Why is my ESP light on?

hey everyone,

recently my ESP light came on. i hooked my car up to a code reader and got nothing back. the ESP still works as does the ABS. the light goes off sometimes, but it mostly on. any suggestions?


thanks,
Andy

I know this is old, but I'll answer it incase anyone can benifit from it... your MAF is probably bad, you can either try cleaning it or replacing it

what does MAF stand for, and where can it be found (i have the service manual, so if you can point me in the general area i can probably find it in there).

thanks for responding

MAF is your mass airflow sensor, if you look on your intake right behind the airbox, there is a section of ther intake that has a electrical plug going into it and that is where your MAF is... you can disconnect that section of the intake and inside you will see a plastic piece with a metal strip in the middle of it. Try spraying it with MAF cleaner or carb cleaner, let it dry and you can re connect everything.

after a few days of driving if the light does not go off, the MAF could be completly dead or it could possibly be something else. does your car idle poorly?

when my car is cold sometimes it will idle poorly. bu the ESP light is referring to the electronic stability program. i don't think the MAF would effect that...but i will still check it maybe that's why my car is idling poorly. thank you for your input.

Your car should normally idle high when its cold if thats what your refering to... yes the light indicates ESP on/off and slippage, but it is also used as a warning indicator for other things, like things that might not throw a CEL. It could be any number of things but I would start with cleaning your MAF.

that's good to know. when it's cold the rpms go up and down a lot. thanks for your knowledge