Hyundai Repair: ESC, 2006 hyundai sonata, hyundai sonata

Question
The ESC light on my 2006 Hyundai Sonata periodically comes on. Whenever this happens, it seems to put some kind of load on the engine because thgqqne car accelerates very slowly. Pushing the switch off and on will sometimes reset it, but I never know when it's going to happen again.

Answer
Hi, Robin.  The only way to determine the cause of your problems is to begin with reading the diagnostic trouble codes in the ABS/ESC system.  It's unlikely that your neighborhood AutoZone will have the tooling to do this, so you're probably going to have to pay for diagnosis.  Once you know the diagnosis and have an estimate for repair, you'll be in a better position to determine whether this is a repair you'd like to attempt to tackle yourself.  If you'd like and are able, you can report the trouble code along with the diagnosis in a follow-up, and I'll give you my opinions as to the possible causes or recommended next steps.

My recommendation is to go to the local dealer or a shop known for its capabilities in troubleshooting ABS/ESC issues.  Keep in mind that most brake/exhaust chains do not fall in this category.

One of the functions of your ESC system is to limit engine power when it believes one of the front wheels to be spinning faster than the others on acceleration.  Whatever your problem is, it seems that the ESC module erroneously thinks a wheel is spinning, then realizes there is an issue, and then turns off the ESC, having recognized there's a problem with the system.