ABS, RBS, EV system, ASC system service required

[IainG]

Hello there!

Yesterday, about 15 miles into my journey on the way to town (20 miles) the dash lit up like a Christmas tree with the following 4 warnings.

ABS service required
RBS service required
EV system service required
ASC system service required

Still drove fine, maybe a bit sluggish but did the weekly shop. No warnings on restarting till about a mile from home when the same 4 warnings popped up again. It's a 2015 PHEV Outlander and for past 2 years only charge up at home with the standard home charger. The only fast charger in town broke down and they didn't repair it for over a year. Even when it was working, lucky to find it available as it would be in use or some non EV numpty using it as a parking space. Anyway, that's a whole different thread!

I've checked the other forum posts but only see where one of those warnings comes up, maybe 2 but to get all 4 there must be a common fault. Can't get hold of the dealership in Inverness but getting there is impossible anyway as I live on a remote island and the ferry's wont allow travel right now. Last 2 years service were just at a local garage which is closed at the moment and thinking they don't have the skills or tools anyway to diagnose the errors.

Any suggestions on what I can check or the problem may be is appreciated.

Many thanks,
Iain

[jaapv]

Disconnect and reconnect the 12V battery?

[JohanvdH]

Did you have an ODBD adapter connected to the car (for PHEV Watchdog for example)?
I received the same errors once and they have not returned after I turned the car off and removed the ODBD adapter.

[ThudnBlundr]

It's odd that it came on part-way through the drive, but a plethora of errors is often a symptom of a 12V battery on its way out. It might be worth checking that the 12V battery connections are tight

[Bloggsy]

Hi Iain - as above, check the connections and your battery but there's an earth strap underneath the boot.

I have a pair of ramps so I was able to raise the back of my car and saw this earth strap had 'split' in the middle. I think it was just through wear and tear but it was enough for my car to throw up some error messages mid-way through my commute.

If you look underneath you should see a green 'shoe-lace' like length of cord which is bolted onto the chassis/frame.

I would check it's condition and that it's still affixed at both ends to the frame.

Another thing would be to check your tyres.

I needed all 4 replacing and I did it at the same time as replacing the earth strap and I've not had any error messages since!

Hope this helps!

Cheers

Bloggsy

[IainG]

Thanks for the responses.

Checked the battery connection, the black terminal nice and tight and looks fine. Can't see the red terminal, guess I'd need to strip out the boot liner. Using my multi-meter on the charge point and the chassis under the bonnet I'm reading 12.8V so must be ok. Not tried disconnecting the battery yet, worried it may re-set some things causing further grief especially if the family need to re-pair phones etc...

Strangely this morning on switching on the car (not been anywhere over the weekend) I only got 2 of the warnings (ABS and ASC) which then both disappeared after pulling away and didn't return. Only went 5 miles to and from the post office though. Will be going to town later in the week so will see if any warnings return.

Just checked under the rear and you are spot on regarding the earth strap, mine has totally split as well. See attached pic. Pretty rusty under there, also looks like exhaust back box may not last too much longer before it falls off. I live right on the Atlantic coast so not surprising really.

I'll see about getting a new earth strap, looks like it might even be a job I can handle if I can get those bolts off. Anyone with a link to where I can get a replacement strap?

Many thanks,
Iain

[IainG]

Just a final update... after replacing the earth strap the errors did seem to go away but then I was only getting them occasionally so could have been a coincidence. Over the following 6 months they came back more frequently, to the point it was on every journey and eventually on every time I started the car. Due to covid lockdown I held out till the MOT and service was due to get it sorted. Local garage said the rear abs sensors were having problems reading the rear disks as they were badly corroded (my driveway is 100 meters from the Atlantic so no surprise). So, 2 x rear wheel bearing kits were ordered (£200 each) and fitted which has now resolved the issue.

[jaapv]

Thanks for the responses.

Checked the battery connection, the black terminal nice and tight and looks fine. Can't see the red terminal, guess I'd need to strip out the boot liner. Using my multi-meter on the charge point and the chassis under the bonnet I'm reading 12.8V so must be ok. Not tried disconnecting the battery yet, worried it may re-set some things causing further grief especially if the family need to re-pair phones etc...

Strangely this morning on switching on the car (not been anywhere over the weekend) I only got 2 of the warnings (ABS and ASC) which then both disappeared after pulling away and didn't return. Only went 5 miles to and from the post office though. Will be going to town later in the week so will see if any warnings return.

Just checked under the rear and you are spot on regarding the earth strap, mine has totally split as well. See attached pic. Pretty rusty under there, also looks like exhaust back box may not last too much longer before it falls off. I live right on the Atlantic coast so not surprising really.

I'll see about getting a new earth strap, looks like it might even be a job I can handle if I can get those bolts off. Anyone with a link to where I can get a replacement strap?

Many thanks,
Iain

That is horrible rust everywhere - My 2013 car which I traded in last week had next to no rust. I live 5 kms from the seaside.

[NightPHEVer]

I got these warning lights too. Have just had to replace rear, passenger side wheel bearing/hub because integral retaining clip for ABS sensor has rotted away due to rust. See pictures that show original, rotted OEM hub and new SKF replacement. The ABS retaining 'clip' is the bit on the left hand side of the new hub picture, completely gone from the original hub.

rustybearing1.jpg

bearing1.jpg

This is on a 2014 GX4h which has done 44,000 miles. This is a common problem with this design of hub which is also used on some Renaults and I think Peugeots. Not an especially good design I’d say, as the whole bearing/hub has to be replaced because of one, small ‘clip’.

This new one is a SKF made hub as the OEM Mitsubishi item comes in at a wallet bustin' £375 inc VAT, whereas SKF was £183. Mechanics who fitted it were happy with SKF as a reliable alternative to OEM. Fortunately the ABS sensor/wire itself was not damaged as that is an eye watering £316 inc VAT from Mitsubishi. So if both these parts had to be bought from Mitsubishi that would be £691 for parts alone. That doesn’t include fitting which should take a skilled mechanic around 1 hour. The cost of these OEM Mitsubishi parts is difficult to comprehend.

The retaining clip on the driver’s side rear currently seems to be ok so I’ve smeared some silicone grease (doesn’t attack plastic of ABS sensor - petrolium based grease may eventually attack plastic) on it in the hope that it won’t rust to oblivion too. And some silicone grease on the new one too. I’m guessing the passenger side rotted first as it gets all the poop from the gutter side of the road on it over the years. I do actually keep the underside of my PHEV relatively tidy as I clean, paint, grease and squirt WD40 on it at least twice a year when I change the summer/winter wheels. So if it was not regularly cleaned I would imagine this will happen much sooner than it has. I don’t know if the same rear hub/ABS attachment system is used on later PHEV models but I’d suspect it probably is. So you might want to smear some white Silicone grease on yours (if they're still there) before they disintegrate.