ABS, brake, 4x4, service engine lights all came on!

IthacaMD · 12-29-2021, 08:52 AM

Hey everyone,

I've enjoyed reading posts on here for years, but this is my first post.

My 2009 328i xDrive has relatively low miles (about 91k). Unfortunately, living in upstate NY with the ugly weather and salt, she's been accumulating issues over the past few years. I was lucky enough to have the leaking valve cover gasket repaired free under the SULEV warranty about a year ago. Unfortunately, I now have an oil pan gasket leak. Since the axle shaft bolts are completely rusted, BMW (and my local guy) quoted over $5,000. Not worth it for a fairly minor leak.

I've already ordered a new iX but sadly it won't arrive until summer.

Yesterday, when I pulled out of my driveway, most of my dash lights suddenly came on. I'll include a photo. Incidentally, my cruise control stopped working once they came on. (also the tire light is just because I don't have TPMS on my snow tires)

When I restart the car after a few hours, all the lights (except service engine) are off. It takes between 1 and 10 minutes for them all to come back on again.

Any thoughts? I have an old diagnostic tool I plan to plug in when I get home.

Thanks very much!

cliffschum · 12-29-2021, 01:15 PM

Could be steering angle sensor, which some diagnostics are able to correct…at least in the short term.

e91Owner · 12-29-2021, 03:24 PM

As mentioned above the lights other than the SES typically point to the steering angle sensor. This also happens when ever you remove power from the vehicle. To correct that you can turn the wheel in park full left to the stops and then right to the stops. If that doesn't work, there is a calibration routine in ISTA. If neither one of those work, you'll need to identify the fault with a DTC and probably replace the SAS. As for the SES, you'll need a readout to see what fault is causing that as there are several possibilities.

IthacaMD · 12-29-2021, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cliffschum

Could be steering angle sensor, which some diagnostics are able to correct…at least in the short term.

Thanks for the tip!

IthacaMD · 12-29-2021, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by e91Owner

As mentioned above the lights other than the SES typically point to the steering angle sensor. This also happens when ever you remove power from the vehicle. To correct that you can turn the wheel in park full left to the stops and then right to the stops. If that doesn't work, there is a calibration routine in ISTA. If neither one of those work, you'll need to identify the fault with a DTC and probably replace the SAS. As for the SES, you'll need a readout to see what fault is causing that as there are several possibilities.

Thanks very much for the info! I'll see if I can tell what error messages are coming up. Hopefully my local shop can deal with the SAS if that's the problem.

IthacaMD · 12-30-2021, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by e91Owner

As mentioned above the lights other than the SES typically point to the steering angle sensor. This also happens when ever you remove power from the vehicle. To correct that you can turn the wheel in park full left to the stops and then right to the stops. If that doesn't work, there is a calibration routine in ISTA. If neither one of those work, you'll need to identify the fault with a DTC and probably replace the SAS. As for the SES, you'll need a readout to see what fault is causing that as there are several possibilities.

So I have a very old CarMD diagnostic tool that I figured I'd try out. The SES light is the only one on right now (since the ABS, DTC, 4x4 lights only come on while driving). The only error that comes up in the report is P1775:
CAN Wheel Speed Rear Wheel Right No Signal.

It suggests the ABS Control module (expensive repair) or possibly the ABS wheel speed sensor.

Can the steering angle sensor give these issues? Or would a dead ABS wheel speed sensor cause all the lights to come on?

Thanks again!

andy_06xi · 12-31-2021, 09:50 AM

A bad wheel sensor would cause all the lights. As these are cheap and easy to replace -- I'd replace the wheel sensor first. Note that you also should clean up the reluctor ring, as rusts on it can damage the sensor or make it malfunction.

I had similar symptoms and replacing the bad sensor fixed it

POBEP · 12-31-2021, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy_06xi

A bad wheel sensor would cause all the lights. As these are cheap and easy to replace -- I'd replace the wheel sensor first. Note that you also should clean up the reluctor ring, as rusts on it can damage the sensor or make it malfunction.

I had similar symptoms and replacing the bad sensor fixed it

IthacaMD - as andy_06xi noted, start with a speed sensor sensor. You can get ATE (OE supplier for this part) - it is super cheap and identical to one installed at the factory. It should take you 30min to replace the sensor, out of which 15 min is removing and putting back on rear right wheel

The speed sensor triggers all above lights as its data used for ABS, traction control (e.g. your 4x4 light)

Once sensor is replaced, lights will go off.

I had exact same experience last year on my E91.

e91Owner · 12-31-2021, 06:25 PM

3rd on the wheel speed sensor. It's a super easy DIY.

IthacaMD · 01-01-2022, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy_06xi

A bad wheel sensor would cause all the lights. As these are cheap and easy to replace -- I'd replace the wheel sensor first. Note that you also should clean up the reluctor ring, as rusts on it can damage the sensor or make it malfunction.

I had similar symptoms and replacing the bad sensor fixed it

andy_06xi, Thanks! Never even heard of a reluctor ring until now, so I'll check that out too.

IthacaMD · 01-01-2022, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POBEP

IthacaMD - as andy_06xi noted, start with a speed sensor sensor. You can get ATE (OE supplier for this part) - it is super cheap and identical to one installed at the factory. It should take you 30min to replace the sensor, out of which 15 min is removing and putting back on rear right wheel

The speed sensor triggers all above lights as its data used for ABS, traction control (e.g. your 4x4 light)

Once sensor is replaced, lights will go off.

I had exact same experience last year on my E91.

I had been thinking I'd need to remove the brakes to do this, but after checking out a couple videos, it looks much easier than that. I doubt I can get the part locally, but I can probably live a few days while it's getting shipped. Thanks for the advice!
I'll post when I get the part installed. Fingers crossed!

plmbst · 01-21-2022, 08:00 AM

So how did you make out?
Did a replacement speed sensor solve the issue?

IthacaMD · 01-25-2022, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plmbst

So how did you make out?
Did a replacement speed sensor solve the issue?

Sorry for the delay. For some reason, I don't get an email notification when there's a question.
As it happens, a) my lights all stopped coming on and b) I hit a deer somebody had just whacked into my lane, so I was distracted with that.
Also, it's been super cold here (upstate NY) so I haven't gotten around to installing it, but I do have the part and plan to do it...

CRAJ2011 · 05-17-2022, 12:32 PM

https://youtube.com/shorts/zS0Di09pUec?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/zS0Di09pUec?feature=share

Hey guy,

I have a 2011 328i and was driving and experienced this issue the other day. Any idea on what the problem is?

IthacaMD · 05-17-2022, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRAJ2011

https://youtube.com/shorts/zS0Di09pUec?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/zS0Di09pUec?feature=share

Hey guy,

I have a 2011 328i and was driving and experienced this issue the other day. Any idea on what the problem is?

I'd run the diagnostic to see what it says. I never ended up replacing my speed sensor because a) the lights all stopped going on b) it was really cold so I was waiting for spring and now c) I'm getting a new car in the next couple months anyway. Sorry I can't really help here, but I'd try the speed sensor if you get a similar report as I had. Actually if you decide to do it, I could sell you a brand new one at a nice discount. I was stupid and it just sat in the box. Might be the same model since we're only 2 yrs apart.

Suvorovo · 05-17-2022, 04:22 PM

Some people on the forum were able to replace their xdrive oil pan gasket without removing the axles and differential components. Overall, job looks pretty sketchy, but with a helper maybe you can give it ago.

You can remove the front driveshaft to make the whole piece slightly lighter.

Also, confirm if the oil pan gasket is covered under sulev warranty. I've seen mixed results for people when I was briefly entertaining a SULEV e90.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1451912

IthacaMD · 05-17-2022, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suvorovo

Some people on the forum were able to replace their xdrive oil pan gasket without removing the axles and differential components. Overall, job looks pretty sketchy, but with a helper maybe you can give it ago.

You can remove the front driveshaft to make the whole piece slightly lighter.

Also, confirm if the oil pan gasket is covered under sulev warranty. I've seen mixed results for people when I was briefly entertaining a SULEV e90.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1451912

Yeah I've had three separate mechanics say it's definitely not worth the cost of the job since most of the parts are rusted and need to be cut off. And I'm just not that handy under the car to try to do it myself. New iX coming in a couple months so it won't be my problem anymore.

It did get looked at by my dealership but they said it wasn't covered the SULEV warranty, unfortunately. The valve cover gasket was covered last year, and I think that did get me an extra year with this girl...

Suvorovo · 05-18-2022, 01:53 PM

What "parts" were rusted other than the axle nuts? Asking because I might have to do an oil pan job myself in the future. I couldn't imagine there being that kind of rust on the various suspension pieces. Most of the secondary bolts and nuts (i.e. the skid plate bolts/oil pan bolts) are all aluminum.

1. Control arms/tie rod nuts?
2. Subframe bolts?
3. Engine mount bolts/nuts?
4. Drive shaft bolts?

That's pretty much it for an oil pan job. Sounds like the shop didn't want to deal with the axle nuts. I've watched some people doing jobs on heavily rusted nuts and grinding out the nuts destroys the steering knuckle and CV axle.

ysudhakar · 01-05-2024, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IthacaMD

Sorry for the delay. For some reason, I don't get an email notification when there's a question.
As it happens, a) my lights all stopped coming on and b) I hit a deer somebody had just whacked into my lane, so I was distracted with that.
Also, it's been super cold here (upstate NY) so I haven't gotten around to installing it, but I do have the part and plan to do it...

I have same problem, what parts need to buy and where?

Obamanator9000 · 02-18-2024, 01:38 PM

2007 328xi Pre-LCI
I recently bought a 328xi off an auction, and when it arrived, it had these three lights with warnings: AWD, ABS, 4x4, Emerg EBV on the iDrive.
I used a scan tool on one day, and got these codes:
CF19 - No messages from DSC
CF1D - No messages from DSC
581D - Signal fault, wheel centrifugal velocity rear right from DSC
581C - Signal fault, wheel centrifugal velocity rear left from DSC

But, I scanned again, on a different day and got only these two codes again.
CF19
CF1D

Car drives great, just some squeaking when I turn on cold mornings (I'm guessing front strut mounts)
Kinda lost, and don't know where to start.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you

whiterabbit76 · 09-26-2024, 08:16 PM

I got the brake, abs, traction control, 4x4 light on. I went to check the first thing that a lot of people posted...the transfer case motor or gear. I have 2013 X5 xdrive35i. I thought I got the gear for my actuator motor but mine came with the new style motor with no gear. When I remove the motor from the transfer case with the harness still attached. I test it; it was working as normal. I went back to internet to research further. The speed sensor also trip these light. Check the resistance reading got both at 783 Mohm. So they both good. I got my e70 on a lift so i try running it . The front driver wheel would spin very slowly. The caliper was sticking causing resistance to the wheel. I flush the brake line with new fluid prior to this problem. Disassemble the caliper and flush the brake fluid. Back together and the light all went away. While running on the lift, the other side front was experiencing same slow down then all the light came back. Disassemble that caliper and flush the brake. Now all 4 wheels running same speed. Lights didn't come back.

So...the sticking caliper causing the speed sensor to trip which threw up all those lights.

I hope this would help someone out.

12-29-2021, 08:52 AM	#1
IthacaMD New Member 4 Rep 13 Posts Drives: 2009 BMW 328i xDrive Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Ithaca, NY iTrader: (0)	ABS, brake, 4x4, service engine lights all came on! Hey everyone, I've enjoyed reading posts on here for years, but this is my first post. My 2009 328i xDrive has relatively low miles (about 91k). Unfortunately, living in upstate NY with the ugly weather and salt, she's been accumulating issues over the past few years. I was lucky enough to have the leaking valve cover gasket repaired free under the SULEV warranty about a year ago. Unfortunately, I now have an oil pan gasket leak. Since the axle shaft bolts are completely rusted, BMW (and my local guy) quoted over $5,000. Not worth it for a fairly minor leak. I've already ordered a new iX but sadly it won't arrive until summer. Yesterday, when I pulled out of my driveway, most of my dash lights suddenly came on. I'll include a photo. Incidentally, my cruise control stopped working once they came on. (also the tire light is just because I don't have TPMS on my snow tires) When I restart the car after a few hours, all the lights (except service engine) are off. It takes between 1 and 10 minutes for them all to come back on again. Any thoughts? I have an old diagnostic tool I plan to plug in when I get home. Thanks very much! Attached Images
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12-29-2021, 01:15 PM	#2
cliffschum Private 16 Rep 79 Posts Drives: 2006 330 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Upstate South Carolina iTrader: (0)	Could be steering angle sensor, which some diagnostics are able to correct…at least in the short term.
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12-29-2021, 03:24 PM	#3
e91Owner e91Owner 428 Rep 1,136 Posts Drives: 2011 e91 Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Out of the Office iTrader: (0)	As mentioned above the lights other than the SES typically point to the steering angle sensor. This also happens when ever you remove power from the vehicle. To correct that you can turn the wheel in park full left to the stops and then right to the stops. If that doesn't work, there is a calibration routine in ISTA. If neither one of those work, you'll need to identify the fault with a DTC and probably replace the SAS. As for the SES, you'll need a readout to see what fault is causing that as there are several possibilities.
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12-31-2021, 09:50 AM	#7
andy_06xi Second Lieutenant 71 Rep 250 Posts Drives: 2006 330xi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Boston, MA iTrader: (1)	A bad wheel sensor would cause all the lights. As these are cheap and easy to replace -- I'd replace the wheel sensor first. Note that you also should clean up the reluctor ring, as rusts on it can damage the sensor or make it malfunction. I had similar symptoms and replacing the bad sensor fixed it
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12-31-2021, 06:25 PM	#9
e91Owner e91Owner 428 Rep 1,136 Posts Drives: 2011 e91 Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Out of the Office iTrader: (0)	3rd on the wheel speed sensor. It's a super easy DIY.
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01-21-2022, 08:00 AM	#12
plmbst New Member 8 Rep 16 Posts Drives: 2009 x drive touring Join Date: May 2013 Location: L.I., N.Y. iTrader: (0)	So how did you make out? Did a replacement speed sensor solve the issue?
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05-17-2022, 12:32 PM	#14
CRAJ2011 Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: BMW 328i 2011 Join Date: May 2022 Location: Kansas iTrader: (0)	2011 BMW 328i ABS, speedometer, and brake light going crazy https://youtube.com/shorts/zS0Di09pUec?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/zS0Di09pUec?feature=share Hey guy, I have a 2011 328i and was driving and experienced this issue the other day. Any idea on what the problem is?
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05-17-2022, 04:22 PM	#16
Suvorovo Lieutenant 278 Rep 522 Posts Drives: Creaky e90 330xi 6MT Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	Some people on the forum were able to replace their xdrive oil pan gasket without removing the axles and differential components. Overall, job looks pretty sketchy, but with a helper maybe you can give it ago. You can remove the front driveshaft to make the whole piece slightly lighter. Also, confirm if the oil pan gasket is covered under sulev warranty. I've seen mixed results for people when I was briefly entertaining a SULEV e90. https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1451912
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05-18-2022, 01:53 PM	#18
Suvorovo Lieutenant 278 Rep 522 Posts Drives: Creaky e90 330xi 6MT Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	What "parts" were rusted other than the axle nuts? Asking because I might have to do an oil pan job myself in the future. I couldn't imagine there being that kind of rust on the various suspension pieces. Most of the secondary bolts and nuts (i.e. the skid plate bolts/oil pan bolts) are all aluminum. 1. Control arms/tie rod nuts? 2. Subframe bolts? 3. Engine mount bolts/nuts? 4. Drive shaft bolts? That's pretty much it for an oil pan job. Sounds like the shop didn't want to deal with the axle nuts. I've watched some people doing jobs on heavily rusted nuts and grinding out the nuts destroys the steering knuckle and CV axle.
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02-18-2024, 01:38 PM	#20
Obamanator9000 Jackson 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi Pre-LCI n52k Join Date: Feb 2024 Location: Ohio iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 BMW 328xi [0.00]	Same Lights, DTC codes changing though? 2007 328xi Pre-LCI I recently bought a 328xi off an auction, and when it arrived, it had these three lights with warnings: AWD, ABS, 4x4, Emerg EBV on the iDrive. I used a scan tool on one day, and got these codes: CF19 - No messages from DSC CF1D - No messages from DSC 581D - Signal fault, wheel centrifugal velocity rear right from DSC 581C - Signal fault, wheel centrifugal velocity rear left from DSC But, I scanned again, on a different day and got only these two codes again. CF19 CF1D Car drives great, just some squeaking when I turn on cold mornings (I'm guessing front strut mounts) Kinda lost, and don't know where to start. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you
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09-26-2024, 08:16 PM	#21
whiterabbit76 Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW X5 Join Date: Sep 2024 Location: florida iTrader: (0)	My fix to the 4x4 abs malfunction I got the brake, abs, traction control, 4x4 light on. I went to check the first thing that a lot of people posted...the transfer case motor or gear. I have 2013 X5 xdrive35i. I thought I got the gear for my actuator motor but mine came with the new style motor with no gear. When I remove the motor from the transfer case with the harness still attached. I test it; it was working as normal. I went back to internet to research further. The speed sensor also trip these light. Check the resistance reading got both at 783 Mohm. So they both good. I got my e70 on a lift so i try running it . The front driver wheel would spin very slowly. The caliper was sticking causing resistance to the wheel. I flush the brake line with new fluid prior to this problem. Disassemble the caliper and flush the brake fluid. Back together and the light all went away. While running on the lift, the other side front was experiencing same slow down then all the light came back. Disassemble that caliper and flush the brake. Now all 4 wheels running same speed. Lights didn't come back. So...the sticking caliper causing the speed sensor to trip which threw up all those lights. I hope this would help someone out.
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