ABS and TC lights on - reasons?

Hi - we've just bought our first defender 110 TD5 - second hand. fully service history and last full service was Feb 2012.

Drove it home from the station today fine- stopped at supermarket and when i turned it on the ABS and TC lights came on and won't go out (even after stopping, turning engine off etc). Any ideas? Do we need to be concerned? take it back to garage etc? we are not at all engine people so can't do anything but the basics to fix things - thanks for your help

Nick

check wheel bearings for play ,if okay you will need fault codes read

check your tyre pressures - 5 psi difference can cause same symptoms

And how do i get the fault codes read? thanks

theres a plug under center seat front ,either by somone you know with hawkeye etc or local landy place,if you get codes read and it sounds expensive ask for more acvice here before you agree

ok - really appreciate that. is it likely it will just resolve or are we 'on orange' lights until we get it to a dealer?? and assume, from handbook, that its still ok to drive etc??

often its brake sensor ,or wheel bearing something simple ,but it is okay to drive ,good independant rather than a main dealer might be cheaper to get faults read

thanks again - really appreciate the help. we only just picked it up so not great that we've already got some issues, but doesn't sound too serious. as you seem an expert - we get a higher pitched sound when we put it into 5th gear - dealer said this was normal (as hasn't been used off-road) - would you agree with this?

depends how loud , 5th gear does whine a little especially if no or little sound deadening ,can also be the indicator of worn 5th gears on high mileage poorly serviced vehicle if loud enough, i would check all oils gear box ,transfer box ,both axles to see there clean,and remove drive members to check wheel bearings have clean grease,i wouldnt worry about been on/off road but how well its been serviced ,and in future get them all done at least yearly ,its not such a bad job to fix gear box

ok - it does have a full service history (2001 plate) every year by land rover and specialist 4x4 dealers and last full service was last month, so we're confident its had a good checks regularly. mileage is 83,000, so not very high we understand. it is more of a higher whine than something really loud, we just noticed difference - dealer said this was normal as it was likely it had been used a lot in 5th and not lots of going through the gears (again, this explanation was a bit lost on us!).

just getting worn then ,unless you really know your people that do your servicing still check you only have to undo filler and stick your finger in , i see so many with supposed full service ,then you can be confident ,regular oil change and not landrovers service schedule is best for longevity

well, we've booked the landie in to a local landie garage on monday for a diagnostic, to check the 5th gear, the dark rumble when we turn the wheel hard (assume this is due to the size of the wheels!!!??) and a general look around. thanks for your help

hi - not good news from garage - ABS seems fixable at a cost of £40, £450 or worse case scenario £2000 (they think it likely to be the £450). The 5th gear is more of a worry - they say its not a normal noise but would need to take gear box out and strip it to see what issue is.

We didn't pay for anything as they didn't fix anything and went back to dealer - they said the noise was normal (from advice from some bloke that worked in an approved land rover garage for 5 years a while ago) so we told him we weren't pleased - they've agreed to get another opinion from a 4x4 specialist but we're now thinking either he pays for gearbox fixing or we want our money back - do people agree?

If you are having these problems already and you have only just purchased it I would take it straight back to them. Was it purchased from a dealer and if so was there a warranty? Listen to James he does know his stuff. What is wrong with the ABS that is costing £450 to fix. Have they explained what error codes were found with the reader if any as you can use them to do some searching yourself for explanations.

Hi Nick. Re your ABS & TC warning light. Make sure you have advice from a mechanic that knows what he's talking about before you outlay money for repairs. A mechanic told me i'd have to replace the ABS & TC modulator on my 2002 Defender at a cost of $3200 Aust dollars. I paid the money only to find out from a Landrover dealership mechanic that it could have just been a bit of grit fouling the sensor. There's a lot of dodgy mechanics out there who won't hesitate to rip off unsuspecting drivers. The lights occasionally come on now when i've been driving in sandy or muddy conditions. A good hose down usually fixes the problem now....Regards Scotty.

Scotty45 said:

Hi Nick. Re your ABS & TC warning light. Make sure you have advice from a mechanic that knows what he's talking about before you outlay money for repairs. A mechanic told me i'd have to replace the ABS & TC modulator on my 2002 Defender at a cost of $3200 Aust dollars. I paid the money only to find out from a Landrover dealership mechanic that it could have just been a bit of grit fouling the sensor. There's a lot of dodgy mechanics out there who won't hesitate to rip off unsuspecting drivers. The lights occasionally come on now when i've been driving in sandy or muddy conditions. A good hose down usually fixes the problem now....Regards Scotty.

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My LR main dealer told me the same. Said I needed a new shuttle valve and modulator unit. Borrowed a Nanocom and cycled the ABS modulator via the service menu, bled the brake system, and sorted the problem. That was two years ago and "touch wood" never had a problem since.