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EBD, ABS, ESC Inoperative, Power Steering Malfunction - Again!
It has been discussed in past posts, but I wanted to re-open the discussion of the “EBD, ABS, ESP Inoperative” followed by the “Power Steering Malfunction”. I am seeing this error with my 2010. The car had this error for about a week approximately one year ago and it went away on its own. Now, it has been back for a few weeks and appears on every trip. The power steering still seems to work fine (I haven’t tried a panic stop to see if the ABS still functions!)
From past posts, here are some of the potential causes:
One or more wheel speed sensors have failed or gotten dirty/disconnected
The large plug connecting to the ABS/ESP module has dirty or oxidized connections
The brake pedal switch has failed (or partially failed?)
The ABS/ESP module has failed and either needs to be rebuilt or replaced
I’m hoping this thread can help catalog the process for determining the cause of the errors. In my case:
Based on monitoring with an icarsoft scanner, my wheel speed sensors are all working
I have repeatedly disconnected the large ABS/ESP module plug and cleaned/scrubbed the pins
My brake lights work properly. I do not know if the brake light switch can be the cause even if the brake lights work?
Scanning the stability program module with the icarsoft, I show the following error:
5001- Electronic Stability Program control module internal fault
I have also seen 5945 recently, which is also Electronic Stability Program control module internal fault, but that hasn’t come back since a previous clearing.
Is anyone particularly familiar with this issue- what should the next steps be for diagnosis?
When do those warnings pop up, are they constantly showing as soon as the car is started until its turned off, or do they come on randomly then turn off?
I tried looking up those codes 5001 in the repair manual and 5945 and im not seeing anything.
I did come across something for other 5000 codes and it mentions xentry das in order to read the instructions. Not sure what that means.
When do those warnings pop up, are they constantly showing as soon as the car is started until its turned off, or do they come on randomly then turn off?
The warnings pop up as soon as the car first accelerates to ~12mph after engine start. You can clear them by pressing the steering wheel button. The on-screen messages go away but the ESP and ABS lights stay on until shutdown.
It gets cold and the car decides to drop these errors
I have also read the slightly lower battery voltage can cause them to pop up- that could coincide with colder weather as the low temps can reduce battery strength.
2009 C300 Sport Palladium Silver & 2012 GLK350 4matic Black
OP, any update? I am also dealing with these errors on my 2009 C300. I am comtemplating on purchasing a remanufactured ABS Module part no A2049012300 from ebay. Has anyone purchased replacement from ebay and is it reliable?
Thank you for the prompt, I had forgotten to follow up. The problem just stopped happening a few days after I posted.
I did do one procedure but I don't know if it is what helped. I have an iCarsoft MB scanner and it allowed me to clear the MB 5001 and 5945 codes, but they would come back on the next startup. Using the scanner partly out of desperation, I initiated the road test mode (not really knowing what it is). This put the vehicle in road test mode, which slightly changed the dash error I was getting (but it seemed equivalent- basically ABS/ESP are disabled). It stays in road test mode even when you shut it off so I couldn't get it back out of road test mode either using the dash controls or the iCarsoft (as it gave an error if I tried to use it to exit road test). Eventually, I found and followed the procedure that has been documented on this forum for exiting out of road test mode. It has been documented here:
It is very finicky and I had to try it a few times before being successful, but it finally exited road test mode. I don't recall if that is exactly when the error stopped appearing, but it was within a day or so. It may have been the combination of clearing the error code and doing this procedure- I wish I knew for sure. As I mentioned before, the error had appeared about a year ago for a couple weeks then went away on its own. So, now it has done that twice.
It has been discussed in past posts, but I wanted to re-open the discussion of the “EBD, ABS, ESP Inoperative” followed by the “Power Steering Malfunction”. I am seeing this error with my 2010. The car had this error for about a week approximately one year ago and it went away on its own. Now, it has been back for a few weeks and appears on every trip. The power steering still seems to work fine (I haven’t tried a panic stop to see if the ABS still functions!)
From past posts, here are some of the potential causes:
One or more wheel speed sensors have failed or gotten dirty/disconnected
The large plug connecting to the ABS/ESP module has dirty or oxidized connections
The brake pedal switch has failed (or partially failed?)
The ABS/ESP module has failed and either needs to be rebuilt or replaced
I’m hoping this thread can help catalog the process for determining the cause of the errors. In my case:
Based on monitoring with an icarsoft scanner, my wheel speed sensors are all working
I have repeatedly disconnected the large ABS/ESP module plug and cleaned/scrubbed the pins
My brake lights work properly. I do not know if the brake light switch can be the cause even if the brake lights work?
Scanning the stability program module with the icarsoft, I show the following error:
5001- Electronic Stability Program control module internal fault
I have also seen 5945 recently, which is also Electronic Stability Program control module internal fault, but that hasn’t come back since a previous clearing.
Is anyone particularly familiar with this issue- what should the next steps be for diagnosis?
I started having these abs warnings pop up on the dash a little over a month ago. First popped up after getting gas then would come on when driving for a few days afterwards. Then it just stopped popping up.
If you are just seeing the warning on the dash but no other symptoms I would just ignore and keep driving and hope it "fixes" itself.
I also had this code but not sure if it was related. I erased and havent seen it since. I also havent scanned the car lately either.
This will sounds silty but I read a thread the other day with people having this issue. They said slowly back up 30 feet then turn hard left then hard right add you move forward slowly.
People were praising the original poster for this. I don't understand it and how I never have to but it's worth a try.
I'll leave here an account of what happened to me regarding this error.
On March 8, 2025, I was driving my 2010 C300 Sport RWD and, upon reaching 23 km/h, the warning lights for EBV, ABS, ESP, power steering(the steering wheel becomes heavy), and tire pressure came on.
I took the car to the mechanic a few days later, and he ran a diagnostic, which indicated a problem with the ABS/ESP module. They said the battery had low voltage when starting the vehicle. In the end, they only cleared the error codes, and the problem persisted.
On March 21, 2025, the error simply disappeared (I had cleaned the ESP/ABS module contacts a few days before, but I don't think that made the slightest difference). Until, on December 20th, the problem occurred again (I had used the car the previous day and driven about 50 km). As I suspected the battery was the cause the previous time, I replaced it after a few days.
I removed the old 75Ah, 730 CCA battery, purchased in February 2024, and installed a Bosch 95Ah, 800 CCA battery. Even so, the errors didn't disappear. I continued driving, but this time the errors persisted. Before, I used the car every day (until September 2025), but recently I've only used it once a week, and sometimes it sits idle for more than 10 days.
I took the car to a mechanic to check the problem. He simply cleared the errors from the car's memory (since there were several errors, which I will list below), and no other problems reappeared. He believes the low voltage of the old battery was the cause of the problem. Even with the new battery, the errors persisted as a warning and, since they were stored in memory, prevented the car from verifying if everything was correct.
The last time, it probably went back to normal due to my driving cycle (3 starts per day), so maybe a new starting cycle reset something to the point where the car went back to normal on its own (this is a theory I've developed). This new battery makes the car start more easily, but I still find the voltage strange when the vehicle is running, always showing 12.6V even with the lights and air conditioning on. Sometimes it goes up to 14V when I use engine braking or at specific times.
The technician didn't rule out a problem with the ABS/ESP module, given the number of complaints online about this generation of the Mercedes W204, but I believe that if there really was a problem, the errors would have already appeared.
I'm still suspicious of the alternator, but I'll check that in the coming days/months. I'll report any news here.
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