The dynamic stability control system, or DSC for short, is a cool system that can help to prevent your vehicle from skidding.
In order to do this, the system relies on a whole host of sensors scattered throughout the vehicle. When it works, it is great. However, there is a whole lot that can go wrong with a DSC in a vehicle.
A whole lot. It is not uncommon for people to get a DSC malfunction in their BMW.
But, is this a problem that you can fix on your own? If it is, how do you fix it? Well, we are going to be answering all of your most burning questions right here.
Table of Contents
What Is The DSC In a Vehicle?
The DSC has one job and one job only. This is to bring your vehicle under control if skidding is detected.
This may be because you have lost control of your vehicle in an accident, or perhaps you have been driving on ice.
Having a functioning DSC makes your vehicle so much safer to drive, and it is an important feature in the vast majority of modern vehicles.
How Do You Know You Have a DSC Malfunction?
If you are lucky, you will be told as soon as the vehicle detects that there is a problem with the DSC.
Your vehicle, when switched on, will be constantly making diagnostic checks on your vehicle. If it spots an issue, then it will be recorded in the vehicle’s onboard computer.
If the issue is particularly serious and keeps rearing its ugly head, then your vehicle will flash up an error message on your vehicle.
This will normally appear on your dashboard. In rare cases, it may appear as a ‘check engine light.
If you are unlucky, then you will notice that the DSC is malfunctioning if your vehicle starts to skid.
If you find it difficult to get your vehicle under control, then there is a good chance that your vehicle’s DSC has an issue that needs to be fixed rather quickly.
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Is It Important To Get a DSC Malfunction Fixed?
Yes.
We won’t lie. You are going to be able to drive your vehicle with a broken DSC. Your vehicle is not going to magically stop working just because there is an issue with the stability control system. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be driving without that system turned on.
As we said before, the DCS is an important safety feature in your vehicle. It will help to ensure that your vehicle doesn’t skid out of control. If it is not working, then your vehicle became a little bit less safe.
Now, you don’t have to go and get that DSC fixed right away. However, we do encourage you to get the DSC fixed as soon as you can.
Can You Fix a BMW DSC Malfunction Yourself?
Possibly.
The problem with a DSC in a BMW is the fact that the entire system pretty much relies on a series of sensors.
If you do not know how to repair a vehicle yourself, then it is tricky to deal with most issues. This is because you have to do two things:
- Work out which sensor is causing the issue.
- Replace the sensor.
You can carry out some vehicle diagnostics yourself, but you will need to buy special equipment (an OBD2 scanner) which will allow you to read the error codes in your vehicle.
This will tell you which sensor is causing the issue. You then need to take the sensor off, put a new one in place, and hook it back up to the electrical system. It is a lot of effort, and you can get it wrong.
Therefore, if the first three tips that we give you don’t work, then we suggest that you head to a garage. It will be a whole lot easier for you to deal with the sensor issues like that.
Battery Issues
In some cases, the battery may be at fault. After all, all of the sensors that the DSC requires will need power.
If your battery has discharged too much, or it is about to die completely, then you will probably end up with DSC issues.
This is because the vehicle doesn’t see the DSC as 100% necessary, and is, therefore, much more likely to shut off power to it.
As you can probably imagine, the best way to fix this particular problem is to check the battery. You can use a multimeter to ensure that the battery is putting out the correct voltage.
If it isn’t, then you will either need to charge the battery using an external charger or, if your battery is a few years old, you will need to completely replace the battery.
For most people, this should be more than enough to get the system up and running again.
Brake Fluid Issues
In rare cases, a DSC malfunction could be caused by the brake fluid in your vehicle starting to dwindle.
If you have been keeping up with your vehicle maintenance, then you will know that it is important to check the brake fluid at least once every year or so.
If you do not know how to check and refill your brake fluid, then you can consult your vehicle’s manual. It will tell you exactly what you will need to do.
This is something that we recommend that you get familiar with. Basic vehicle servicing is important when you own a vehicle. If you can learn how to top up the brake fluid and other fluids in your vehicle, then it is unlikely that you will ever suffer from too many issues with your vehicle.
This means that you will be able to keep overall repair costs to the absolute minimum.
Reset Your Vehicle
The last thing that you can do is attempt to reset the sensors for your DSC.
While most BMW models will have a very specific process that you can use for the DSC reset, we suggest that you just unclip the battery. You can then leave it unclipped for around 15-20 minutes.
This should ensure that there is absolutely no power left in your system. This will ‘reset’ the various sensors in your vehicle.
You can actually use this to reset most of the sensors in your vehicle, and you will be surprised at how many issues with modern vehicles you will be able to deal with just by unplugging the battery for a short amount of time.
Don’t worry. This is unlikely to clear any saved settings that you have in your BMW.
If you don’t fancy unclipping the battery for a short while, then you can read through your vehicle’s manual. This will give you advice on other ways to reset the system.
Free BMW stability control DSC/ESC fix that works perfectly and it’s easy to do >> Check out the video below:
Problems With Sensors In Your BMW
As we said, most issues with the DSC can’t be fixed on your own. We wish they could be. However, a DSC is a complicated set of sensors.
Over time, these sensors could fail, or they could get damaged. In fact, it isn’t uncommon for sensors to just rust away.
If you have an OBD2 scanner, then you can plug this into your vehicle. This will then give you an error code. This error code can then be matched up to the error code list for your BMW model number. This will tell you the exact sensor that has broken down.
Once you know the exact sensor, you can purchase a replacement, remove the old one, and then get the new one installed in its place.
That being said, this isn’t really something that we would recommend that you do yourself. It is exceedingly difficult to replace sensors on a vehicle, and if you get it wrong, you are pretty much going to be back to square one.
Therefore, we suggest that if you do have an issue with any sensors in your vehicle, you head to a BMW dealership. Most of them should be able to fix the problem fairly quickly.
Of course, if your vehicle is still in warranty, then you may even find that the repair of your vehicle is free, or at least highly affordable. A DSC shouldn’t be breaking that quickly, after all.
Conclusion
The DSC in your BMW could potentially save your life. However, it is a complicated system. There are a lot of sensors, wires, and other things going on behind the scenes.
At any one point, the DSC in your BMW could malfunction. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot that you are going to be able to do about this.
Most DSC malfunctions in a BMW will require the experience of a mechanic. However, you may be able to fix some issues by filling your brake fluid, resetting the system, or swapping out the battery.
However, if that doesn’t work, then make a beeline for your closest mechanic or BMW dealership.
References
https://itstillruns.com/troubleshoot-bmw-dsc-system-7739976.html