California - replace 1 parking sensor or all 4?

[semisane]

Hi front near side parking sensor on '16 plate California has gone duff.

I can replace just the faulty one for approx £500 or all 4 at £1300 with main dealer.

Having just forked out on new warranty and £500 on chipsaway, reluctant to replace 3 additional sensors which are working fine...

Thoughts reliability of sensors and best course of action?

[blueSL]

Any idea why the existing one failed? They can be cracked by flying stones or else affected by over enthusiastic jet washing. Otherwise a random failure. If there is physical damage, probably ok to replace just one but if random, the rest might fail. I expect the reason 4 is cheaper per sensor is that a chunk of the labour is taking off the front bumper.

[semisane]

thanks for the feedback

nothing that i can remember to cause the issue.

i dont jet wash as I have heard horror stories.

breakdown of costs :

£296.00 / £370.00 labour (inc vat)
£150.00 / 600.00 parts
£50.00 / £200.00 painting

£496.00 / £1170.00 sub tot
£40.00 / £160.00 vat

=== / ====

£536.00 / £1330 Total payable.

I think one can buy a compatible sensor for £12 and I was considering getting my local mech to do the work for a fraction of the cost, but then there is always the worry of compatibility and then having to pay twice - unless some one can advise to the contrary ?

[reisskhan]

I’ll be very surpised if the sensor is not a run of the mil part hence easier and a lot a cheaper to purchase

If you 100% sure it’s the sensor that is faulty just get the local mechanic or an indie to change it

If you feel competent enough you can even probably whip the front bumper off yourself and replace it

All the best

[MDL111]

A few years ago I had them replace one sensor which no longer worked. The error message re-occurred pretty soon after the replacement, so that was money wasted - haven't bothered since then and just live with the error [sensor sensitivity makes them pretty useless anyway]

[Order66]

semisane said:

I think one can buy a compatible sensor for £12 and I was considering getting my local mech to do the work for a fraction of the cost, but then there is always the worry of compatibility and then having to pay twice - unless some one can advise to the contrary ?

If you're worried about compatibility you can buy the genuine sensors from Eurospares for about £96. £12 sounds a bit cheap, possibly a chinese knock-off - can be very sensitive and have poor lifespan due to waterproofing. With a bit of googling I'm sure you could find a decent replacement in the £30 region that will likely come off the same factory line as the original. Eurospares will show you the ferrari part number, use that to find alternatives.

Any mechanic can do this job (it's a very easy home DIY if you're that way inclined) - the most difficult part is the painting to get a nice colour match - perhaps speak to a paint shop first to see if they want the sensor on or off the car before paint. In either case I'm sure you could get all 4 replaced for under £500 with a little effort - perhaps £100/150 for the parts, £150 for mechanic to remove/replace bumper, £150 for paint.

[semisane]

top feedback thanks

[semisane]

The plot thickens....

I am now led to believe that the outer sensors are different to the inner ones.

Indeed ferrariparts.com do the outer ones for for £55 ea inc and the central ones at £150 !

Go figure !!