Hi all, first time posting here but I have been lurking for a few weeks now since getting hold of an Octavia. Basically my parking sensors aren't working (not the end of the world but would be nice to have them). The rear bumper definitely has them mounted (unless they're just blanks?), but none of that beepy goodness, the usual display of the car on the head unit display also doesn't show up when in reverse... But it does briefly flick on and then immediately off again when taking it OUT of reverse. Any ideas as to what's happening? I also don't have a 'P' button on the climatronic unit, although I have read that this is only a thing on ones that have the front parking sensors as well?

 

This is for an '07 (so, pre-facelift) Octavia MK2 Laurin & Klement if that helps at all? To be fair, I have yet to check whether they click (I'm an Electronic Engineering student so I know that ultrasound sensors do have that faint clicking sound), and I also haven't got myself an OBD2 tool, let alone the fancy skoda/VAG group specific ones. But yeah, any help/simple things to try would be appreciated, and I can (try and) send pics if needed.

 

Regards,

Adam

If you have an L&K then they will be factory parking sensors.

 

Usually one of them has failed, and when one stops the entire system is disabled.

 

First port of call is to check around each for a clicking sound as you've said.

 

 

I just checked this afternoon and all 4 sensors on the rear bumper are clicking as they should be (ingnition 'ON', engine off, reverse engaged).

 

Again though, no tone at all - not even the faulty device one - and again, no display of the vehicle and sensor bars on the head unit.

Could be the speaker that has gone faulty.

 

It's all disabled if the speaker doesn't work either.

 

A diagnostic scan would confirm what the car thinks is at fault

Going by the age of the car you could have wire/connector issues or bad Parking Distance module.

 

Ask a friendly garage for a quick diagnostic scan or find someone local to you on here to scan before you go investigating.

In hindsight, I probably should have checked this before, but according to this thread a broken beeper (as suggested by softscoop) would indeed seem to fit my symptoms - including no dash display. Given that the speaker causes the system to disable, and since the beeper is only £10 on eBay, and it's mounted behind the passenger-side B-pillar trim (allegedly), I may just have a crack at replacing that myself? Better to possibly waste £10 guessing wrong than possibly waste £40 on a scan just to confirm my suspicion, right?

 

Also, I would've thought if it was wiring to/from the sensors, or the control module itself, then one or more of the sensors wouldn't be clicking (i.e. the signal either wouldn't be getting sent out to them in the first place, or wouldn't be getting through to the sensor to be audible)? I could be very wrong on these last points of course 😅

So, having recently purchased an official HEX-V2 cable (only the 3-VIN version, though), It did indeed come up saying that the speaker/sounder/beeper/whatever is at fault. Just thought I'd clear that up because I hate when threads just get left without a proper conclusion.

 

Also, just to clarify, here are the symptoms I was experiencing (for those without access to VCDS):

1. When selecting reverse gear, no display appears on the stereo display, nor is there any sound at all (no beeping, nor a continuous tone).
2. When coming out of reverse, a 'picture' of the vehicle flashed up on the stereo display briefly (probably for less than half a second), and still no audible alert.
3. All 4 parking sensors on the rear bumper were working - confirmed by switching the ignition (but not the engine) on and putting my ear against each sensor in turn. You should be able to hear a faint clicking sound a few times per second from all 4 of the sensors.

Hopefully this is of use to someone down the line, and cheers for the pointers along the way, I'm realising this forum is a bit of a gold mine.

 

Finally, if and when I get around to fitting a replacement speaker, I will try and remember to take photos/keep a log of what I had to do to replace it.

The beeper speaker is an easy fix. Did this myself a few years back. Pull the B pillar trim off. The speaker is held in place with two small plastic rivets with a removable centre core. Poke the core through and remove the speaker. The core/rivets are small so make sure you don't drop them into the pillar. Put new speaker in. Replace rivets. Put pillar trim back in place. This is probably the hardest bit.

 

Good luck.

Likely the final installment in this thread then, the new speaker is in place and all is back working now. Thanks for the advice Golf-Fiend (and everyone else, of course), definitely came in useful for knowing what to expect. For anyone else in the future, I made a video talking through how I went about it, and showing what stuff actually looks like.

 

On 23/11/2021 at 17:15, TheHungriestBadger said:

I just checked this afternoon and all 4 sensors on the rear bumper are clicking

Many thanks for this topic as the above helped me to find the exact sensor on my superb which had a broken wire... It was an easy fix once identified... cheers for this

I'm so grateful for this thread. This has tonight happened on my 2006 octavia estate. One minute the rear sensors were working, the next minute I had the long beep when putting it in reverse and then nothing, no beeping, no pic on the screen, nothing until I took it out of reverse when the pic of the car popped up briefly and then disappeared again. I didn't know about the clicking coming from the sensors so checked this and one out of the four is not making any sound at all so this one must've failed. Does that mean all four need to be replaced or can you replace just one? I guess it's a trip to the garage but at least I know what to tell them, even though they'll still want to charge me for a diagnostic!

Hi Lucie, should only need to replace the dead one, and shouldn't need any coding or anything either, the actual sensors themselves are relatively 'dumb' so to speak. If you're lucky and have a common colour, it should be a direct swap. I'd be hesitant to paint them since it could affect the sensitivity of the replacement one relative to the others. Having said that, I'm sure plenty of people have simply spray painted them and been fine.

Mine is grey, and I also already have the colour coded spray paint for other bits that have needed touching up. I might not be brave enough to spray a sensor though! One question, the failed sensor is the nearside one - any idea about the access point which I assume is under the bumper somewhere?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll leave it to the professionals to give the exact details but I believe they are indeed just clipped into the bumper, feel free to do a quick Google search on whether or not you can spray them safely, and if so, what the best procedure is for doing so.

 

I guess you could always try the sensor as is and just verify that it works as it should. If it does, feel free to paint it and then retest. If they're not too expensive, just grab another if it no longer works after painting.

@Lucie33

 

The procedure to replace a rear parking sensor is fairly rough and tumble, meaning you'll need strong hands and will be laying under the car.

 

It's all in this forum, I know I posted it... somewhere in this section!

 

Don't be afraid to give the sensors the minimum spray for colour matching, it's accumulated dirt that gives erroneous signals.