Hi, don’t know if anyone else has had this problem but I’m at a loss to know what is causing and how to fix so any help would be appreciated. I have a 2013 Leon that has done 38k miles. It has been running fine but a few months ago I left the house and was just down the road when I experienced loss of power. It felt as if I’d put into 5th gear rather than 3rd. I then had a horrible smell as if a mattress was burning. I pulled over and checked under the bonnet. I couldn’t see anything amiss and had no warning lights on so after a few minutes starting the engine again and everything was running fine. I took it to the garage and they checked it over. There wasn’t any error codes showing and it has been running fine since. Yesterday I was returning from holiday and the same thing happened again. At first I thought it was because the road surface had changed and the car seemed to be a little juddery but then the loss of power and smell. I pulled over , again no errors showing. Waited and tried again but still no power. I called out the AA. They initially said the oil was on minimum so topped that up but engine started fine. Checked to see if any errors showing and again nothing. Looked over the engine and nothing appearEd to be wrong. Set off again and within a short distance felt the power go. It felt as if the brakes were still on but they weren’t. Pumped the brake pedal which seemed to then be ok and started again. Went about 25 miles and lost power again. Pulled over and after a few minutes started the engine again and seemed fine and as I was by then almost home managed to drive home ok. Obviously want to get it sorted but where do I start?
Power loss
- Thread starter TrevC
- Start date
Is this a diesel or petrol? Could be DPF related, what did they use to read the codes? I would invest in OBDeleven allowing you to read the modules yourself.
The car has been running fine until 2 weeks ago and then the same thing happened again. The mechanic was able to look at it and was able to diagnose the problem. It turns out that it’s the ABS pump. We brought a second hand one and we’re assured it was working but upon fitting that was faulty so now got to get another as there is a 5 week waiting list to get a new one from Seat at a cost of £1154!!! Will post update when sorted.
So your brakes were coming on - and that was the burning you could smell? The brakes getting hot, and obviously slowing you down?
Brakes can bind for many reasons, usually corrosion and dirt of the brake caliper/pads. Your 2013 car has a very low mileage for that age of car which suggests lots of time of inactivity for the car - which is no good for the brakes.
For that large amount of money I would want to 110% confirm nothing cheaper was to blame?
Was there an actual fault code of the ABS system?
First I would be thoroughly inspecting all 4 of my caliper pistons/caliper brackets/slide pins & pads to ensure nothing is stiff/binding/seized. Also flexible brake hoses can degrade internally mimicking brake binding faults causing a one way valve in effect for the brake fluid.
If it really is your ABS module - you can get ABS repair kits - number 2 - in the image below, which looks like the brake sensors and control module, these are a little cheaper than the full module, so double check what you actually need?
There are many different ABS modules depending on your PR codes - so you may just have got the wrong part number?
I can't see any OEM prices for the ABS modules and with the fact there is a long lead time on the part would suggest an ABS module is a very rare part to fail.
Brakes can bind for many reasons, usually corrosion and dirt of the brake caliper/pads. Your 2013 car has a very low mileage for that age of car which suggests lots of time of inactivity for the car - which is no good for the brakes.
For that large amount of money I would want to 110% confirm nothing cheaper was to blame?
Was there an actual fault code of the ABS system?
First I would be thoroughly inspecting all 4 of my caliper pistons/caliper brackets/slide pins & pads to ensure nothing is stiff/binding/seized. Also flexible brake hoses can degrade internally mimicking brake binding faults causing a one way valve in effect for the brake fluid.
If it really is your ABS module - you can get ABS repair kits - number 2 - in the image below, which looks like the brake sensors and control module, these are a little cheaper than the full module, so double check what you actually need?
There are many different ABS modules depending on your PR codes - so you may just have got the wrong part number?
I can't see any OEM prices for the ABS modules and with the fact there is a long lead time on the part would suggest an ABS module is a very rare part to fail.
Well after all this time we have finally got the car sorted. It was the ABS pump. We did get another second hand ABS pump that worked but after it was fitted no matter what was done at the garage it couldn’t be programmed into the computer. We found a company that re engineers ABS pumps and gives a lifetime warranty for £199 plus vat. After all the hassle we thought it was worth a try rather than have to pay the price of a brand new one from Seat. If they can’t fix it you just get charged a testing fee. So when it had been tested and the fault with the pump diagnosed they fixed it . Our mechanic then refitted it, no issues with the computer side of it , so back on the road again though will be having the brakepads etc redone as soon as possible to be on the safe side.
The company was ECU testing at Heanor. The customer service was excellent. Apparently this is a common fault with Leon’s.
Hope this update helps anyone else with the same problem get sorted sooner.
Thank you to all of you who took the time to reply
The company was ECU testing at Heanor. The customer service was excellent. Apparently this is a common fault with Leon’s.
Hope this update helps anyone else with the same problem get sorted sooner.
Thank you to all of you who took the time to reply
Similar threads
