There was a short with the wiring right behind the steering wheel which caused a puff of smoke, soon after my rear brake lights and my ABS brakes to stop working (the warning light was always on).

They replaced the little arm thingy (technical term) with the light switch on it and everything seems okay now.

I'm including this only because someone else with my car model described problems with brake lights and Anti-lock brake problems. Thought perhaps it could be the same problem