Parking sensors

[eddie_delaine826]

The problems with my parking sensors are turning into a saga, so apologies that this will be a long post.

One morning about 2 months ago we had a very sharp frost after which the parking sensors immediately stopped working. I did all the usual things of cleaning them etc but this made no difference, so I booked it into a local Jaguar Independent who advertise they have the full Jaguar diagnostics.

When I went to pick it up (about 3 weeks ago) the diagnostics had identified a faulty rear nearside sensor which they replaced. Diagnostics reported all OK but the sensors didn't in fact work. They said they would need their vehicle electrician to look at it (as he could delve deeper into the electronics) when he came back from holiday in 2 weeks time. I was presented with a bill for £371.68 [Diagnostics £140, Sensor £84.74, Strip & replace nearside rear sensor, Lubricants £45.00!?, Specialist (painting sensor) £40 - - all + VAT of course)

Questions: 1 What do main dealers charge for a diagnostic check? 2 What release agent could possibly cost £45? 3 What other lubricants could possibly be required?

On Monday I took the car in again, as agreed. Also, there would be nothing to pay unless they found something new. I picked it up on Tuesday with a further bill for £153.00 all labour [Drop rear bumper, trace fault, disconnect clean and reconnect components due to build up of dirt and corrosion.]

Comment: While modern practice may be to plug the car in and see what the computer says, I would expect the dirt and corrosion to be noted and to be contacted to see if I want to have it cleaned up while the bumper is off. I wouldn't expect it to need a vehicle electrician to see the potential problem.
Question: Is this reasonable?

BUT: Today, I find that while using the car I find it is making the right noises it is not indicating the correct sensor being actuated. The rear corners are shown on the screen reversed from the corner which is actually close to an object, the front sensors do not show up on the corners, but on both corners (and in the middle) the two centre sensors are shown as activated, but the corner sensors are not indicated at all. Everything worked perfectly before they stopped working after the frosty night.

Comment: It seems fairly clear that the rear sensors have been connected up incorrectly.
Questions: 1 Could there be any other explanation? 2 Could something have been done while using the diagnostics which has messed up the operation of the front sensors? 3 Would you expect the operation of the sensors to be actually tested before declaring the job finished when it’s simply a matter of walking round the car with the ignition on?

The car is booked in again on Monday - I have made it clear that they will have to justify in detail if they believe I should pay for any more work. They will also have to justify in detail everything on the two bills I have already paid.

Any insights will be gratefully received - thanks

[andypryce]

Hi Eddie, agree all sounds like a bit of a rip off! Diagnostics cost I would expect to be around £100, if using the correct jaguar autologic system. I presume they have plugged the sensors in incorrectly into the module, pretty unimpressive…

[BrianG]

".. 3 Would you expect the operation of the sensors to be actually tested before declaring the job finished when it’s simply a matter of walking round the car with the ignition on?"

Hi Eddie,
No fancy screen readout on my X350 when it developed a rear sensor fault, the main dealer replaced one sensor first time and the control module in the boot the second time, around £800 in total, ouch! But, I got a complete diagnostic printed report where all eight sensors, front and rear, were individually tested for sensitivity and the resulting maximum detection distance was printed out with the viewing angles of each sensor. I would have expected something similar to this from your main dealer!