ABS/ESP pedestrian detection signal

Hello everyone,

First of all, thank you very much for the many helpful tips and especially the excellent articles!
I've been driving a Passat 1.9 TDI PD with a TT5 gearbox for (not that long yet), and it has 286,000 km on the clock – it's my first automatic car that I actually own.

Despite using the search function, I still have a question regarding the error code "01119 Signal for pedestrian detection" in the ABS/ESP fault memory.

What effect does this signal have, which is presumably transmitted from the automatic transmission to the ABS/ESP system? Could it explain a peculiar shifting behavior of the transmission, although this only occurs sporadically: sometimes the gears are shifted up much later, or conversely, even with slight acceleration, the transmission immediately (and unnecessarily) downshifts, even though the pressure in the same driving situation is usually sufficient to accelerate in a lower gear.

Where would be a good place to start looking for this? The Volkswagen dealership I trust (and I really mean that) is at a loss as to the cause.

Maybe someone here has a brilliant idea...

You're welcome.

duc750ss