Greetings all.

Happy Driver here, but not very happy at the moment...

Yesterday, I noticed that one of the rear parking sensors (near side) on my Superb (PD130 Elegance 2003) has popped in. Odd I thought - could be kids having a laugh - but we do not have those kind of kids around here.

Questions are -

Q1 - How do I get the parking sensor back into position?

Q2 - Having done that, how do I ensure that it does not pop back in again?

Q3 - If it rains (this is the UK), does it greatly matter if water gets in, in the meantime?

I look forward to your replies.

Thanking you greatly in advance.

Happy (but not very) Driver.

really small suction cup. I did not have one, so I superglued a small bolt to the middle of the sensor and pulled it out. Superglue on the sides to fix in place.

Note that this will leave the sensor in usable but not neccessarily aesthetically pleasing shape.

Perhaps double-sided sponge tape could be used to pull the sensor out with less cosmetic damage

mmmm, thank you for that, but superglue sounds a bit severe.

Time to look for a tiny sucker.

Could I access the parking sensor from the back of the bumper I wonder?

Obviously yes, you can access it from the back, I thought you did not want to take bumper off. Remove rear light clusters, 2 screws on each side there, then depending on version 3 to 6 screws underneath and 3 to 4 screws on each side of wheel well liner. two sizes of torx screwdriver and an M10 socket or spanner for rear clusters required.

In any case, at least double-sided tape will be required as the sensors are simply stuck inside the trim.

If you do not have a towbar, some sensors can (theoretically) be accesed without removing the bumper. My hands are too big to do it this way, though.

This has happened to a couple of mine following a replacement bumper. I have managed (just) to get a hand up the back of the bumper to pop the sensor back into place having put a smear of superglue around the empty hole. No problem since!

If the sensor has popped in they are fairly easy to get back. If you lie on the ground at the rear bumper you can put your hand up the inside of the rear bumper and over the metal beam which you will see when you are lying under the car. If you feel your way around that you should be able to feel the wiring and the sensors. Just push it back where it should go. Only the right hand side is difficult to reach the other 3 are fine.

When you say the sensor has 'popped in' - do you mean the sensor unit alone (which is a cylinder shape), or the holder for the sensor too?

If it's just the round bit in the middle - the actual sensor - then this has presumably come loose from its holder (maybe it's been replaced in the past?).

It can be 'easily' reached from underneath and behind the bumper - small hands are a little helpful. If it's the offside corner sensor, the panel behind the wheel arch will need removing first - 2 torx screws and 3 10mm nuts.

These sensors are known to fail - mine were fine for 4 years, then two failed sensors in 4 weeks - so actually glueing them in does not seem a sensible proposition. If the holder has come loose in some way, then I guess DieselV6's procedure is the way to go.

cheers

The actual sensor itself had popped into the bumper.

I have now put it back into position and thought I would detail exactly how it was done to help anyone else in the future.

Many Thanks to all who have helped me.

I did it as follows for the parking sensor located offside rear:

1. Look behind the back wheel and you will find a moulded plastic piece that is connected to the rear bumper by several screws;

2. Undo these screws and there are x2 10mm nuts to remove as well;

3. Remove the plastic trim and then put your hand in and feel for the parking sensor;

4. Put it back in place (yes it is that easy);

5. I then put some duck tape over the back of the sensor to hold it in place to stop a repeat performance;

6. Work backwards from step 3 to 1;

Hey presto, all done - took me 40 minutes, but I was not working quickly.

Many Thanks Everyone