I've got an '06 Octi II with the standard factory fit rear parking sensors and a NZ made (factory approved - read NZ Agent approved) towbar fitted. It seems that the parking sensors are picking up the towbar. However, they are not triggering constantly all the time, just intermittantly and occasionally not at all! I don't believe it is the towbar but one or all of the sensors/ECU. :confused:

The dealer has tried painting the towball cover black and trying a towball that has a removable ball etc etc. I took the towball off recently and tried it - no change.

The car is booked in to have a rejigged towbar fitted - we'll see if I'm right or not then I suppose...

Anyone else had any issues of this nature?

Also, apparently no one else in NZ has had any issues with the same towbar kit.... go figure.

Sounds to me like you're right and it's more likely the sensors. But you never know

Maybe they damaged a sensor connection wire when they fitted the towbar.

What make of towbar is it? How's the fit? I'm looking at getting one for my Mk1 when funds allow.

Yeah who knows - It's spent so many hours @ Giltraps so far, what's a few more gonna hurt!

The bar is made by Best Bars in Penrose and is brilliantly fitted - can't complain about the workmanship - very tidy. Apparently it takes the best part of the day to fit to the MkII - not sure for yours tho.

Good luck.

Ah, I spoke to them briefly. They have a Wellington agent. I'll go and have a word, get a price from them.

There are known issues with the sensors and a revised part is now in use. Also you can log in with VAG-COM to the PDC controller and tell it you have a towbar fitted.

thanks for that Stu. pls excuse the ignorance but is logging into VAG-COM something I can do or is it a job for the dealer. also can you provide info (poss part #'s) on the replacement part. I like to go to the dealer fully prepared, that way I'll know both if they have any idea and/or if they are having me on. cheers Marcus

It's a dealer thing - they sometimes try to charge you for the service (basically connection to their diagnostic computer to change settings) In your case they shoudl do it for free if it's an ongoing issue. If not...

I have access to VAG-COM but I'm 700km from you

Or join up to VASK Forum - Index and there is bound to be someone on there who has VAG-COM in Auckland and will help you out. Nice bunch of lads (and the odd lass)

Afraid I don't have the number for the parts.

As Rob says it's either the dealer tool (VAS) or the publicly available tool (VAG-COM).

I have just spoken with a local guy who specialises in Euro cars and has done a fair bit of work on Skodas in the UK. He has a BOSCH diagnostics system that he can plug into the car with - do you think that this will allow him to change that setting? I wouldn't be surprised if my dealer hadn't made the change to let the car know it has a towbar. Marcus

I have a similar problem. Factory fit rear sensors on a Mk II estate, and a witter flange type towbar fitted. I get the sensors "playing up" intermittently.

It has had 2 sensors replaced (I'm told), and they were going to replace the other 2, but when it went in for this, they couldn't reproduce the problem again (although it happens a lot), and no faults were showing, so it wasn't done. They said the car is set up for towing.

After several trips back to the garage, I unbolted the towball because I wanted to fit a bumper protector plate . I was going to wait until they had fixed the problem before adding more obstacles to detect, but gave up waiting. Hey presto, with the towball removed, the problem seems to go away. Put it back on again, and they start beeping again! I haven't pushed the garage to replace the other 2 sensors because I no longer think it will help.

If there is a solution, I'd like to know what it is (even if it is along the lines of disconnecting the 2 middle sensors).

Is it possible that it is still the sensors? What are the known problems with them.

Ok interesting, I wish the removal of the towball had made a difference for my vehicle - then I'd know it was just an adjustment issue. Apparently last ime it was in they found a sensor to be faulty so changed it and possibly one other - didnt make a skerrick of difference. One other thing - apparently the genuine factory tow kits enable detection of the trailer wiring present and deactivate the sensors - is this true? If so how hard would it be to replicate on a non genuine factory one?

I'll keep you posed on progress - next visit to the shop - Mon 21st May....

marcus

I'm sure you're right that the skoda factory fit sensors deactivate when towing. I'm not sure how they do this. I was thinking it could be a relay activated by the current going to reversing lights, but maybe not - they are on the 12S plug (in the UK) and trailers wouldn't normally have reversing lights anyway. I can only think that it detects something is plugged in by it checking that it has a circuit through some of the trailer bulbs. I think I have seen kits for doing this somewhere. How easy they would be to fit, I don't know.

Mine don't deactive when towing, but I can live with that. I'm not sure I can live with them detecting the towball when not towing, although I think I'm getting used to it now.

Like I said the PDc controller can be told that there is a towbar fitted, it's nothing to do with disconnecting anything.

As for the Bosch kit I'm afraid I wouldn't know but if I were a betting man I'd say no.

I would assume that the PDc will only detect you are towing when something is plugged into the towing electric socket - also, I wonder if it needs to be a proper Skoda towbar - a lot of the third party towbar electric kits simply break into the wiring behind the lights to provide the connections - few use a proper CANbus connection module. It maybe that the PDc can only detect when a proper CANbus connection module is used.

However, a well designed towbar should not trigger the reversing sensors (in my opinion).

On my "other" car (where I ended up with a third party towbar kit - which means that when reversing with something attached I still get a constant tone, instead of no tone), there is no interference between the towbar and the sensors. Certainly the only difference had I got the manufacturers kit would have been a lack of tone when something was attached whilst reversing. My understanding of that car was that the manufacturer kit would have been a true CANbus module, whereas the kit I got simply connected into the existing light circuits.

I got the impression when talking to one of the guys that it did interface with the canbus as that was part of the justification for the astronomical price!

Ok - but that is still likely to only disable the sensors whilst something is attached - the sensors should be unaffected when driving without anything (in my opinion).