Bit of advice needed: RE Parking Sensors on new car

[fatbadger]

I picked up my new vRS TDI on Friday, absolutely love it.

I do however have one annoyance. I ordered dealer fitted parking sensors to get a car quickly with all the options I wanted. I thought this would mean I'd have the OEM Skoda sensors connected up to the stream unit. This has not happened. I have some other random ones with the bleeper unit on show fitted to the side shelf in the boot. :thumbdwn::eek: The noise is so loud it's almost deafening and they seem to have a mind of their own. They bleep like mad when there is nothing behind me. Now admittedly it has been raining most of the weekend, but I did at one point wipe the rain off and they still bleeped randomly when there was a bush over 2 meters away.

I also got some more random bleeping when reversing up a hill out of a drive down the pavement onto the road, and there was absolutely nothing behind me. I'm confused, a bit annoyed and needing some helpful advice on what to do about this?

What should I do?

Steve

[ap0gee1978]

What should I do?

Steve

Take it back to the dealer and politely ask them to put it right for you? You've just splashed a wd of cash in their direction, so it's the least they could do for you...

(They are adjustable AFAIK... )

[fatbadger]

Thanks!!!

Defo gotta take it back. It's very embarrassing as well when taking people out for a spin the brand new car. :(

Any ideas of what my position is on them installing the non standard OEM sensors that dont connect to the stream?

Steve

[apd007]

AFAIK the only sensors that connect up to the Stream head unit are the factory fit ones. Sorry.

I've got them on my car, and tbh, it's cool for passengers but I still look in the mirrors instead of looking at my stereo, I use the parking sensors as an additional aid.

[ap0gee1978]

Thanks!!!

Defo gotta take it back. It's very embarrassing as well when taking people out for a spin the brand new car. :(

Any ideas of what my position is on them installing the non standard OEM sensors that dont connect to the stream?

Steve

I presume it wouldn't be covered by the warranty, although your rights under the Sale of Goods Act should still apply. I would argue that the system / installation was not of merchandable quality if it gives you so many false alarms and is annoyingly loud.

[Tom_vRS]

Hmmm, is this car BRAND NEW? Did you pay the list price for factory fit parking sensors??

How long was it between ordering the car and receiving it?

I suspect what may of happened is the a car was in stock/on order with all the options you wanted except parking sensors, so the dealer took delivery of it and retrofitted sensors.

A bit sneaky, and would only have been acceptable had they fitted the OEM sensors to your car. Some cheapo aftermarket kit is a mickey take, and I'd not have accepted delivery of the car at all.

Approach the dealer politely about it, and let us know what they say.

EDIT - I should have read your post properly.

The dealer fit sensors should be the genuine Skoda ones, these don't sound like those tbh.

[apd007]

Dealer fit and factory fit are two different things though.

[Guest parsko]

I had my sensors fitted by the dealer when I purchsed the Rooscout. The instructions were badged as Seat and the install was very neat with no visable wires or speakers. These also dont intigrate with the Dance Head unit but i only found out the factory fit ones did some time after the purchase. My advice would be this is just a bit of fluff realy as we should be watching where we are reversing and not at our radio dispay.It is possible that the factory fit kit is not able to be retro fitted.

Did you request or make clear to the dealer you wanted it to intigrate with the display at the time of purchase?

I would return o the dealer ask them to tidy up the install (speaker) and check that one of the sensors is not faulty.

[fatbadger]

Thanks for all the very quick replies guys.

Yes the car is BRAND NEW and took just over 1 week for delivery. The car was picked from stock with all the options I wanted apart from the sensors.

I knew the dealer was fitting the sensors and paid full price so expected OEM sensors.

I did not notice the parking sensors were not OEM until friday evening when a mechanic friend of mine said what the hell is that, and pointed to the bleeper unit on your side shelf. Whoops!!! Does not look good at all.

Saturday was when I noticed the random bleeping.

I shall ask them politely because they have been nothing but nice with me, but I don't see why I should be paying for an install that is not in my opinion 100%

I need to pop in there tomorrow so will be chatting to them then.

I shall let you know!!

Thanks again

Steve

[VRStu]

Did you agree to them being fitted and if so do you feel you were mislead?

If you feel strongly about it then I would reject the car.

I would imagine they wanted the car registered before the end of the quarter.

You will have to act quickly - Certainly in the first 14 days. Also if you have a finance agreement consider using them.

[PumpeDuse]

effectively it is a new car now, because the dealer has tinkered with it.

[scoobynut]

that's shocking- I'd be mortified. I thought the dealer fit was putting the OEM parts in....you surely wouldn't expect to pay list option price for such a poor bit of kit?

Sounds like an advert I saw for JML parking sensors. The horror.

JML Parking Sensor

Sorry to hear about your problem :-( Good luck. I'm all for politeness, but don't forget you have to live with this.

[fordfan]

If you specified dealer fit, this is what I would expect them to fit:

Skoda Accessories

Which even though it has a Skoda part number, it is the same kit that a lot of manufacturers specify as an accessory.

With regard to warranty, the rule used to be that any accessory fitted at PDi carried the same warranty as the car and any fitted at a later date had the standard parts warranty.

It seems to me that the dealer fitted parking sensors as per your instructions maybe they should have told you that they would not be connected to the radio or it did not occur to them that you would assume that they would or you didn't ask.

It sounds to me that they haven't been set up correctly or the control box may be faulty, polish in the sensors is also a favourite for an inaccurate signal.

[VRStu]

With regard to warranty, the rule used to be that any accessory fitted at PDi carried the same warranty as the car and any fitted at a later date had the standard parts warranty.

I think that is still the case.

[G.K.]

I had my sensors fitted by the dealer when I purchsed the Rooscout. The instructions were badged as Seat and the install was very neat with no visable wires or speakers. These also dont intigrate with the Dance Head unit but i only found out the factory fit ones did some time after the purchase. My advice would be this is just a bit of fluff realy as we should be watching where we are reversing and not at our radio dispay.It is possible that the factory fit kit is not able to be retro fitted.

Did you request or make clear to the dealer you wanted it to intigrate with the display at the time of purchase?

I would return o the dealer ask them to tidy up the install (speaker) and check that one of the sensors is not faulty.

I have found out that the factory fitted sensors don't integrate with the Columbus head unit either. Bit of a disappointment after getting used to the Audience unit muting the music and supplying you with the diagram of the car and which sensor is activated. A shame considering the cost involved.

[scoobynut]

that's interesting. The after market ones (link above) is £125. The factory option is £260.

Do you have to add labour costs onto the £125??

[VRStu]

Yes. The price on the website is exclusive of labour.

[scoobynut]

wow that was quick Stu . I just re read the Skoda website and was going to correct my post.

In that case if the cost was close to £260 you'd expect it to be the same product (well I would).

Funny, the dealer told me that maxidot was a waste of time and they could add the rear sensors. Now I know that was so they could shift a stock car.

So glad I ordered one to be built :-)

[fatbadger]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I really appreciate it.

The picture from the Skoda Accessories page shows the exact same bleeper unit that is sitting on my side shelf in the boot.

Today I shall chat with them and I'm hoping this can be rectified ASAP. Fingers crossed.

I shall post what happens later on.

Thanks again.

Steve

[EddyH]

With the retrofit kit I would expect the bleeper to be installed inside the b-pillar, there shouldn't be anything visible.

[Stefan_b]

The kit sold as accessory is definitely not the same brand or build as the factory one.

There are many reasons for them to be different - primo, the OEM ones have different sensors, that use a support bracket that is attached to the bumper. Fitting these to the standard bumper is not allowed by the factory, and replacing the bumper is out of question.

Secundo, the cabling required to install the OEM unit requires a fair amount of trim dismantling. Been there, done that.

I believe the OP's issue with the sensors is related to their placement - they should be at least 50cm above ground, and pointing slightly upwards, otherwise echoes from the ground interfere with the system's operation.

As all the others before, I recommend that de dealer be paid a visit.

As to rejecting the car for such an issue... hmmm... I would not even think about it.

[motr]

With the retrofit kit I would expect the bleeper to be installed inside the b-pillar, there shouldn't be anything visible.

Just to point out, re the bleeper unit. Owned two new Fabia estates between 2002 and 2004 and both had factory fitted parking sensors. The 1st one had no sign of the bleeper unit, however, the second one was next to the speaker on the passenger side in the boot.

It was all very neat and made no difference to me whatsoever, but I did find it strange at the time.

[VRStu]

however, the second one was next to the speaker on the passenger side in the boot.

That's Retrofit.

The original Retrofit kits had enough cable and the instructions were to mount the bleep in the B pillar near the seatbelt. They introduced a slightly different kit with a different buzzer.

The early kit - Fabia-vrs.com - Park Distance Control RetroFit Guide

[motr]

That's Retrofit.

The original Retrofit kits had enough cable and the instructions were to mount the bleep in the B pillar near the seatbelt. They introduced a slightly different kit with a different buzzer.

The early kit - Fabia-vrs.com - Park Distance Control RetroFit Guide

When the car came into the dealer Stu, I see it within 30 minutes of arriving as I worked just down the road. Everything was the same as the 02 car, albeit the bleeper in a different place.

The sensors were all in the bumper etc......

[mikel543]

Hi

Like the OP I've got the retro fit sensors on my VRS, the reason I got the retro fit ones was because the dealer said that I'd have to wait quite a while for the factory ones and that there would be extra cost involved, due to a special offer expiring.

In fairness to the dealer I went to they did point out that they wouldn't link to the radio and that they wouldn't be as good as the factory fit ones. I asked if it was possible to retro fit the factory ones and the answer was no as this meant changing the bumper and I also think there was an issue with the ECU. Also my dealer kindly painted them to match the colour of the car so that they didn't stick out like a saw thumb on the rear bumper. I can't see any of the workings on the sounder so it looks like the dealer I went to did a really neat job.

As with the OP these sometimes go off randomly when reversing down a steep hill as they sense the road. However it isn't really possible to mount them any higher due to the shape of the rear bumper on the VRS. My mate has the factory fit ones on his VRS and his bumper is a slightly different shape with little recesses where the sensors go.

The way I look at them is as an aid rather than relying on them for parking. I mostly rely on looking out the rear window and find the rear spoiler great for judging where the back of my car is with relation to other cars.

I find the sensors quite good at short range and not so good further away from obstacles and definitely not as good as the ones I had on my elegance before. BTW they've already payed for themselves once by saving me from hitting a 2 foot high post which my local council stuck at the end of a parking bay with a nice sign on it saying I couldn't stay for more than an hour (nice one). There was absolutely no way I could see this out of the rear window when I was backing into the space as it was too low, so IMHO they were well worth the extra 250 quid.

But if the OP is not entirely happy maybe he should go back and talk to the dealer. It sounds like his dealer didn't properly explain what he was getting and maybe he has some room for negtoiation there.