*Sigh* pushed-in front parking sensors...

[Jakester]

So, does anyone have any bright ideas for extracting a 'pushed in' parking sensor?

 

I realised a parking sensor was loose when I recently washed the car. There's no evidence of any impact damage and the car was in warranty so I raised with the local dealership. They advised it's a bumper off job and sort of hummed and hah'd about any warranty issues. 

 

Anyway, it was loose but was working fine, so I haven't followed it up. This was only a month or so though.  

 

However, it's just been in for some new brakes, and as I collect the loose parking sensor is going spare. I pull over round the corner and check and it looks like the sensor has now been pushed further into the bumper than it was, causing it to trigger every time the car slows down enough to register an obstruction.

 

I presume some well-meaning soul at the dealership has cleaned the car (couldn't tell as it's chucking it down!) and when doing so, has managed to inadvertently push the already-loose sensor back into the bumper.

 

I called them from round the corner (raining, remember?) and they said to call tomorrow. Assuming they won't agree it's a warranty issue in the short term, has anyone successfully extracted a parking sensor so I don't have to drive round until I persuade them otherwise with it doing my nut? 

 

I am thinking something like a hot glue stick, melted and pushed against the sensor might work, but the problem is it's obviously very loose and the last thing I want to do is lose it inside the bumper!

 

Any help gratefully received!

Edited 4 July, 2023 by Jakester

[Bap33]

Hi,

Is it on front or rear bumper?

If on rear bumper, you can push them out from the inner side of the bumper, if you lay on the floor under the car. It requires quite thin hands, but it's feasible without any disassembly.

If on the front bumper, it may be more tricky and probably requires partial disassembly of the font bumper (never done it myself, just guessing). May be feasible if you lay under the car and remove the acoustic panel under the engine bay, but never tried either.

[nicknorman]

Removing the front bumper isn’t hugely difficult. Just quite a few screws to remove the wheel arch linings and under tray, then a couple of screws at the top and a couple where the bumper meets the wing each side. A bit time consuming, but not difficult.
If the sensor has been pushed in then there is a  possibility that some little plastic bit is broken, but bodgery might fix it!

[Jakester]

14 hours ago, Bap33 said:

Hi,

Is it on front or rear bumper?

If on rear bumper, you can push them out from the inner side of the bumper, if you lay on the floor under the car. It requires quite thin hands, but it's feasible without any disassembly.

If on the front bumper, it may be more tricky and probably requires partial disassembly of the font bumper (never done it myself, just guessing). May be feasible if you lay under the car and remove the acoustic panel under the engine bay, but never tried either.

 

Front, unfortunately. 

 

11 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Removing the front bumper isn’t hugely difficult. Just quite a few screws to remove the wheel arch linings and under tray, then a couple of screws at the top and a couple where the bumper meets the wing each side. A bit time consuming, but not difficult.
If the sensor has been pushed in then there is a  possibility that some little plastic bit is broken, but bodgery might fix it!

 

Maybe for some, but I don't have the space to do it - I don't fancy attempting it on the public road. 

[J.R.]

If you put it in the dealer you will have not only the inflated and exaggerated labour charges but they wont do any bodgery when they can hit you for the price of a new bumper plus painting, of course they wont mention that until the car is in pieces.

[Jakester]

2 hours ago, J.R. said:

If you put it in the dealer you will have not only the inflated and exaggerated labour charges but they wont do any bodgery when they can hit you for the price of a new bumper plus painting, of course they wont mention that until the car is in pieces.

 

Hmm, I think even a main dealer might struggle to claim it needs a new bumper...

[Jakester]

Ah, thankfully figured out last night you can stop the parking sensors from activating automatically, so at least I'm not plagued with bleeping all the time when in slow traffic!

[Graham Butcher]

I have the same problem, my 2nd from edge O/S/F sensor has become pushed in, is it at all possible to reach this and push it back flush without having to dismantle the front bumper at all? I was thinking that maybe a rubber band threaded through the hole and the sensor pushed back in with the rubber band "wedged" between it and the hole would be enough to hold the sensor in place.

[ApertureS]

The brackets are sold individually if they’ve came loose. The replacements are double sided taped inside the bumper but the tape isn’t amazing, needs an adhesive primer to do a proper job at it!

 

or just use a good plastic weld epoxy 

[Jakester]

On 30/10/2023 at 08:41, Graham Butcher said:

I have the same problem, my 2nd from edge O/S/F sensor has become pushed in, is it at all possible to reach this and push it back flush without having to dismantle the front bumper at all? I was thinking that maybe a rubber band threaded through the hole and the sensor pushed back in with the rubber band "wedged" between it and the hole would be enough to hold the sensor in place.

 

I'm afraid I can't give an answer as I ended up getting it done by a bodyshop - unfortunately some scrote decided to rearrange the creases on my passenger side doors with their feet when I was parked in town on a Friday night, so took the opportunity to get it done when the car was in then. 

 

I did think of using a glue stick heated and then stuck to the sensor to pull it back into place.

[Graham Butcher]

3 hours ago, Jakester said:

 

I'm afraid I can't give an answer as I ended up getting it done by a bodyshop - unfortunately some scrote decided to rearrange the creases on my passenger side doors with their feet when I was parked in town on a Friday night, so took the opportunity to get it done when the car was in then. 

 

I did think of using a glue stick heated and then stuck to the sensor to pull it back into place.

OK, thanks anyway, I have booked it in at the stealers on the 8th Dec to have the new engine under tray fitted to help quieten the engine down and also add some aerodynamics, and they have ordered the correct tray as the one the car supplier supplied was not correct. The stealer is at the same time addressing the front sensors with some new clips for the sensors, as they say that they are not correctly lined up anyway.