IGV

My 2011 GLK 350 suddenly had this message (see attached pic)

I was told by dealer my ESP module must be replaced with a price tag that made my hair stand up. I would appreciate any advice, experiences, input. I can't afford the price. The SUV is not even worth that much.

Thank you


UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-NEW INFORMATION

OK So the dealership finally gave me the fault page printout and it says:
FAULT TEXT STATUS
5001 THERE IS AN INTERNAL FAULT IN COMPONENT 'N30/4 (ELECTRONIC STABILITY PROGRAM CONTROL UNIT) S



REMEDY
REPLACE THE CONTROL UNIT 'N30/4 (ESP MODULE)

I will try to find out the code.

UPDTAE

After discussion the mechanic showed me that the error message would include the actual reason for this particular message if there were a faulty part. He calims that since theis message appears repeatedly on its own it only means the ESP module must be replaced.

habbyguy

It also just recently happened to my 2011 GLK 350 4Matic (deja vu!).

It had no apparent effect on the way the car did anything (other than display information on the dash, of course). The research I did suggested that the problem was actually just the brake switch itself, which cost me a whopping $12 or so delivered from rockauto, and is a sub-five minute job to replace (three torx screws to drop the panel under the driver's side dash, release the tabs on the old switch, pull it out, swap connector with the new switch, push it back in and replace the dash panel). Thing is, there is no way to actually test that switch (it's a hall effect device, I believe, not a "switch"), and my old one started working 100% before the replacement came in. I'm going to wait until it acts up again before replacing it, just so I'll know for sure whether the problem really IS related to the brake "switch".

That's not to say that the problem can't be caused by something else, of course... but at the very least I'd want to see some rationale from the stealership about WHY they think the ESP is out. If they tell you that's the only thing that can cause that message to pop up, I'd suggest searching for another shop to take your car to in the future.

FWIW, here's a short video I made on the issue with my GLK... I am thinking that the anomaly (where the wheel speed sensors seem to read the wrong values) might just be a glitch in my scanner - it's still doing that even though the error message doesn't come up, and everything is working just fine.

IGV

Thank you. This gives me hope. I suspected something was not quite clear. I'll continue my research. As usual the dealership goes for the big bucks right away.

Silver Shadow

In my case the right rear reluctor ring for the abs sensor was the culprit. I got the ring for $20. The common opinion is that you must replace the whole axle with the ring attached but I didn't go for that story. I saved a pile of money.
One of the codes I got was for the RR abs sensor but after replacing it I had to dig a little deeper.

habbyguy

I didn't have any codes on my car, FWIW. Apparently there are several things that can cause this message to pop up...

andreigbs

^^^ And stealerships will throw your money at it without getting anywhere closer to fixing the issue.

OP: search reluctor ring and wheel speed sensor failures. This will get you started. Also get yourself a decent scan tool that can read and clear/reset MB-specific trouble codes.

IGV

Can you recommend a good scanner?

Silver Shadow

I've had excellent results on all my cars with the BlueDriver Pro Scan Tool.

IGV

Folks, you won't believe this. Two weeks after they replaced my front brake pads and rotors the ESP error message disappeared. I noticed this morning that it didn't show up after I started driving so I tried the cruise control and it's working. No trouble signals no nothing?
Could this be because of those pads and rotors replacement? I don't know but for now I'm canceling the ESP module replacement. ($1850)

Odd Piggy

Better to be lucky than good!
Maybe they cleaned up something or plugged something in that was loose?
Let’s hope it holds.

habbyguy

FWIW, my symptoms also disappeared a few days after they showed up, and haven't come back. Based on the symptoms I do suspect the brake switch (and have a new one on hand now) but don't plan on replacing it unless it fails (so I can know for certain if that's really the problem - or not).

habbyguy

An update (over a year later, no less...). I've once again had the symptom pop up, intermittently. Sometimes it'll come on as soon as I hit the critical speed. I've been turning the car off at (long...) red lights, and it's about 50% as to whether the error will pop back up or not after that.

I saw a report that I believe might be credible that suggests that the problem could be voltage-related. This gave me pause because I have just noticed that my alternator is acting up - sometimes 14.something volts (like normal), sometimes drooping to 12.3-5 volts. If the problem is because the alternator's regulator (which includes the brushes that connect the moving bits to the rest of the alternator) is worn out, it's not hard to imagine the alternator putting out voltage spikes / glitches that could cause problems with certain modules / computers / systems.

My plan is to just swap out the alternator (though swapping just the regulator / brushes would probably accomplish the same thing). I'll be doing that soon, and will report as to whether it changed the symptoms - or not. I do still have that spare, new brake "switch" in the glovebox, but want to try the alternator as the fix first, just to make make sure I don't get a "false fix"...