So went wheeling today nothing major, but it was a little bumpy and wet. as I got on the highway to go home my fishtail light flickered off and on and kicked in the ESP actually slowing the vehicle down (repeatedly). I pulled over and looked underneath couldn't find anything wrong. I tried to shut off the ESP and the light went out for a while and then it would kick back on and start the braking proccess again. It was quite disconcerting, I tried to limp home slowly but then it kicked off and my ESP BAS light came on. It says go to the dealership in the manual. It drives normal with the ESP switch off. I did notice my steering wheel is canted more to the right then usual did I hit something hard enough to screw this up? I thought it was a pretty mild day anyhelp is appreciated.

 

If your steering wheel is off, that would explain the ESP coming on.

How far off is the steering wheel? You can always do an alignment yourself:
http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-...-end-alignment

Check to see if your drag link is bent

 

as mentioned....if your steering wheel is off it can trigger your ESP. So...the question is, did you hit something hard enough to bend something underneath? Only you know if you hit something that hard. Is it possible? Yup. If it was fine before and bad now somethings up for sure. Check your tie rods, drag link, track bar bracket in case it broke the weld...etc. Thorough check over required under there. Do you have a lift and tires? ...heck, it is possible if your drag link adjuster wasn't tightened down it may have moved causing this?

 

Ok so I recentered my steering wheel, and gave everything a thorough look over and didn't see anything out of place. The lights are still on however, do I need to go to the dealership to get this checked out now? I'm going to take it for a drive in the morning to see if it's behaving normal now that the steering is centered again.

 

You have to drive it for a while for the computer to see its fixed after its been centered. I think the manual said like 19 miles over 40 mph or something. Its in the owners manual after where you read take it to the dealer. If you have a procal you can let the computer tell you when its centered exactly

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk.

 

yup, should go out with a drive around the block if everything is ok.
Other things that could cause an issue...damaged or broken abs cables
I will say that in a strong cross wind one day driving down the highway I had the wheel cranked so far over to counter the wind that it set my ESP off as well...nothing was out of whack down there broken, moved or otherwise...it was simply the wind.

 

I have the Currie tie rod and drag link waiting in my garage to swap out. Why? Because the same exact thing happened to me as OP. However we were able to get the ESP light to stay off by turning off the ESP. To OP: Did you just press the ESP button, or did you hold it down for at least five seconds? Holding it down should have turned off enough of the ESP functionality to allow you to drive your Jeep just fine.

 

I don't know if it applies to all 07-09 automatics, and don't know if OP has one or not, but when I had the J30 Transmission recall done they reflashed the computer. In doing so I can push the ESP button once to turn off the traction control and allow wheel spin, but to turn off everything else the 5 second push no longer works... I have to do the steering wheel dance.