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ESC Activation malfunction indicator - OBD Code C123F


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Last wednesday I got in my car and saw the light below go off on my dashboard. I noticed the cruise control was not working.

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According to the manual, the light indicates the ESC is malfunctioning. (Oh oh)

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I get home and run the scanner and I got code C123F-Steering Angle Sensor comparative performance  

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One Google search later and found that the possible causes for C123F are the following and started assessing which are more likely to be. 

  • Vehicle damage - Not very useful
  • Steering column/intermediate shaft damage - Not likely 
  • Steering wheel alignment - Aha! this might be
  • Steering Angle Sensor loose - Although this is possible it is less likely - this was going to be my next option after wheel alignment. 
  • Clockspring (SAS) improperly installed (wrong mounting position) - Not likely
  • Clockspring (SAS) - Not likely
  • Antilock Brake System (ABS) Module - This sounds expensive

I did noticed the steering wheel was a little misaligned after the last offroad trip, I was going to mention to the shop on the next maintenance so they can have it sorted, since now I had a code I started troubleshooting from the steps listed here.

Since the Steering wheel misalignment was more than 15° degrees I decided to take it to the shop for alignment.

Twenty minutes and 300 aed later the car was ready. I take it out, pulled over the car and erased the code with the scanner and started driving, as a precaution I prefered to sit out the next off-road drive. As I did not want any issues while I was off-roading.

So far that seemed to do the trick, it's really a pain with all of this sensors nowadays in all cars, they are there for a reason but they could be a burden sometimes. 

Anyway, I hope this helps for any other Jeep owner outhere in the future. 

 

Edited by Javier M
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Thanks, @Javier M for sharing such problem with its solution, makes a perfect example of how anyone can contribute there car owning experience and it's little problem as they happen on a daily basis.

Every thread need not to be 10,000 words long or bringing some special feature or crazy angle.

If everyone shares this little experiences then it will help a lot of other car owners in the future.

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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For future reference, I wouldn’t recommend resetting a steering angle sensor fault code without carrying out the calibration procedure first. Realigning the steering is only part of the job, the system needs to be recalibrated afterwards. It might be as simple as driving in a circle one way then driving in a circle the other way, all cars are different but the diagnostic tool guides you through the process. SAS has an input on a lot of other systems and you could find your ABS or traction control or something else doesn’t work properly when you need it to. 

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It happened to my car whenever I used to turn at high speed like going through a ring to climb or exit a bridge the vsc would kick in and bring the car to a halt often triggering people behind my car to crazy bats scattering left and right....gave me a hard time until i figured it through viewing the live data of abs that the speed sensors we're acting crazy specially when the steering angle sensor was giving inputs....

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I agree with @Barry on this. The steering angle sensor forms the heart of several safety systems, and a trying to get out of a dangerous situation is not the ideal time to discover that the steering angle sensor re-calibration procedure was not performed. 

I have never understood why it is even possible to clear steering sensor codes without performing the required re-calibration procedure. I would have thought that manufacturers would make it impossible to clear these codes, but what is worse is the fact that I have known mechanics who did not know that a re-calibration procedure had to be done, and who then spent days trying to figure out why the ABS, stability, and traction control systems don't work 

Edited by treks
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