Well, my used A3 had to go back to the shop after five days of use. ESP and ABS warning light is on and I also get a brake failure alert. Shortly after this, the power steering went and the check engine light is now also lit.
Thankfully the dealer gave me a six-month warranty so it will all probably be fixed at no cost.

Anyways, a quick web search reveals that the ESP and ABS failure is quite common on the 8P and that the cause can be anything from dirty sensors to a bad ABS pump. I searched this forum but could not find out if any of you guys have run into this issue.

If any of you have, what was broken in your case and was it a long and costly repair? Can I expect the fault to return sometime after the warranty is expired?

 

Similar problem here.....the ESP & ABS lights have been going on and then off again on my 2004 A6 for a couple weeks. The car is going into the shop at the end of the week for diagnosis. Will update with details once repairs are completed.

 

Hi, i've had the same problem on audi a3 2005, The ABS and ESP light comes on when i'm on the motorway but goes when i switch the car off, But it does not seem to come on when im on local driving.
wondering if anyone can help

 

Guess I should update this one, in my car's case the electrical wire for one of the front wheel sensors had snapped (which also explains the "slapping" noise I used to hear while driving), the local Audi garage replaced the sensor in no time and free of charge. Works perfectly now.

Now it's time to order the end-of-warranty checkup, it's a very thorough test to reveal any current or imminent issues that I can ask the dealer to fix before the second-hand warranty expires. Might save me from a few expensive surprises.

 

It would have been automatically assumed one of the wheel speed sensors was at fault.

 

Replacing the brake light switch resolved the problem except now the code we're getting is 014355 which I'm told means I need to replace the Brake Pressure Sensor 1 (G201). All I need to do is find it somewhere.....

 

Hi Pell, My A3 has the same problem, ABS, ERS, Fault brake and check engine ligh all are ON (like a Christmas Tree), my car had benn on the workshop here in Mexico during at least the past 40 days, they are trying changing the dashbord unit, the direction and several more items, but they still have the same problem. I just wanto to confirm that your issue was fixed after the wheel sensor change. thanks for your comments :-)

 

Yeah, I've had a few troubles with this. I've had these errors four times in a year. Every time it was due to bad connection or faulty sensor, and this actually caused the "false" errors such as Check Engine and Power steering lights. Every time the fault was at the front right wheel.

First time the dealer changed a faulty wheel speed sensor and spliced the cable, all good.

Second time, only the cable had snapped. Shop spliced it again. OK.

Third time, ABS+ESP light came on during rainy weather but after a few days they were off and everything worked again. Because I later found out that the cable was damaged, it makes sense that the errors went away when it dried up.

Fourth time the wire had corroded away because of bad insulation from previous repairs. It also took out the connector on the speed sensor, so this time both the wire and sensor were replaced.

Edit: Apparently it also caused trouble with the central locking. Normally the doors lock themselves a few seconds after the car has started moving, but when the wheel sensor was bad the doors would lock themselves even when the car was standing still. I left my car for a moment with the engine running, and I got locked out. Spare key to the rescue!

 

Thank my friend, I am sharing your case to the local audi dealer, hopefully they will be able to make some tests and finally fix my car and give it to me. You have been a great help thank you very mucho.

 

Hi, my A3 1.9 tdi e sportback ABS/ESP warning light comes on, my local garage fitted a new wheel sensor, the problem returned so they fitted a new hub, the problem cleared but has now returned after approx. 4 weeks and a thousand miles. It was intermittent at first but now stays on all the time. Alan