As cars get smarter and their tech increases, so does the chance of the vehicle being rendered unusable until a faulty sensor is replaced. Take a fairly simple headlight level sensor which is attached to the car’s suspension and controls the angle of the headlights beam. The vehicle’s load position is taken into consideration and the headlight aim is adjusted accordingly. However, if the sensor fails or is damaged (attached to the suspension wishbones), the headlight aim will be out and could render the car unusable in the dark.
This happened to my VW Touareg. Driving home one night a couple of weeks ago, I experienced a few cars flashing me on the single ‘A’ road. I didn’t think too much of it as I was on dipped beam and thought maybe my car just belongs to the army of modern cars with brighter than average headlights. Then a few miles further, on a straight line of road with no street lighting, I noticed I was lighting up the overhanging trees on both sides of the road. This cannot be correct I thought, so I tried the full beam which appeared to light up everything in my path including top of trees. A few miles on, another oncoming motorist flashed me. As I was close to home I was conscious that I would be recognised by persons that know my car and number plate and think “twat has his headlights on full beam”.
I decided on a quick flick to sidelights when an oncoming car approached to alleviate dazzling anyone. I got the SUV home and aimed to investigate in daylight when possible. A check on a VW web forum revealed where the headlight level sensor resided. Attached to the near side front suspension wishbone. I removed the wheel to investigate the sensor. The sensor was screwed to the chassis, but the arm attaching the wishbone was broken. Possibly due to age, wear and tear or an asteroid type strike from a stone.
A phone call to VW revealed a price of almost £400 to replace and fit. The sensor itself cost over £130. Now, I am one for preferring to buy genuine replacement parts from the manufacturer as I trust the quality and any warranty on the parts. But, a quick look on Amazon revealed a pattern part sensor (looked like made in China) was £35. The caveat though was a ten day delivery date. Would I be using the Touareg in the dark in the next couple of weeks? I took a gamble and ordered the part.
Nine days later it arrived. Then came a dry, warmish early evening and some spare time – I set upon the replacement task. Car jacked up, wheel off, removed the old unit and replaced with the new part. Wheel back on, bolts torqued up and a road test seemed to show the headlights pointing correctly now. The dipped beam shone no higher then the bottom of the rear window of cars followed. The full beam hit oncoming road signs. So, a couple of hours maximum labour taken, £35 spent and over £300 saved, I was back on the road.
This one failed sensor though resulted in not being able to use the vehicle in the evening. With the tech on today’s new car offerings, how many potential stoppages are lurking waiting to reveal themselves and sabotage the car ? You do occasionally see an almost new vehicle on a breakdown low loader lorry. Why? Has a technology failure halted the vehicle in its tracks? Will the majority of vehicles active on the roads be the older generation without the computers ?
