I guess it was my bad luck the other day driving down the freeway. Something hit my bumper perfectly, and knocked out the front left parking sensor. Now, every time i slow down below 5 mph, the system goes nuts. I have since turned it off. How do i know if the sensor itself is damaged, or maybe it is inside the bumper just bouncing around? Dealer wants $554 to replace that one sensor! I thought the whole parking sensor system was only like $500. Has anyone replaced it? From what i can tell, the part alone is about $280. I figure i don't really have a choice, but i thought this was a good place to vent!

 

Take off ur front bumper and check. The sensors are held by clips and maybe u can just clip it back on. It only takes 5 mins to remove the bumper.

If it's beeping then it's not damaged, it's just detecting an object in front of it, which is the inside of ur bumper cover.

 

Do you have any how-to's on how to remove the bumper? I'm not sure i want to venture into that.

 

Here:

Before u start, I'd recommend u to take some pics before removing it so u know which clips and screws goes where and not end up with extra clips and screws.

Open the hood.

Take out the front covers that covers the radiator and air intake filter area. They're held by push clips. To remove them just push the center part of the clip and lift the cover. Do not lose them! They can easily be dropped into the engine bay and be lost in the dark forever.

After the covers are removed, remove the clips holding the bumper to the frame. Pry them open with a flat head screw driver.

Now look underneath the bumper and remove all the screws (10mm) that are holding the bottom part of the bumper. Remove all except the ones that are holding the splash guard in front of the wheels. There are 6 screws total if I remember correctly. One on each side of the bumper and the rest are in the middle

I'd recommend u take pictures of how the bumper is attached to the front black covers before removing cause it gets tricky when putting it back on later.

Now turn the wheels to the left and remove the little black clips in front of the wheel (2 on each side). Twist and pull.

Then separate the fender liner from the bumper hook. Pull the bumper slightly out and slide the fender liner out of the clip. This may take a little bit of force.

Then you'll see another 10mm screw on the top that's holding the bumper to the fender inside the fender liner. Take that out.

Do the same for the other side.

Then start pulling the bumper from the side until it unhooks form the car. This may need a little bit of force too. Keep an eye out when pulling the headlights area, u may need a flat-head screw driver to help it unhook. You'll see it when you're actually doing this.

Once it unhooks, lift the bumper up from the middle and the whole thing should come off like a mask. Just be careful not to damage the foam shock absorber in the process and watch out for the parking sensors and fog lights wires.

Put some mats or towel on the floor so u won't scratch your bumper when it sits on the floor.

Do the reverse process to reinstall the bumper.

 

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I ended up just taking off the right (3) 10mm bolts, and was able to get my arm underneath. I fished for and found the sensor hanging. I was able to put it back in place and it works!! Saved $554!

Now, i am very disappointed with the dealership. What took me 5 minutes, should have taken them 2. All they had to look at was the fact that it was dislodged, and put it back in place. They just assumed that the sensor was damaged...Should i be upset with the dealership at all?

 

Good job!

On the second part, maybe a little? They should have checked to see if it was only dislodged before quoting you. But in my eyes, no harm, no foul, and problem solved.

 

Pretty typical of a service shop. They won't commit to something until they have has a chance to check it out. Of course this check out takes time, and well, they bill based on time. I would have been shocked had they actually done the same thing you did. They would probably just have replaced the sensor with a new one, even though the old one was still functional. Not many times do you come out ahead in the service or parts department. Service in conjunction with parts are the revenue kings at a dealership!

 

Alright, now u can send me the $554.

 

of course you should. These dealerships look to make money every chance they get.