Frustrated with the frequency of ABS sensor failures on my Polo GT TSI

I have been driving with these lights on the dash for the last one month.

BHPian Dead Head recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello BHPians,

As I continue my love affair with my 2017 GT TSI , a lovely car in every way which I use sparingly (32,000 km on Odo) , maintained in pristine fashion and I dont plan to part with it in the foreseeable future.

One performance feature which irks me repeatedly is the failure of sensors. These cause the warning lights on the dash to light up (see pic).

The ABS & the ESR warning light came on recently.

This means a visit to VW and waste of half a day and expense of 5 or 7 K . Small amount no doubt but the frequency with which this happens is irritating.

It used to also happen with our VW Jetta which we recently retired.

To this learned forum , I have these questions:

• Does this need to be attended asap or can I drive on like this for the next 6 months till my next service is due? I cannot drive fast as the car is purely for Mumbai city usage where any speed above 20kmph is an exhilarating experience.
• Is there a reason for the frequent sensor failure. SA at VW advised that the chap who washes my car is somehow splashing water (dirty water specifically) onto the wheels which is reaching the sensors and causing failure.
• I didn't find his explanation very credible as the car should be designed to operate in slush and muddy conditions anyway.
• Do other owners face this sort of frequent sensor failure?
• Do other makes have this sort of problem ?
• Is there a cheaper DIY or local garage solution to this ?

I have been driving with these lights on the dash for the last one month. Perhaps my imagination but the car seems to pull a shade bit less , coasting at 50kmph the car was on D6 rather than D7.

The Engineer in me tells me to get it fixed but the Finance guy says that it is a needless expense as I am not taking the car out anywhere beyond 30km radius of Powai.

Look forward to hearing from the learned members on this

Here's what BHPian SLK had to say on the matter:

Never faced a failure. 75+k on Polo and 25k on Octavia, also never ever washed the wheels. Don't know the actual cause but 2 things come to mind, humid Mumbai environment and washing wheels of parked cars which then don't completely dry for hours.

Here's what BHPian Dippy had to say on the matter:

This is a common issue on VWs. Its quite a given that when one ABS sensor fails, the rest follow suit one by one. And then VW replaces them one at a time as well if you claim warranty.

My first sensor failed a couple of years ago and after I replaced it, another one failed a month later. Replaced that too. Both in warranty.

After that, coincidence seeing your post but my third one has failed last week. Im driving around with the same display on my instrument cluster as you are . Still my Polo running has become less after the Thar came home.

My annual service is due in the next 2 weeks so I might either get it replaced during service or get it done at my own workshop since my car is now out of warranty.

But there is no issue driving around for now, you can continue to do so.

Here's what BHPian hellraiser_yank had to say on the matter:

AFAIK stock 1.2 DSG shifts into 7th at ~57kmph. Manual override at about 54 if I recall correctly.

I'd recommend replacing the part as it makes the ABS and ESP behave erratically. If I'm not mistaken the faulty part is the ABS/speed sensor.

You may find the part cheaper at boodmo or an FNG might be able to arrange from salvage as its very common read Fabia-kodiaq, polo-tiguan, A3-Q2. OE spec aftermarket is available for as low as Rs. 900ish.

Cheers.

Here's what BHPian graaja had to say on the matter:

Please listen to the engineer in you. ABS is not a requirement just for highways but can be very critical in city traffic too. Please get it changed ASAP.

Here's what BHPian corvus corax had to say on the matter:

Your finance guy should play the long game.

I once ran with the ABS/ESP warning light ON for a prolonged period of time. One day I got the dreaded 'flashing spanner' icon in place of the gear position indicator. Worried that the gear box had gone kaput I took the car to the service center. The ride there was uneventful. But while coming back from the test drive with the SA at the wheel the car suddenly stopped shifting gears. Luckily the service center was near and we reached there with out breaking down in the middle of the road.

The culprit was faulty ABS sensors. 3 out of 4 had failed. I was also told that if faulty sensors aren't replaced time-bound, it would result in ABS/ESP control module failure.

I paid ~5k (if I remember correctly) for 4 sensors. They were of the latest batch (more durable), I was told and carried 2 years warranty.

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