VW and Audi Brake Pressure Sensor Fault: 01435 (G201) and 00810

This page is for the owner, or the garage, holding a scan result with one or both of these codes on it. It covers what each code means, the symptoms, why the fault sits inside the ABS unit rather than on a part that can be unbolted, which models are affected and how the repair works by post. Other ABS faults on these cars are covered in our Volkswagen ABS pump repairs and Audi ABS pump repairs hubs.

What do fault codes 01435 and 00810 mean?

Both codes are stored by the ABS/ESP control module, and both concern brake pressure sensing. A VAG diagnostic tool reports them in the wording below. The description after the colon tells you how the module saw the fault, so write it down exactly as it appears.

“Implausible” is the word that matters. The module checks the pressure reading against other signals it trusts, such as the brake pedal switch telling it the brakes are on. When the reading stops agreeing with them, the module rejects it, stores the code and switches off the functions that depend on it, ESP first among them.

The codes can carry other descriptions. On 01435, “Electrical Fault in Circuit” sends the garage to the brake pedal switch and the circuit before anything else. Either code can read “No or Incorrect Basic Setting / Adaptation”, and there the first step is the basic setting on the garage’s diagnostic equipment, not a repair. When the code reads Implausible Signal and returns once cleared, the ABS unit is the usual cause.

ESP light on and the ESP OFF button ignored: the symptoms

A brake pressure sensor fault shows on the dash long before it shows in how the car drives. These are the signs owners and garages report with 01435 and 00810:

• The ESP warning light stays on. It comes on with the fault and does not go out on the next start.
• The ESP OFF button does nothing. Its lamp lights, and pressing the button makes no difference, because the system is already off.
• Other lamps can join it. On some cars the ABS and traction control warnings light at the same time.
• The car feels normal. Everyday driving and braking often seem unchanged, which is why the light gets ignored.
• It can come and go at first. Some cars log the fault as intermittent before it settles in for good.

Have the codes read and keep the printout, with the full description after each code. That record is what separates a unit fault from a wiring or set-up issue.

Why a brake pressure sensor fault is a fault inside the ABS unit

On many brake systems the pressure sensor is a separate part fitted into the hydraulic circuit. On the ATE MK60 units these VAG cars use, it is built inside the ABS unit itself, sharing the assembly with the hydraulic block and the control module. There is no separate sensor to change on the car.

Its position is also why it fails. The sensor sits in the brake fluid pressure path, so it takes every brake application, at full hydraulic pressure, for the life of the car. The unit lives in the engine bay, where it heats up and cools down on every journey and is shaken by every road surface. Over time the reading wanders or drops out, and the module flags it as implausible.

That is also why replacing the whole unit is a weak answer. A new unit carries the same internal design, so the same fault can return. A second-hand one has already spent part of its life in another car, and nobody can tell you how much.

Before the unit comes off, your garage should rule out the causes that sit outside it: battery voltage, the connector at the unit, the wiring, the brake pedal switch and any basic setting left outstanding after brake work. When those are sound and the code still reads Implausible Signal, the fault is inside the unit.

Which VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda models get it

These codes come from the ATE MK60 family, which VW Group fitted across several of its makes and platforms. These are the models we see them on most:

The table is a guide, not a complete list: the label on the ABS unit decides, not the badge on the car. Our Seat and Skoda ABS hubs cover the other units on those cars, and the Touran has its own page on the VW Touran ESP fault.

Brake pressure sensor faults on other makes have their own codes and their own units. See our pages for Ford, Mazda and Volvo, BMW, Citroen, Peugeot and Renault, and Vauxhall and Opel.

How we repair the unit so the fault does not come back

We do not swap one internal sensor for another of the same design. The faulty internal sensor is taken out of service and our own calibrated external sensor takes over its job, so the module gets a pressure reading it can trust and the fault does not return. That is what lets us put a lifetime warranty on the repaired unit.

Every unit is bench tested before any work starts, on our Hardware-in-the-Loop rig, which feeds the module the signals it would see on the car. That confirms the pressure-sensing fault and checks the rest of the unit, so a second problem is found on our bench rather than after refitting. After the repair the unit is calibrated on dealer-level diagnostic equipment and put through the same tests again.

What goes back is the unit that came off your car, with the same part number and the same connections, so it refits exactly as the original did.

Can I keep driving with the ESP light on?

Normal braking usually remains with 01435 or 00810, so the car still stops when you press the pedal. What has gone is electronic stability control, and with it traction control: the car will no longer brake individual wheels to correct a skid or wheelspin. If the ABS light is on as well, anti-lock braking may also be out, and the wheels can lock under hard braking.

Getting your ABS unit to us

We repair these units by post at our workshop in Epsom. Nothing else needs to leave the car.

1. Fill in the repair form

   Give the make, model and registration, each code with its full description, and the number from the label on the unit. Put a copy of the completed form in the box with it.

2. Your garage takes the unit off

   Removing the ABS unit is routine brake hydraulic work for a garage. They disconnect it, seal the brake pipes and the unit against dirt and fluid loss, and send it to our Epsom workshop.

3. We test it on the bench

   The unit runs on our test rig so we can confirm the pressure-sensing fault and check everything else in it before any work begins.

4. We repair and calibrate it

   Our engineers take the failed sensor out of service, bring our calibrated sensor in, calibrate the unit and test it again in full before it is cleared to go back.

5. Your garage refits it

   They refit the unit, bleed the brakes and run the routine set-up the car’s diagnostic system asks for after ABS work. The repair is covered by our lifetime warranty.

Should the bench test turn up a second fault we cannot put right, we stop and report back to you before doing anything further.

Questions owners ask about 01435 and 00810