I have an intermittent PDC fault on my 07 Octavia. The garage has traced this to a faulty front sensor. Given the likely cost of them replacing it (somewhere between £150 and £200) and the age/value of the car, I'm wondering how difficult this job might be and whether the bumper needs to come off or if its possible to do it with it in situ.

 

Thanks in advance.

Have a look from underneath and see if you have any access to the offending unit. Highly likely you will need to remove the front bumper. But that is not a big job.

http://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk2/body/body_work/bumper/front_bumper/summary_of_components_of_front_bumper_(octavia_ii)_for_vehicles_up_to_10.08/

 

Genuine parts can be up to £70 or more (depending on the unit fitted) but usually you can find a genuine new item on Ebay or a cheap reproduction much cheaper.  Always a bit of a gamble as to how well the reproductions work or last check feedback or previous posts with linked items.

Edited 23 May, 20179 yr by TheClient

Take a look on http://www.cars-equipment.com/ - they may do individual sensors.

Thanks TheClient, I'd seen this http://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk2/body/body_work/bumper/front_bumper/summary_of_components_of_front_bumper_(octavia_ii)_for_vehicles_up_to_10.08/

and tbh it was making me think it looked a bit complex!

 

Thanks Wardy, they do have individual sensors. Tricky part will be identifying the part number. Is there an online resource for this?

Its a bumper off job but then its quite easy.

You can tell which one is faulty by turning on the pdc and then listening to the sensors.

They make a clicking sound when on.

The non clicky one will be broken.

Part no.s are on the sensor

You can change them without removing the bumper but you will need to remove the headlights and their mounts which means marking the positions of the adjusters before doing so. Even then it's very tight to get at them. 

1 hour ago, StuartA said:

Thanks Wardy, they do have individual sensors. Tricky part will be identifying the part number. Is there an online resource for this?

 

If you email [email protected] and provide your VIN and what you're after, they should be able to confirm what is required in ETKA for you.

 

And they might also be able to provide that part as well. But worth checking a few places, for pricing.

 

I've found it usually works out cheaper obtaining bits from the EU suppliers, even taking into account a bit more in shipping.

You should get something like this back.

 

I was researching retrofitting PDC to my last Fabia.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

How did it turn out?

 

I am about do change a front sensor on my 2007 also and I am reading about how people do this.

The faulty one on mine is front left so I plan on removing the fog light as the sensor is just above it, a little to the left.

 

As most people say and do - no need to take the bumper off.

Well, on the FL vRS I could not see a way to do it without removing the bumper,  but it was not that much of a hassle removing the bumper.  But care required lowering it of mounts  and something like a drop cloth, to sit the bumper on after removal, so it is not scratched on removal. Really need two people.   From posts seen here, maybe there is a possibility on pre FL without bumper.  I tried removing the honeycomb and fog itself but could not get to it.

On the FL VRS you could do it by removing the headlight as I described above, which is what I had done when I fixed my faulty PDC's. Going from underneath I think you encounter a ledge in the moulding of the bumper which stops you getting at the sensors and probably offers a bit of protection to them from the elements.