[dkaile]

Skoda Superb 2012 1.8TSI MT - Change ABS Sensor (on any VAG/AUDI/any car) myself and SAVED 6000/- bucks

So last month on my Moradabad road trip I got this on the dashboard and a whole lot of error lights flashed up (as visible) -



While the car was driving absolutely normally, I feared it had something to do with the ABS sensors, which btw is a very common issue with VAG cars. So I drove down to my sparsely maintained Skoda workshop at Meerut, Brite Skoda (they were operating the workshop only 1 day in a week due to some logistics issue) and got the car scanned. The FRONT LEFT ABS sensor was found to be the culprit issue in the scan. As they didn't have the part in their stock, they told me to come next week for replacement and quoted me a princely sum of Rs. 7~7500 bucks for the job (5200/- for the part and rest labour). I contacted a local parts dealer and he said he could arrange a EU manufactured OE part at just 1200 bucks (I could have got it for around 900 bucks from Delhi). So I ordered the part, which arrived next day, and decided to tackle the job myself after seeing some YouTube videos.

This video was helpful -

https://youtu.be/yTSLoxxWry0?si=AoEhRwyE6W9EH6wg

The car was jacked up to remove the front left wheel -



And properly 'double secured' before proceeding -



The job was possible even in the narrow workplace I had -



Here's a view of the culprit ABS sensor secured by just a T30 bolt -



I couldn't detach the top connector as it was too tightly attached. So I decided to remove the T30 screw directly with the connector attached and tackle the removal of the connector with the ABS sensor dislodged (which worked out more convenient). Here's the ABS sensor. When I removed it, it also had a long line a dust at the tip (not visible in the photo as I had cleaned it by then) which in fact could be contributing to the magnetic sensor not relaying the information correctly and the sensor might just be working perfectly -



There was also a lot of gung in the chamber where the sensor is placed which I cleaned out later with Brake Cleaner (which is basically just compressed IPA) -



A closer look at the now cleaned ABS sensor -





And the connector pins inside -



The removed connector. Also notice the now cleaned ABS sensor slot -



A closer look at the locking tab on the connector and the direction it needs to be moved to be unlocked -



The new 'Made in Romania' OE replacement part -





The old and new parts together. Exact same part # was embossed on both -





I also checked and confirmed that the connector was receiving the 12V current by switching the ignition on so as to rule out any wiring issues -



11.6V being received with the ignition in on position and car off -



Also came out my handy anti-seize lubricant and Di-electric grease -



The anti-seize was applied on just the grooved part of the abs sensor while avoiding the tip as stated in Skoda's workshop manual -



And the Di-electric grease was smeared in very little quantity on the connector's contact points -



I did not have the time to test the old sensor after cleaning (I am 90% sure that it will work perfectly after cleaning) and just went ahead with replacing this 1200 bucks part with the new one -



Secured the T30 nut back in place and tightened very slightly (OE recommended Torque is just 9nm) -



And re-attached the connector, hearing a click, back in place. Job completed (after re-attaching the tyre) -



On 1st start after the job, the error and the warning lights still appeared on the dash, but they went off after driving just 10 meters. All warning lights and error messages off and things back to normal -



A nice saving of 6000 bucks for a 30 minutes job.

Cheers...

[dkaile]

Latest photo of the caaar from last month's trip -



Cheers...

[vamsi.vadrevu]

This is a fantastic DIY tutorial for anyone wanting to get their hands dirty on their cars! Thank you so much the the write up. If an abs sensor replacement can be this easy on a German car, I'm sure many people would be willing to work on their own vehicles which are bound to be easier than this.

[anandtheleo]

Superb DIY and the way you have captured the pic for each step is very helpful.

[Jeroen]

Excellent job! Well done and documented!

Your were lucky the sensor came out so easily.. Although it should be a very straight forward job, very often it turns nasty. The most frequent problem is the sensor just being stuck solid.

Depending on how it is fitted, it will mean drilling it, or punching it out. Which on a number of cars means you must take the wheel hub off!

Jeroen

[viren83]

While everyone talks about the VW Dual Clutch gearboxes, ABS sensor is such a nasty piece of part that fails so often. We've had 3 ABS sensors replaced in our Polo 1.0 highline AT, out of which 2 were done in the last 2 months! The service incharge admitted that ABS sensors were a frequent issue in previous gen VW cars, not found in the new range of cars that they sell today.

Originally Posted by dkaile

I contacted a local parts dealer and he said he could arrange a EU manufactured OE part at just 1200 bucks (I could have got it for around 900 bucks from Delhi).

Cant believe that you did this on own in such a short span. Superb
Good savings, can you please share the details of both the vendors here so others can benefit.

Does anyone else have Mumbai FNG contacts who works on such stuff?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Excellent job! Well done and documented!

Your were lucky the sensor came out so easily.. Although it should be a very straight forward job, very often it turns nasty. The most frequent problem is the sensor just being stuck solid.

Thanks Jeroen. I too was prepared for it being stuck in my 12 year old car with it's first ABS sensor failure, and was thinking I would need to wiggle it out. But perhaps as it was a low mileage car, the sensor came out very easily. And also, I presume, it must have been fitted with anti seize from the factory. This makes the task of replacement easier the next time around.

Originally Posted by viren83

While everyone talks about the VW Dual Clutch gearboxes, ABS sensor is such a nasty piece of part that fails so often. We've had 3 ABS sensors replaced in our Polo 1.0 highline AT, out of which 2 were done in the last 2 months!

can you please share the details of both the vendors here so others can benefit.

Bad luck for you. But as I said, it's the 1st sensor failure for me in the last 12 years. Not that frequent I would presume. Perhaps I was lucky.

The vendor I got it from is a small neighborhood shop, so no use giving his details here. If I could get it so easily in a small city like Meerut, you should too definitely get it with ease at any good spare parts dealer in your city. Just get out there and inquire. It's not as hard as you are presuming. One big Delhi dealer I know is Mahajan Automobiles, Lajpat Nagar (011-29817215), if that helps.

Cheers...

[rishabhsharma]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Skoda Superb 2012 1.8TSI MT - Change ABS Sensor (on any VAG/AUDI/any car) myself and SAVED 6000/- bucks

Thank you so much for posting this, was facing the same issue in my 2018 skoda Octavia. Steering got unnecessarily hard at low speeds, park assists (sensor/camera) stopped working, along with some other things.




Ordered one from skoda but labour was quite expensive. But then I stumbled upon this thread. Me and my friend fixed it yesterday. It was a 30-40 minute job!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDUUd...VlZ3Jvaml2c3Np