Wimbledon Hill Road, the A3 and cars that rely on wheel speed
Wimbledon Hill Road is a steep hill between the Village and the town centre, with buses, traffic lights and crossings, and coming down it in the wet you want every bit of help the car can give. The A3 Kingston Road across Wimbledon Common is a fast dual carriageway, where a sudden stop at the Tibbet's Corner junction can happen at speed. ABS and stability control are what keep the car straight and steerable under hard braking. If the ABS light is on, both are switched off.
Many cars in Wimbledon are newer and premium models, including SUVs, hybrids and electric cars. On these, the wheel speed sensors feed much more than ABS: stability control, adaptive cruise, hill-hold, the electronic parking brake and, on some models, regenerative braking. A single failed sensor can switch several of these off at once, often with a cluster of warnings. Near Wimbledon Park and the All England Club, horse riders and pedestrians on local roads add to the need for a car that stops properly.
Diagnosis on these cars takes care. We use dealer-level diagnostic equipment to read the ABS module and related systems, compare live wheel speeds, and test the sensor and wiring. We check whether the magnetic encoder is part of the wheel bearing and whether it's damaged. After fitting an OE or OE-equivalent sensor, we clear the codes, run any calibration the car requires and road test it. You'll get a written quote first.
The route is The Broadway east to South Wimbledon, the A24 Morden Road to Morden, then St Helier Avenue to the Rose Hill roundabout and Wrythe Lane to Hackbridge, about 5.5 miles. With only the ABS light on, the car can usually be driven carefully. During the Championships allow extra time, or ask us to collect it. The repair is covered by our 3-month workmanship warranty.