Hello guys, this morning I started my 2008 s550 to go to work. I backed out Out of my garage and as I started to drive down the street as soon as I hit 15 mph my ESP and ABS light turned on and said it was inoperable. My steering was very heavy it felt like I had no power steering. The vehicle drove fine other than the hard steering. I had a friend come by with his scanner and he checked the codes for me and I came up with one code which was 5905 control unit n47-5 (esp control unit) internal fault. Once I turn the vehicle off and turn it back on The error message disappears but as soon as I hit 15 mph it pops back up and back to the heavy steering. I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what was the fix? Also does anyone know where the ESP control unit is located and how much it would cost to get a used one or a new one and does it need to be programmed to the vehicle like some of the other electronics do? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

moved to W221 forum...

 

I was experiencing the same problem and ran a Star diagnostic which came up with the error you posted along with an error regarding the speed sensor on the right front. I detached the sensor from the hub(single torx bolt) and cleaned it. I still received the error but the following morning the error went away and everything seems to be normal.

 

Yes, usually a dirty or dead speed sensor.

 

Hi Asif,
I had the same issue with my S550 2007 2 months ago
I took it to workshop, the guy told me that most probably the ABR unit needs to be changed (more than 800$ for a used one) but might work with a software update.

He tried several times to update the software of the ABR module until it finally worked on the sixth time.

Everything went well for 3 days and back to the same issue.

I took it to another workshop and he checked the care and said the same thing. ABR module need to be replaced.

I decided to bear with it for a couple of days before I take the decision to pay this much money.

I tried several things after huge research until it finally worked!!

I entered the engineering menu, disabled the ESP module (DYNO Mode), drove for half an hour with it disabled.
I then entered the engineering menu and re-enabled it (turning the car off and on again did not re-enable it as usual - surprisingly)
I turned off the car, left it for 5mns. then get back turned it on and Voila, everything is back to normal.

It has been one month now with no problem. I tested the ABS and ESP manually and everything seems to be working perfectly
I hope the error will not come back again.

Here is how you enter the engineering menu:



Hope I was clear and hope your car will get fixed by this method

Good luck

 

 

Im having the same issue.. i need help accessing the secret menu

 

This is an older thread, however I had the same problem:
Heavy steering, ABS and ESP lights on.
Here is the procedure to enter the Service Menu (btw, you can also use this to clear\change service and oil change codes)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
W221
Engineering Menu
Key in turned on but engine not started
Press & Hold Left Steering wheel OK and Right Side Phone Ring (Handset Icon)
Should see "Vehicle Data" "Roller Test" and "Assyst Plus Workshop"
or
"Vehicle Data" "Dynomometer Test" and "Assyst Plus Workshop"
Start Engine
Do not touch throttle
Press Up or Down and
Select "Roller Test" or "Dynomometer Test" (USA S/B Dyno-Test)
ESP should be "Off when ignition is off"
Turn On
Turn steering wheel left, right, left, right and settle at level (Steering will probably still be heavy, do this anyway be sure to level the wheel when finished)
Turn ignition Off (Kill the engine but leave key on)
Switch ESP On to "Off when ignition is off"
Remove Key
Wait a few seconds and restart
ESP ABS should be reset and steering should be light again
If the errors show back up after you exceed 15MPH then find a friend with a Diag Scanner to tell you which ABS wheel sensor needs to be cleaned or replaced.
I use this: iCarsoft MBII for Mercedes Benz/Sprinter/Smart Professional Diagnostic Tool Scanner, New Version
Does everything I need it to do and was under $150
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >

 

This happened to me this morning but has not returned..I haven’t tried this method yet but plan to if it should return. Any idea what causes this? Had this same error several months ago but was repaired after I replaced the abs sensor.

 

It’s a crapshoot. You might have a bad wheel speed sensor (cheap). It could be a bad ABS/ESP control unit, as was ultimately the case with mine. $$ for that, and some make the mistake of thinking you can buy a used one and make it work. It won’t.

Try the cheap stuff first. Reset, see if it comes back (it probably will). Best of luck.

 

ABS/ESP Errors - How I Resolved Mine

 

Well, it came back again last week. Ironically it happened on my way to Mercedes for an unrelated(or possibly related) repair. I was bringing it in to have my front passenger cv axle boot repaired. It ripped along a seam and was slinging grease all around the wheel well and everything inside it(I’ll include a picture), possibly grease got somewhere it didn’t belong and fried a sensor? In any case, the dealer called me and said it was the abs/esp module(of course) and they want $1800 for the repair. I declined, I figure I’ll try everything else before surrendering. This error presented itself months ago but was initially fixed when I replaced the wheel speed sensor(my cheap tablet scanner was able to find the fault in the front left wheel speed sensor) but has since returned. How should I proceed?

 

It could simply be another wheel speed sensor. One went bad, it could be the same problem on another wheel. You have four sensors in the car.

Do a new scan.

 

failure of the ABS module is NORMAL on so many cars - oddly it is quite unusual on a Merc - so they must have bought the a grade versions as its safety critical - but it won't stop the module manufacturer building in their designed to die money making scheme - go ask the repair places they do hundreds a day....

on the pre ESP ABS cars when you crack open the ECU you either find one of the connections from the multiplug to the circuit board fell off (where it was deliberately soldered to fail after x amount of vibration) or on earlier car's the corroded connection "oddly" on just one link wire.... its where they put a corrode to time compound on it to make it fail. Either way solder it on, and if the gunged wires, replace with a soldered paper clip

But it all changed yet again when the wiper motor was added to give the ESP features....

And here in particular BMW's speciality is to order their modules with the ESP motor brush housing set extra tight.... and thus after x thousand miles the carbon gums up the brushes and one wears till it fails.... If lazy whack it with a block of wood, 9 out of 10 times it will work for 6 months often longer. Or remove it clean it nicely with contact cleaner and if sensible tease the brush guides open a bit to stop it happening for 15 years rather than the designed 6 to 8 year failure mode timetable they built it with. The remove and clean method is a bit trickier as "its designed as a throw away unit" but it all do-able check youtube

 

Nonsensical stuff aside, it's certainly possible that it's your ABS/ESP control module, and if so then the dealer is indeed your only option. As I've spent four decades doing electronics work, I did crack mine open and attempt to repair what looked to be the most likely source of the problem. The pins from the connector are friction-fit into plated-through holes in the circuit board, not soldered -- so I cleaned them up and soldered them. No joy. Whatever it was, was highly intermittent and would only pop up from time to time, and randomly go away after a while. The indications were no power steering, no ABS, no speedometer, no cruise control, and a few other odds & ends that I don't remember.

Wheel speed sensors are cheap and easy to replace. If you had the dealer fix the CV boot, ask if they checked or replaced the sensor on that wheel, and cleaned off the reluctor also. You're kind of at their mercy at this point, I think.

 

Clear errors, recalibrate ABS, complete test drive procedure.

 

hello Phil, I was hoping you would chime in. I read your write up about what worked for you in regard to this problem. My CL is still at Mercedes so I haven’t had a chance to try the other things before replacing the module. Can you give me an idea of what the test drive procedure included?

 

It's a part of Star diagnostic, you basically engage the test, follow the exact order of the operations and make 1 left or right turn and then stop. The key thing is the recalibration of the ABS unit, that has to succeed.

 

yes but that wasn't the usual fault this car as it has the ESP pump, and the fault is mostly the pump motor not responding - its an easy check when you get the fault, hit the pump motor clear the code and see if it comes straight back - if its not stuck brushes the code will stay put

designed to fail is normal and most prevalent on German cars.... FYI the turbo VGR actuator fault on the tractors is normally the earlier ABS wire fell off trick.

 

Cleared the codes myself and it hasn’t returned, if and when it does I’ll post what my scanner is showing.

 

This worked great with my car


thank you so much

you just saved as 800 dollars to fix the model i did except what you said and it was perfect