[4nd3r50n]

I had a Polo GT and now have a Tiguan. The right ABS sensor failed after about 4 years of ownership on the Polo and that was the only one. The car was in ship shape otherwise. The Tiguan has not faced that issue yet in the two years that we have. Personally, I think part failures can happen on any car, irrespective of the brand- and there are multiple brands on this forum which have been called out with serious issues. One thing that comes to mind is a conversation that I'd had with a VW SA a long time back. He had told me to never pressure wash the engine bay and the wheels. The engine bay because VW does not recommend using water inside the engine bay as it is loaded with sensors and electronics, including the ECU. The wheels because the pressure washing could affect the ABS sensor including depositing muck on the sensor which over a period of time will damage it. Regular water or foam/shampoo wash is more than enough for cleaning the car. Followed that advice, and except that one issue with the front right ABS sensor, all was good.
Will I sell off my car if the ABS sensor fails 4 times in 4 years? No. Because I also don't know if the next car I buy will not come with it's own set of issues. If it does, then do I sell that car and buy another one?
On a side note, why did I buy another VW after selling off another? Given the horror stories on the forum, why would I want to spend 32 really big ones on a car brand that most people label here as unreliable, horrible service et al? Because I was happy with my car! It made me smile when I drove it! It did not throw tantrums nor once did it let me down. Not once did I have any major issues. And that story still continues, touchwood. I made sure the car was maintained from time to time- maintenance checkups and all. No outside garages to change/replace components to save a few bucks unless they and I knew what we were doing. I do have an FNG handy and a VCDS to satisfy my curiosity pangs- but that's about it. FNG only when I know that I do not need to visit the service center for the issue at hand and I can manage it myself. Otherwise, all issues were resolved at the service center.
A few other things that I did and still do:
I usually stick to one or two SAs to look after the car and not pass it to anyone who the service center assigns. I think it helps to talk to SAs at the service center and maintain a relationship with them. Maybe not everyone has the time, but frankly, it is your car and you must know what's being done to it and by who. Also, there is the human aspect. I've seen many customers behave as if they own the SAs, screaming and using bad language at the slightest of issues- even blatantly lying to save money on the work done. I'm not insinuating that people here do it, but I'm sure that you have come across such types at one place or the other and you know what I am talking about. Being polite and courteous with your SA, can sometimes make their day as well!
Know your car. While most people look at it as only a mode of transport (hence the sale of GNCAP vehicles with 0 stars), some love their cars! Read the manual and have a basic sense of how your car is doing. Check it yourself from time to time. I believe that will be helpful in having a long trouble-free, relationship with your vehicle.
Hope this helps!

[RoadAtlas]

Originally Posted by Im_Abhisek

When the ABS Sensor fails :

1. Brakes becomes equivalent to non-ABS vehicles.
2. The steering too gate affected - the lack of feedback on speed makes the steering feel lighter - need to be a tad more alert on sharp bends.

First point is actually correct and tested in first person. My friend, a typical Maruti guy bought a Polo 1.2 Petrol two years earlier. Within one year the ABS light came on. VW Workshop quoted ~60k for replacement of the entire ABS unit.

He freaked out, kept driving the car as it is, with the ABS light on. Even today the car drives fine, but the brakes take more ground to still the car on hard braking.

In City it is okay. Thankfully, good sense prevailed for him and he has not yet taken the car to the highway.

[kamilharis]

I have said this previously in some other thread as well, that VW group are one of the pioneers in automobile industry and engineering and still they fails to produce a niggle free car ? And in the case of common issues like ABS Sensor & Injector failure issues, why aren't they able to sort it out even after a decade ? I have been hearing about this common failures since years!

Why did they fail to redesign it even after continuous failures ?
Is it close to impossible to redesign a part like this or find a better part supplier in 10 years time ?

And for a replacement car, I would suggest to check out the TATA Altroz Diesel which is a VFM car and drives well.
And reliability will definitely be on par or better than VW.

Originally Posted by #ABTorquey

I am from Thalassery, we should meet one day.

Originally Posted by logicalidiot

Nice to meet someone from Kannur!

OT, We'll meet at Vadakara then.

[VVN]

As has been suggested earlier here, a Honda or a Toyota makes sense whenever you decide to switch over to another car. Been driving the City for the last 2.5 years and the car is extremely reliable. Yaris is also a great option plus it comes with 7 airbags. Another option would be the S-Cross or the Jazz. All the best.

[TheLightning]

I had faced ABS sensor issue in Chevrolet Optra. The first failure happened within 2 years when the sensor (RHS) was changed under warranty.

By next time the issue came again I had changed the service station and the SA there coolely assured me that the seson will not need replacing, he will fix it. After service o was told that the ABS sensors misbehave because sometimes they get covered in the break dust and need cleaning.
Later after couple of years the same procedure was followed by Bosch service station . They were servicing the suspension and told me they will clean the sensor, issue did go away after that.

You may want to try this, unless the issue shows up in scanning even after the cleaning, sensors may not need a change.

[GTsunny]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I have found a low cost garage which replaces this for 1800 bucks including the diagnosis of which sensor is faulty (using OBD).

If you don’t mind, request to kindly share the name of garage and area, for the benefit of other readers of this forum in Mumbai pl 🙏🏽

[viXit]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

ABS sensors on the VW cars seem to be a hit or miss. 7 years and 165k km on, I’ve never had one sensor fail on me to this day.

*touchwood*

I haven’t done any specific maintenance for this part either like cleaning the sensors. The surface I understand is magnetic in nature and attracts a lot of dirt and grime. Some suggest cleaning it periodically.

I think we need to do a leoshashi here and find out if there are different manufacturers in picture here.

I have a strong feeling that your car has abs sensors from a different oem.
Could you guys check these once. It would be a great find if we can all switch to a reliable one

[SH1N1G4MI]

Mine failed a day after the warranty ended on the polo, even my friends with the same car have had multiple failure. This seems like a fairly widespread issue with VAG cars. Maybe its planned obsolescence from VW, I mean they need to milk us somehow right?

[jaguar.runs]

This seems to be a common issue with VAG cars, let be it VW or Skoda. Cousin's 2017 Rapid had already 2 sensor failures on a car is rarely used. Issue seems to be more during monsoon and the red mud in KL kind of reduces the life cycle of the sensors somehow. He is planning to replace them with aftermarket ones as his friend did the same and never had a failure since. Need to ask what brand his friend used.

I have seen the same issue in a Mercedes A-Class, the sensor was replaced twice under warranty. I had a chance to speak to the Merc technicians when they had come for the sensor replacement and they said the issue is very common during monsoon season in KL. The issue is that the Merc goes into limp mode as soon as the error is triggered. VAG cars at least allow the owners to drive the cars despite the ABS warning.

[Malluspec]

Avoid driving through waterlogged roads , avoid water as much as possible as european cars are not designed to handle humid environments .
Another major point is that there are two types of faults in cars i.e sporadic and static faults . Sporadic faults indicate that the faulty component is working sometimes or its readings are not within required range etc.
Static faults indicate that the component is not at all functioning.
In VWAG cars instrument cluster warning is on as soon as any sporadic fault is present. This is a major safety feature by the company especially in case of safety equipments like abs . Around 80% of the abs faults reporting at a dealer are sporadic faults .
In the case of hyundai and suzuki cars their instrument cluster is programmed to show a warning only if the fault is static i.e only when the component has totally gone kaput (that too you get a warning only if you are lucky enough).
So even though vwag has faced criticism over the years for their cars abs complaints they have not changed their instrument cluster warning system in the interest of safety. Vwag could have simply changed their program such that a warning is shown when the fault is static. Kudos to vwag for not doing such a gimmick.
Another tip for post warranty vwag owners is to get whole sensor kit replaced which is cheaper than replacing each one by one and you also get two years parts warranty, so peace of mind . Do also ask them to give back the sensors which are working fine so that you can use it in the future.

[MH-05]

I have a 2016 Vento TDI. Two of my sensors failed after 4 years with 55K KM's on odometer got them replaced at the VW authorized service center and costed me around 12K including taxes as the extended warranty had ended then. The ASC did inform the remaining two might fail soon. Third sensor failed after a month luckily by then had got a reference of nice FNG who did a quick scan and confirmed only one senor was bad and needed to be replaced. I did ask him if it’s advisable to replace both to which he said as the rainy season is almost ended just go for one. He replaced the failed sensor and the replacement costed me only 1300 RS including labour it was a quick 15 minutes job to change the sensor.

[jaguar.runs]

Originally Posted by Malluspec

Avoid driving through waterlogged roads , avoid water as much as possible as european cars are not designed to handle humid environments .

I don't think humidity is factor here as European region gets rain and snow adequately. The iron or metal content in the soil might be the issue here.

[#ABTorquey]

Originally Posted by kamilharis

OT, We'll meet at Vadakara then.

Great to see you. What about holding a Tea-bhp Malabar meet?

[GTsunny]

Originally Posted by viXit

It would be a great find if we can all switch to a reliable one

Warranty had expired on our Polo and we recently faced the same ABS warning light issue, went to a recommended non VW place and had a sensor replaced but, there was no warranty for it.

Could someone kindly suggest a store in Mumbai to purchase these ABS sensors for the Polo from and preferably a product with 2 years warranty, just like the warranty some of you’ll have received because you’ll got it done from VW.

Also, kindly suggest a reliable FNG for VW cars around Prabhadevi area, someone with the diagnostic systems thanks.

[greenoval]

The first ABS sensor failure on my 2016 1.5 TDi polo occurred at 75000 kms and was replaced under warranty. In most VWs failure of the first one is followed by failure of the other 3. Happened with me too, however, the car was outside warranty. So got them replaced at an independent garage. Paid around 1600/- each (part + labour). My car has roughly 90,000 kms mileage and I don't consider this as a major expense at this stage. Also, for some reason, the ABS sensor failure causes some lights on the instrument cluster to pop up erratically.