It’s a beautiful day and you’re driving along a beautiful scenic route, when you suddenly spot a light on your dashboard, in the letters ESP BAS. Your dashboard is covered in loads of little lights that all have a meaning and signify a problem. This problem can be either mechanical or electrical.
So, you saw the same letters light up, ESP BAS, but you merely glanced at them and have forgotten now. You have no idea what the ESP BAS light means and you want answers.
What does it mean? What is causing it? And how do you get it fixed?
What Does ESP BAS Light Mean?
ESP BAS Light is a warning light on your dashboard that talks about ESP and BAS. The illumination of any light or figure on your dashboard means that there’s a fault in one or more of your car components. It may be a minor fault or one bad enough to put you into a disaster.
ESP stands for Electronic Stability Program which is also referred to as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on some other vehicles. It is a computer-controlled program that helps the driver in posing situations.
It does this by detecting and preventing vehicle skidding movement or loss of traction. The ESP comprises your traction control system, antilock braking system (ABS), and so many other systems work together to correct any traction fault.
On the other hand, the BAS is known as the Brake Assist System. It increases the pressure on the brakes anytime it senses that your foot has suddenly slammed on the brake.
In situations of emergency, you hit your brake pedal hard. The Brake Assist program or what also happens to be known as the Brake Assist System will detect the intensity, speed, and power of your foot on the brake pedal on such occasions and bypass your brake to limitlessly release optimum pressure on your brake pads, until the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) activates.
Once you start your car, your dashboard warning light may come on and fade out in few seconds. But if any warning lights comes on and stay that way longer than necessary, that means there’s a problem in the component it associates with.
For instance, for the ESP BAS light to come on means there’s a problem with your electronic stability or brake assist system.
What causes ESP BAS Light to come on?
As previously indicated, if a warning light comes on – it means there’s an issue. Likewise, if you see an ESP BAS light – it means there’s a fault with the Electronic Stability Control or the Brake Assist System, or both systems.
This may be just some minor issue you can fix on your own if you own an OBD scanner. The faults that cause the appearance of the ESP BAS light on the dashboard are as follows:
Failure in the Brake Switch
Every time you apply the brakes and your car comes to a stop, the brake lights at the rear end of your car will light up. This is to tell vehicles behind you, you’re applying brakes and your car will stop so they can slow down as well or switch to the other lane to avoid you.
The brake switch is an electrical component in the braking system responsible for turning on the brake light. If the brake switch is faulty, you will be putting yourself in danger as vehicles behind you will not know when you apply brakes. Basically, doubling the chances of collision.
Since there is no way for you to know if the brake light bulb is working properly because of its location, the car manufacturers designed into the vehicle the ESP BAS light on dashboard to notify you of the impending problems. Therefore, any time you see ESP BAS light up in your dash, maybe your Brake switch is faulty, and your brake lights are not lighting up.
Faulty Steering Angle Sensor
One of the most common reasons your ESP BAS light came on is due to a faulty steering angle sensor. So how does the steering angle sensor work? Simply put, it allows your car’s steering wheel to move in agreement with your wheels. In other words, it makes the wheels correspond to the steering; when you steer to the right, the wheels move to the right.
Now, if this sensor becomes faulty, it sends the wrong signals to your wheels. Causing an inevitable disagreement between the steering wheel and the tires.
What do you do when a faulty steering angle sensor is why the ESP BAS light popped up on your dash? You fix it by steering your wheel to the extreme right two times, then to the extreme left two times, and then back to the center. If that doesn’t work, seek professional help.
Faulty Wheel Speed Sensor
Every wheel in your car has a sensor attached to it that helps calculate the speed, and the ESP/BAS uses this data. If it senses that your wheels are running at different speeds, the ESP and BAS correct the speed, ensuring that they all run at the same speed to enable you to have a perfect grip on the road.
When the wheel speed sensor is faulty, the ESP BAS light and the traction control light will show on your dashboard to notify you of the underlying fault. A fault such as a faulty wheel speed sensor is definitely something that you do not want to ignore as it could as disastrous effects in transit especially when driving on slippery roads.
Bad Brake Pads and Calipers
Depleted brake pads can not hold the wheels as they should. Likewise, bad brake calipers won’t supply enough pressure to the pads. These affect your braking systems and give you the ESP BAS light.
Electrical Faults
There are several car sensors in a vehicle that are electrically wired. The ABS works on sensors and wiring. The wheel speed sensors send its readings to the ESP and the ABS through wires. If there is something wrong with the wire, it will make the ESP BAS light show on your dashboard.
How do I fix the ESP BAS light?
Fixing the ESP BAS light is pretty easy as the most common causes are electronic faults. Using an OBD scan tool, you can quickly identify the culprit, which are likely to be:
- Faulty Wheel Speed sensor
- Bad steering angle sensor
- Faulty brake switch.
Repair or replace the offending part, then re-scan and erase the code. Or if you are not a DIYer, take your car to your mechanic.
FAQs.
Q: How do you turn off the ESP BAS light on my Jeep?
The likely cause of ESP bas light on Jeeps and other car models is steering angle sensor that is failing requiring recalibration. If this is the case, then the process of numerous times rotating it either clockwise or anticlockwise is very simple.
To reset, simply rotate the steering twice to the right in quick succession, and then again twice to the left, after which return the steering to the centre rest. This should complete the recalibration, and turn off the warning light.
If it is not a steering angle sensor causing the problem, then you need to track down and fix, or replace, what is causing the light to stay on.
Q: How much does it cost to fix ESP bas light errors?
Again, it depends on what is causing the problem, and who does the fix. If it is a lousy wheel speed sensor that needs replacing, then you’ll spend $150 to $250 for the fix. If it is worn brake pads, you’ll pay $100 to $300 for replacement.
Q: Is it safe to drive with ESP bas light on?
No. Driving with ESP bas light warning showing on the dash is unsafe since the fault may cause you to lose control of the vehicle in bad weather, say, for instance the wheel speed sensor is faulty and makes your car veer into the ditch, or into another car. Don’t drive ESP bas light on.
Q: Where is the ESP sensor located?
The ESP BAS light on a Dodge charger, the ESP BAS light on a Dodge magnum, and the ESP BAS light on a Jeep Commander are similarly located.
The ESP BAS light is under the dashboard fuel meter. But the ESP system relies on different car sensors instead of relying on a single sensor to help drivers in difficult weather.
Q. How do you clear the ESP BAS light on Mercedes?
You clear the ESP BAS light on Mercedes the same way as I indicated above. You can still turn the car left twice and then twice on the right before taking it back to center.
But if the light comes due to defective wheel speed sensor or bad brake switch, you have no option other than replacing them.
Q. What sensor does ESP use?
Electronic Stability Program works with car sensors like the Wheel speed sensor, steering angle sensor, brake switch, etc. It also works with ABS. The ABS is an important component of your car that helps the braking system do its job.
The ESP uses those sensors to bring traction back to your wheel. The ESP BAS is always working, but you only see the light when there’s a fault in your vehicle stability system or when the system itself is trying to reclaim traction.
Q. Is ESP the same as traction control?
Definitely no. ESP and Traction control are not the same and do not work the same. Though traction control is part of ESP, it has a slightly different role.
The ESP just ensures your car does not slide or spin while taking corners. Traction control simply gives more traction to the wheels while they are under power.
Final Words
Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Brake Assist System (BAS) are safety features that assist the driver in maintaining control of the vehicle in adverse weather conditions. Observing this ESP BAS light can consequently help lower the rate of accidents.
We’ve thus defined what ESP BAS light means and how to resolve it. Whenever this light appears on the instrument cluster, find out what caused it and get it fixed ASAP.