kiwiA5

On 11/22/2021 at 9:18 PM, Magnet said:

Hello Sean,

Thanks for being in touch.

Can I be excused for thinking you are taking an unnecessary risk here by not simply replacing the relatively cheap offending component, before this reoccurs and expensively bites you in the bum? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

On 11/24/2021 at 10:23 PM, Steve Q said:

If it were me I'd just change the sensor. Cheapness could cost someone dearly. A d not just financially! 

On 12/19/2021 at 6:26 PM, kiwiA5 said:

 

From information on various online posts and considering the fault message stated "you can continue driving" I assumed that there would be no risk of a serious brake failure and that if the part were indeed faulty then the message would soon reappear. As it turned out that is exactly what happened the following day. On having it diagnosed by the local Audi service agent they confirmed that the brake pressure sensor should be replaced at a quoted cost of $847.95!!! (GBP425). Having previous experience of overpricing for european car parts (major NZ parts supplier quoted $250 for a drive belt for a VW V5 golf which I ended up importing from a UK supplier ,same brand and part number total cost including freight $35!) I searched for the part number and found it widely available from various sources such as ebay, amazon and ali express. Prices varied but images all showed identical markings to the original part. A little research on brake booster pressure sensors in general revealed that these parts are normally expected to last the life of the vehicle. The fact that this particular VW sensor is so widely available from a variety of sources  strongly suggests that it is indeed a part that is prone to fail well before it's life expectancy. I purchased a replacement sensor for the A5 from ali express. Time to fit - under 2 minutes. Total cost of part including freight- $15 . I have since seen the same part online for as little as US$5.99.  Have Audi been using a very cheaply produced and inherently unreliable part that could lead to costly repairs to the ABS system? If so there should be a recall on all cars fitted with this part and a reliable replacement should be fitted free of charge. Regarding any warranty period- here in New Zealand we have the consumer guarantees act which basically states that anything you buy should be expected to last a reasonable time regardless of the manufacturers warranty period . For example if your appliance with a 1 year warranty fails after 18 months and the normal life expectancy of that type of appliance is 2-3 years then it must be repaired or replaced free of charge. I'm pretty sure the same applies to car parts. 

 

On 5/22/2022 at 9:44 PM, kh904 said:

Hopefully users that have replaced their sensor will update us if and when they fail and give some details of when the part was replaced and if it was an ebay copy or genuine Audi part (and if it's a revised part number).

It would be a useful knowledge base for everyone!

An update on my $15 part from aliexpress.  6 months on and no problems. Whether or not it is an "eBay copy" or a genuine part (markings are identical ) that is actually made for Audi/VW in China -who knows. As my original post shows some  service agents put a ridiculous markup on european car parts.

On 11/22/2021 at 9:18 PM, Magnet said:

Hello Sean,

Thanks for being in touch.

Can I be excused for thinking you are taking an unnecessary risk here by not simply replacing the relatively cheap offending component, before this reoccurs and expensively bites you in the bum? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

On 11/24/2021 at 10:23 PM, Steve Q said:

If it were me I'd just change the sensor. Cheapness could cost someone dearly. A d not just financially! 

From information on various online posts and considering the fault message stated "you can continue driving" I assumed that there would be no risk of a serious brake failure and that if the part were indeed faulty then the message would soon reappear. As it turned out that is exactly what happened the following day. On having it diagnosed by the local Audi service agent they confirmed that the brake pressure sensor should be replaced at a quoted cost of $847.95!!! (GBP425). Having previous experience of overpricing for european car parts (major NZ parts supplier quoted $250 for a drive belt for a VW V5 golf which I ended up importing from a UK supplier ,same brand and part number total cost including freight $35!) I searched for the part number and found it widely available from various sources such as eBay, amazon and ali express. Prices varied but images all showed identical markings to the original part. A little research on brake booster pressure sensors in general revealed that these parts are normally expected to last the life of the vehicle. The fact that this particular VW sensor is so widely available from a variety of sources  strongly suggests that it is indeed a part that is prone to fail well before it's life expectancy. I purchased a replacement sensor for the A5 from ali express. Time to fit - under 2 minutes. Total cost of part including freight- $15 . I have since seen the same part online for as little as US$5.99.  Have Audi been using a very cheaply produced and inherently unreliable part that could lead to costly repairs to the ABS system? If so there should be a recall on all cars fitted with this part and a reliable replacement should be fitted free of charge. Regarding any warranty period- here in New Zealand we have the consumer guarantees act which basically states that anything you buy should be expected to last a reasonable time regardless of the manufacturers warranty period . For example if your appliance with a 1 year warranty fails after 18 months and the normal life expectancy of that type of appliance is 2-3 years then it must be repaired or replaced free of charge. I'm pretty sure the same applies to car parts. 

My wife's 2017 A5 had the same issue today. Hope it doesn't compromise the abs but I simply disconnected and then reconnected the wiring connector to the sensor and this cleared the errors. Test drove and all seems normal.