Timmay

Long story short, I was involved in a traffic accident (not my fault!) and had to have some work done to the front end of my vehicle and thank goodness it looks like new again. What I discovered and later pointed out to the shop that carried out the repair to my S3 was a part missing that is related to the Pre Sense sensor(?) on the lower part of the grille. It's essentially a bezel like part that looks to clip on to the sensor mechanism that as you guys probably know looks like a touch pad on a laptop computer. Got it ordered and will have it in a few days. In the meanwhile I noticed a tiny mirror at the top. This is what allowed me to notice the missing part because I certainly didn't see a mirror before. Just wondering if anyone has a clue as to what the purpose of this tiny mirror would be. This would normally be covered by the bezel that normally would be in place.

Fixeroh

Good luck getting that resolved Timmay. Sorry to learn about your accident. Reading about accidents too often in these forums!!!! Stop it all of you!!! Wish I could help but I don't have that option on my S3. Curious to find out what is what however. Sure some helpful soul on this forum can help you.

Timmay

Thanks Fixeroh. It's really not a big deal but was just curious what a mirror would be for. My first thoughts were that it's related to a laser but just not sure. As for the accident, thank goodness for insurance. The other driver's insurance company will be subrogated to cough up that money or it will go to arbitration. Worst case is I'm out my deductible of 500 bucks which is still more money than I'd like to be paying. I like my insurance company because they ONLY get factory OEM parts, no aftermarket or 3rd party or used parts, period. I have heard stories about other insurance companies that try to go the cheap route and get used whenever possible, if not aftermarket. Probably hard to do with this car though.

SteveO987

That could be for the calibration tool. "Aim here and run calibration" type of thing.

arU4ic

+1 - Maybe Ask This Old House can put it on their "What is it" segment.

Timmay, man so sorry. Glad it's worked-out mechanically, but it still sucks no matter.

Timmay

Thanks arU4ic, yeah mechanically speaking it seems fine. I did discover while driving it today that something is wrong with the Pre Sense now. I'll have to have the dealer check it out. This is the message that pops up on my GUI. I'm hoping it's simply due to the fact the cover/bezel is missing and will correct itself once replaced.

For those wondering whether a new LED headlight assembly will cost much money, absolutely! $1,750 was shown as the cost on the repair invoice....yikes.

marttimat

The little mirror comes part of the radar unit from Bosch. All versions of this unit from Bosch have the mirror and is used during the construction process and calibration of the radar. Once installed, the weather skirt covers the mirror and surrounds the radar unit so to be hidden from view.

As for your driver alert, any time this unit is bumped slightly, an alignment and radar calibration is needed as it is very sensitive to impacts. This is why new car models install the radar unit behind the front bumper cover rather than having it exposed like on the 8V. You should have no problems driving the car around until you get to the dealer (just will have no adaptive cruise). The alignment and calibration should have been done during the repair so make sure the insurance company covers the calibration. Good luck!

Timmay

marttimat, thanks so much for the info, this is very good to know. I will bring this up with the shop first thing next week. I know they will see to it the car is done right. Fortunately my dealer is literally about a mile or two from the body shop where I had the work done. I'll bet they charge a good bit for calibrating it but I guess we'll see and I don't think I personally will get dinged for that as insurance should cover it. The other driver's insurance company will not like it when they see the enormous bill this repair job overall is costing.

So the 8V series are different from other models? I do find it odd regarding the placement of this radar unit, very exposed to say the least. Considering how delicate and sensitive they are, they should have designed the implementation and placement more thoughtfully.

Out of curiosity, do you have inside knowledge of this radar mechanism? I'm betting not too many people are very familiar with it.

Robr

Why do you have to pay a deductible if someone else was at fault?

Timmay

Good question. I'm not an expert with insurance matters but my insurance company said they are pursuing compensation from the other driver's insurance company. That includes getting my deductible back. It does seem odd that I have to pay it to begin with, but my understanding is that the other driver (ridiculously) is not admitting fault. If she had, I would have had my deductible waived. At this stage, it seems to be my word against hers as there were no witnesses. HOWEVER, the cop that came to the accident scene gave her a citation but did not give one to me as he sided with me. I think this will play a major role in determining fault. For the record, my claims agent agrees 100% with my stance and is placing blame on the other driver.

The stupid person (out of State, non permanent resident...hint hint) did not yield to oncoming traffic as she was pulling out of a parking lot like a bat out of hell while I was in the right-of-way doing 45mph (speed limit on the road) going straight and there simply wasn't enough time to avoid hitting her. No way she even looked my way before pulling into the road in front of me. If I hadn't hit my brakes and maneuvered my car to my right, it would have been much worse. As it stands, my car still clipped her rear quarter panel, but better than a flat out T-bone scenario which could have caused major injury. Fortunately there were no injuries. That is concern #1 of course.

I'm fairly confident I will get it back eventually but it'll probably take some time. First step is subrogation (my insurance company claims damages and demands payment, and then if necessary, arbitration.

I digress and back to your question about deductible. I guess I hadn't put much thought into it as I was primarily concerned with my car getting back to new condition, which it has with the exception of this minor glitch with Pre sense but I'm sure that'll get fixed. I'm also glad I won't be paying the $12k plus in repair work.