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So, you're getting the message "Radar sensor blocked" or "Pre-collision system malfunction".
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Or there are hundreds of different messages that tell you that there is a problem with
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the radar sensor. What is this? How should you check this and what to do with this problem?
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First of all, the radar sensor is the sensor that is located in the front part of your car. In most
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vehicles, it's located some here, near your front grill and exactly behind the logo of your
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car. But you should, of course, read the manual because in your vehicle it can be different. So,
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what you need to do, you need to go out of the car and check whether there is some blockage. I
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mean some mud, some snow, maybe there is water from some other car or something else. Maybe
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you installed something here like a thing that makes your car more beautiful and now it blocks
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the radar sensor work. This is the most obvious reason why you can see such messages about the
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radar sensor and about the pre-collision warning malfunction and all these things.
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The second problem is the weather, because these radars are not completely perfect and
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they don't work in all kinds of weather. They will work in good weather when it's sunny,
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when there is no rain or something. But when there's heavy rain, heavy snow, or something like
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that, the radar may not work. It will detect the snow or rain as the object on the road, and there
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is a program in your car that tells this radar to stop working and stop sending you messages
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about the collision. So, it will just throw something like "Rradar sensor blocked" or some
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malfunction. In this case, you will just need to wait, wait till the weather is better. Of course,
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after that, you will also need to wait some hours till the radar recalibrates itself. It's important
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because a lot of people go to dealerships, pay $150, $200 for inspecting their cars,
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and they end up just losing their money, because there is nothing wrong with their cars,
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and this radar just needs to recalibrate. So what dealers will do, they will reset the system,
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they will just use the scanners to reset the system or maybe just disconnect the battery
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for some time and the system will reset and the radar will recalibrate itself in like 5 minutes.
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Now another problem that can trigger these kinds of messages is the low battery or bad alternator.
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When there is a problem with voltage in your vehicle, it's quite possible that
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you will see this warning like "Radar sensor problem" or something like that because your
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brains start glitching. And I don't mean your brains but the brains of your car, of course.
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And when the voltage is low, everything may glitch. You can get all kinds of messages,
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all kinds of lights on your dash. For checking your battery, you will need
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a multimeter or something like that. Here are the two terminals. Use these terminals
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to check the voltage. If the voltage is 12.5 volts when your car is off, it's completely
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okay. If the voltage is lower, it's not okay. This battery needs charging or replacing.
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And how to check the alternator easily? You will need to check the voltage in the alternator when
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the car works. So, start the car and check again voltage in these two terminals and
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you will see 14 plus volts, 14.5, 14.7 volts. And it means that the alternator is working
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perfectly and charging the battery. If you see 13 volts, 12.5 volts, 12 volts, 11 volts,
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it means the alternator is not working. Maybe there is a problem with wiring, maybe there is a
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problem with the alternator or voltage regulator. You will need to take it in for an inspection.
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Now, it's not very often that the radar itself can malfunction. The radars are really durable.
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They don't have any mechanical parts, so in most cases, they don't need replacement or
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repair. But you should check for any TSBs, for any bulletins, for any recalls. Maybe there is
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a problem with exactly the radar that is installed in your car and maybe there is a recall for that.
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So you will have free repair, free replacement of this radar even if your car is out of warranty.
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So, let's recap the fixes that you can do on your own. First, check the radar for blockage or maybe
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there is mud, maybe there is snow. Check this. Second, check the battery. Maybe the battery is
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low, maybe the alternator is not working. Third, wait for better weather. If the weather is very
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rainy or snowy, there may be a problem with detecting something in front of your car that
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doesn't exist. So just wait for better weather and maybe the radar will recalibrate. And the fourth
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magic thing you can do, disconnect both terminals of the battery for 5 or 7 minutes, press the honk
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and connect the battery back. This way you will reset all the systems in your car and it's very
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likely that the radar will recalibrate and you will not see this message, at least for some time.
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Also, there can be another problem that is pretty common for German vehicles like Volkswagen, Audi,
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Porsche, and some other brands. This radar is not really perfect and it can't detect
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all shapes of cars. So sometimes when some unusually shaped car goes in front of you,
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this radar can't actually detect this car, can't detect the distance to this car. So maybe when
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the road conditions change, your radar will recalibrate and this message will be just gone.
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If nothing helps you solve this problem, the only possible way is to go to the dealership
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or a good repair shop and have your car inspected. Sometimes you will need a radar
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replacement or maybe there is some problem with wiring and your radar just isn't wired correctly.
