00239 ABS Solenoid Valve, Rear Left (N57) - Electrical Fault in Circuit

Do not keep driving

The ECU sees a problem in this circuit but cannot narrow it to a specific short or open. Start at the connector and the wiring before condemning the part.

Can you drive it? This affects a system that helps you stop or stay straight. Assume ABS and stability control are reduced or switched off until it is fixed.

The definition

00239: ABS Solenoid Valve, Rear Left (N57) - Electrical Fault in Circuit.

What to check first

Cheapest and fastest checks first:

Read the freeze-frame data stored with the fault - engine speed, load and temperature at the moment it logged tell you whether this happens cold, hot or under load.
Check the connector at the part for corrosion, and that it is fully seated.
Clear the code and see whether it returns, and under what conditions.

What actually causes this on a VAG

This is one of four codes covering the same fault on this generation of VAG ABS, one valve per wheel: N59 front left (00237), N58 front right (00238), N57 rear left (00239) and N56 rear right (00240). The valve is a solenoid sealed inside the ABS hydraulic unit - the block in the engine bay that lets ABS release and reapply brake pressure at one wheel. The code does not mean your pads, discs or wheel speed sensors are faulty; it means the control module drove that valve's coil and did not get the electrical response it expected. Your foot still works the brakes hydraulically as normal, but the anti-lock function is switched off, and on most VAG cars ESP and traction control go with it. Before you drive it, look at what else is lit. If the red brake warning light is on as well as the ABS light, first make sure the handbrake is fully released and the brake fluid is up to the mark, because those are the cheap and common explanations. If the fluid is fine and the red light stays on, treat it as electronic brake force distribution having dropped out alongside ABS - that changes how the car behaves under hard braking, so get it inspected before a long journey rather than living with it. Because these valves are not sold or fitted separately, the repair here is far more often electrical than hydraulic.

Most likely causes, in order

Weak battery, jump start or a poor earth. A momentary drop in supply while the module is running its self-test gets logged against whichever valve it happened to be checking at the time. Have the battery and charging tested and the engine-bay earth points checked for corrosion, then clear the code and road test. If it does not come back, that was your fault, and it cost nothing to find.
Damp or corroded connector at the ABS unit. The hydraulic unit lives in the engine bay where water and road salt reach it. With the battery disconnected, unplug the connector and look for green or white powder, damp, or pins that have been pushed back in the housing, and check the loom where it flexes. This fault also turns up after front-end body repair, suspension or cooling work, where the loom has been disturbed or a plug not fully re-latched.
Failed solder joints or a valve driver inside the ABS control module. The control module bolts onto the hydraulic block, and the joints where the valve pins meet its circuit board crack over years of heat cycling. This is a well-known failure on VAG ABS modules. The giveaway is a code that returns the instant it is cleared, on a car with a healthy battery and a clean connector, often with several valve codes stored together.
The valve winding itself. Genuinely uncommon compared with everything above, and it is the only one of these that means replacing the hydraulic unit - so it should be the last conclusion, not the first, and only after the supply, the earths, the connector and the module have all been properly ruled out.

Worth knowing: If more than one valve code is stored at once, do not accept a quote for a new hydraulic unit. A shared supply, a bad earth or the module's solder joints explain several valves at the same time far more plausibly than several valves failing together. Having the existing module tested and rebuilt by an ABS specialist is normally much cheaper than a new unit, and it keeps the car's original coding. If a replacement does turn out to be unavoidable, do not let anyone fit a used unit with a different part number to yours: these are matched to the car's brake system and equipment, and a mismatched one will either refuse to code or behave unpredictably. Any replacement needs coding, and if the hydraulic circuit has been opened it needs a bleed with a tool that can cycle the ABS valves.

Reading the code is the easy part

A code names the circuit that complained. What tells you why is watching the sensor behind it while the engine runs — and that is where a code reader stops and a diagnostic tool starts.

VAGPULSE reads every module in a VW, Audi, Skoda or SEAT — not just the engine — shows the live measuring blocks behind this fault, gives you the freeze-frame conditions it was logged under, and clears it once you have fixed it. It also does what a generic OBD reader cannot on a VAG: service resets, coding, adaptations, and Stage 1–3 flashing with your original file saved first.

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Common questions

What does 00239 mean?

00239 means ABS Solenoid Valve, Rear Left (N57) - Electrical Fault in Circuit. The ECU sees a problem in this circuit but cannot narrow it to a specific short or open. Start at the connector and the wiring before condemning the part.

Can I drive with 00239?

This affects a system that helps you stop or stay straight. Assume ABS and stability control are reduced or switched off until it is fixed.