ABS Problem Peugeot 206: Overbraking?

When I switched to my winter tires, I seem to have introduced a problem: the ABS is overreacting. The braking function works perfectly and without any noticeable issues. However, regardless of how carefully I brake, the ABS kicks in at around 15 km/h. Even very gentle braking when parking doesn't happen without the ABS engaging.

No error codes are present, and they cannot even be triggered artificially. The tires are brand new all around, and the wheels have been carefully balanced.

I would suspect that the wheel sensors might be contaminated. Is this a possibility, or where should I start looking?

Hutfahrer wrote:

I would suspect, if necessary, that the wheel sensors are contaminated.

Is that possible...? }Yes, it is quite possible. A piece of rust can easily get stuck there. Take a look.

Perhaps you could try cleaning the mounting points from the inside of the wheel using a high-pressure washer.

Best regards, Rainer.

This morning, it was no longer bearable.

Or perhaps your new tires didn't have enough grip yet? How many kilometers have they been driven so far?

On Sundays, I drive a few kilometers to the gas station and back, and since Monday, I've been driving three times 93 km for my commute to work. Visually, the tire profiles still appear very smooth. In terms of driving and handling characteristics, the tires are okay.

I can't really imagine there being any grip issues, especially since the ABS system would have had to activate even when parking extremely carefully. At speeds where it never normally comes into play...

Hutfahrer wrote:

On Sundays, I drive a few kilometers to the gas station and back, and since Monday, I've been driving 93 km three times for my commute to work. Visually, the tire profiles still seem very smooth. In terms of driving and handling characteristics, the tires are okay. I can't really imagine any grip issues, especially since the ABS would have had to activate even when parking very carefully. At speeds where it normally never comes into play...

Flat tire

"@ Roger: The tire pressure was checked at a gas station yesterday before leaving the work site. No abnormalities were found. However, on the return flight, the ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) was no longer intrusive and behaved normally."

"I cleaned all the wheel sensors and rims at home using a mild cleaning solution of hot water and a splash of dish soap, with an old toothbrush. While doing so, I noticed a greasy fingerprint on one of the rear rims, which had some dust stuck to it. However, I don't remember touching it. I haven't driven since then. This morning, everything looked fine again..."

He's doing it again. The temperature this morning is just above freezing, and it's very foggy. Again, I experienced an unnecessary ABS activation at speeds around 25 km/h while braking from a semi-sleep state. Even though I don't feel like there's any slipping, the ABS activates even with light braking. This happens, for example, when approaching a traffic light that is flashing red. In this case, I actually brake relatively briefly but forcefully to keep the brakes moving and prevent them from seizing.

Of course, there are no entries in the error memory. I already read that out while driving. So, let's verschandeln everything again and see what happens...

Or are there any other/better ideas?

Does that mean there was no activity for a year?
Did you just change the tires?

Yes, the scenario is comparable.

Merkwürdig. Bei zu großen Fertigungstoleranzen beim Reifen-Abrollumfang müsste das ABS ja auch bei hohem Tempo arbeiten. Zudem wäre ein einseitiges Ziehen wahrscheinlich. Hmmm ...

Can you somehow compare or log the ABS wheel speed signals?

Do you have aluminum rims in the summer and steel rims now?

The fact that the error occurs at low speeds, in my opinion, points to a problem with the sensors. The distorted signal is making the control unit believe that the wheel speed is much higher. And it seems that the steel nearby is somehow contributing to the issue.

No, not even that! Last summer, I was driving on old, eleven-year-old winter tires. Now I have proper winter tires installed. The tire dimensions are the same (185/65 R14), and they are mounted on steel rims.

Let's see if I can read the individual wheel sensors.

And again... Rust on the sensor or in/on the sender... since the commonality of the issues occurring after wheel changes suggests that this is the most likely cause.

I'm not getting individual wheel speed readings via OBD. I've already removed all the wheels and thoroughly cleaned the toothed rings and sensors with a brush and dried them with compressed air. Test drive tomorrow morning...

Hi there!


I used to have a 6N Polo and my father also had a Jeep. The 6N would almost always trigger the ABS when braking hard just before entering a roundabout, in the last few meters. And the Jeep would generally activate the ABS right before coming to a complete stop.


'With the Golf, using VAGCOM, we saw that driving very slowly would sometimes trigger a sensor malfunction error (it seemed to show three sensors reporting 6 km/h, and one briefly reported 20 km/h). With the Jeep, I immediately replaced the two rear sensors and it was fixed. With the Polo, replacing one front sensor solved the problem. What's strange is that you could drive for 2 km at 6 km/h without any errors, then brake once, and suddenly the error would appear? I have no idea why. I had already cleaned the connectors and sensors.'