Warning lights and juddering from rear of car

Tiny
131622
  • MEMBER
  • 2009 BMW X3
  • 2.0L
  • 4WD
  • MANUAL
  • 130,000 MILES
Intermittently when I turn the vehicle on, a set of four warning lights will appear, they are the ABS (yellow) handbrake (red) 4x4 (yellow) and airbag (red). Sometimes the vehicle takes a little bit longer to start but not always, however when it does this is typically when the lights will appear.
When these lights are on a loud juddering sound from the rear of the car when maneuvering at low speeds is very prominent.
Wednesday, December 30th, 2020 AT 4:29 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,747 POSTS
Hi,

The best thing to do is have the can-bus system scanned for codes. CAN stands for controller area network. It ties all the computers/ modules together. He is a video showing how it's done:

https://youtu.be/InIlnsjOVFA

Now, the lights you indicate coming on and the symptoms you mentioned lead me to think there is a problem with the parking brake not releasing. Just for curiosity, when this happens, if you were to place the vehicle in neutral on a slight slope, does it move with the brake release?

Also, it could be related to a wheel speeds sensor. That would cause the ABS, traction control, and other lights to turn on.

These vehicles came with two possible parking brake design. One is manual and the other is electric. Which do you have?

Let me know.

Joe
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Thursday, December 31st, 2020 AT 11:25 AM

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