Parking Sensors

fred246

Just looking for some new parking sensors for my 2004 VW. There are loads of unbranded ones on ebay. Very few genuine. Has anyone had experience of the unbranded ones? Are they OK? Thanks

custardy

New to fit or new to replace existing ones?

fred246

To replace existing ones that are faulty. Thanks.

Geoff1963

Unbranded means no guarantee. That means they probably won't last 10 years in the extremes of climate that the originals would, but nor will most of the rest of a 13 year-old car.

The important thing is to ensure they are compatible, which the seller should be able to tell you. If they fail, they are more likely to not work at all, which you'll know when you plug them in ; rather than indicating the wrong distance. Another thing to watch for is water ingress.

fred246

Interestingly the one that has failed is indicating the wrong distance in a dangerous way. IE always on maximum distance.

Joe_Horner

Fitted 3 sets of the el cheapo "beep beep" versions off ebay (about a tenner delivered from some sellers!). Haven't bothered with the ones that actually show distance because I tend to be looking out the car rather than at a display so didn't see a need for that.

All 3 sets have worked fine, all give a clear and consistent indication, and none seem to suffer from false triggering. They switch to a continuous tone at around 30cm which is generally close enough!

Easy to fit as well. Can't go wrong with plug-in sensors and two wires - one ground and one to the reverse light for power when reverse is selected. Took between about 30 and 90 minutes depending on how hard it was to drill the bumper and route the wires into the car.

Muscle750

The only thing you gotta watch is that the plugs are the same if connecting to existing wiring etc , obviously you can fit the whole kit, to be honest they are more trouble than they are worth

Geoff1963

Interestingly the one that has failed is indicating the wrong distance in a dangerous way. IE always on maximum distance.

So when it is plugged in, it reads maximum distance ? What about when it is unplugged ?
Some systems give a chirp while they are working, regardless of distance ; and give no chirp if they are faulty ( = one missing ).

It might be that the plugged-in sensor ( faulty ) is telling system that all is well, so it gives the steady chirp. I can see how that would be worse than useless. :eek:
.

Muscle750

You also have to install them with the small indent at the top if you dont they wont read properly

Strider590

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Fitted 3 sets of the el cheapo "beep beep" versions off ebay (about a tenner delivered from some sellers!). Haven't bothered with the ones that actually show distance because I tend to be looking out the car rather than at a display so didn't see a need for that.

All 3 sets have worked fine, all give a clear and consistent indication, and none seem to suffer from false triggering. They switch to a continuous tone at around 30cm which is generally close enough!
.

Oddly enough this seems to be the story from most people who've fitted the cheap ones. The only people i've heard slating them so far, are the people who've got them as standard fit on their car.