Maybe someone has had this problem before and/or can help me.

I had a tire blowout on my rear passenger side a couple of weeks ago. I didn't realize it for a mile or so, but once I realized I drove into an auto shop. The mechanic put on two rear tires that were a little wider than the specs, but they work for now.

The only problem is that the ESP, ABS and Brake lights appear on the dashboard after about 5 minutes after ignition and driving. Does anyone have any clue what this could be? Maybe something blew out when the tire blew up? Perhaps the ABS sensor?

When I first turn on the car (for the first 5 minutes or so), the breaking feels rough unless I pump them and ease into the brake. It actually feels like it does when the ABS kicks in with a lot of snow (if anyone is familiar with that feeling). Once the ESP, ABS and Brake lights come on, then it doesn't feel as uncomfortable to brake, but still noticeably off.

I appreciate any feedback. I was about to go to the "stealorship" but I figured I'd give this a shot first.

Many thanks--

 

Its the brake switch its located under the dash on the drivers side.

 

Thanks for the advice. Should I toggle a switch under the dashboard?

I got my oil changed the other day and the mechanic said it's because the rear tires are a little too big, and it's screwing everything up. You think this rings true? Maybe I should just get all new tires and see if this works... about time anyway probably.

 

If you have a quattro then all tires are supposed to be same diameter and within 4/32nds in tread depth of each other. If the shop stuck some tires on that were not the right size you could be hurting your AWD differentials. The reason for your warning lights. Vehicle thinks you have a tire spinning or slipping as they are reporting different rolling speeds.

Find a link in the Tire section for the calculator and plug in your tire dimensions to make sure you are within a reasonable dimension.

Guessing you are going to need to change those rear tires to match the front.

 

Thanks for replying and making sense of this for me. I'm glad it's not anything worse. I will definitely get all 4 new tires ASAP. Do you think this might have done any permanent harm? The mechanic was saying that it might mess up my transmission, if it hasn't done so already.