ESP company was able to reset the SAS to within its tolerance range (8 degrees from memory) using Xentry and on restart all codes had gone and all functions returned to normal. Drove for about 30 klms and the faults returned exactly as before.
I'm at a loss as to what next. Any suggestions more than welcome, please.
I have researched this a fair bit and seek help, please.
The story so far:
I had a faulty turn indicator stalk which did not return to the off position automatically, but had to be manually "helped".
I replaced the combination switch with a fully working used item (which includes the turn indicator stalk). All was good, test drove perfectly until after about 20km I got the ESP/ABS / runflat errors as described above.
Thinking the used combination switch must be faulty I swapped the old one back in - result same errors.
I have tried resetting the SAS by rotating the wheel fully to both locks, to no avail.
The steering angle sensor (SAS) shows a live data reading of about -15 degrees with the steering wheel and road wheels centred. The SAS adjusts properly (from -15) through the range when the wheel is turned.
The data stream shows about 14v to the ESP. The battery is only a year or 2 old.
This led me to think I had a failed ESP/ABS module due to the battery shutoff necessary for airbag removal when replacing the switch.
I had an ECU / ESP repair company scan the ESP/ABS and it showed no codes.
The ECU / ESP company was able to reset the SAS to within its tolerance range (8 degrees from memory) using Xentry and on restart all codes had gone and all functions returned to normal. Drove for about 30 klms and the faults returned exactly as before.
I'm at a loss as to what next. Any suggestions more than welcome, please.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 44
Likes: 15
From: Sydney, Australia
2007 clk350 coupe, 2013 C250 coupe, 2013 C250 wagon
Thanks for the reply Trigital and your suggestion - but no, I reinstalled the steering wheel on exactly the same splines on the column as when it was removed - all on the factory spline markings.
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Joined: Sep 2025
Posts: 90
Likes: 39
From: UNITED STATES
Check the steering wheel is perfectly straight when driving. If it’s off by a few degrees, the SAS will keep drifting out of range. Also inspect the clock spring/SAS connector behind the wheel could be disturbed or failing internally. The sensor itself may be damaged from the switch swap. Try another proper Xentry recalibration with the wheels aligned perfectly straight first. If it still fails, replace the SAS unit.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 44
Likes: 15
From: Sydney, Australia
2007 clk350 coupe, 2013 C250 coupe, 2013 C250 wagon
Thanks Gazam.
Hopefully a final update a few weeks later that may help others. I've now covered a few hundred kilometers and many restart cycles with no issues.
I dismantled the combination switch module top down (i.e. from steering wheel down) to the point where the optical disc and sensor are visible. I carefully centred the sensor in the apparent centre position by rotating the disc - it was around 5 degrees out. Reassembled and all good after resetting the 117000 SAS DTC code. The reset took a couple of attempts on my Icarsoft 980, but got it eventually. All good since.
Also for those of you with a "non-returning" indicator stalk (the reason I replaced the combination switch in the first place):
I had assumed that the return mechanism had been broken by a previous owner and therefore replaced the switch but when I was fiddling with the SAS I noticed that the play in the black plastic locating ring at the centre of the combination switch and which fits around the boss of the steering wheel had substantial play. The looseness was causing the cast-in boss on the back of the steering wheel to not trigger the indicator stalk return. The play in the locating ring meant that the whole ring shifted slightly when the wheel was returning to centre and therefore not triggering the stalk to return. I carefully cleaned the cast-in boss on the back of the steering wheel and applied just 1 small piece of insulation tape over the boss to raise its "bump profile" about 1-2 mm so that the play is effectively taken up and the trigger is now actuated. All now works.
Hopefully a final update a few weeks later that may help others. I've now covered a few hundred kilometers and many restart cycles with no issues.
I dismantled the combination switch module top down (i.e. from steering wheel down) to the point where the optical disc and sensor are visible. I carefully centred the sensor in the apparent centre position by rotating the disc - it was around 5 degrees out. Reassembled and all good after resetting the 117000 SAS DTC code. The reset took a couple of attempts on my Icarsoft 980, but got it eventually. All good since.
Also for those of you with a "non-returning" indicator stalk (the reason I replaced the combination switch in the first place):
I had assumed that the return mechanism had been broken by a previous owner and therefore replaced the switch but when I was fiddling with the SAS I noticed that the play in the black plastic locating ring at the centre of the combination switch and which fits around the boss of the steering wheel had substantial play. The looseness was causing the cast-in boss on the back of the steering wheel to not trigger the indicator stalk return. The play in the locating ring meant that the whole ring shifted slightly when the wheel was returning to centre and therefore not triggering the stalk to return. I carefully cleaned the cast-in boss on the back of the steering wheel and applied just 1 small piece of insulation tape over the boss to raise its "bump profile" about 1-2 mm so that the play is effectively taken up and the trigger is now actuated. All now works.
