BMW e92 rear abs sensors and abs reluctor rings HELP

[n4exm]

Hi guys,

I have just been quoted £400 for the replacement of both rear abs sensors and abs/reluctor rings for my 2008 BMW E92. I was shocked at the price and asked why it was so expensive. The guy mentioned something about active steering. Not sure what he meant.

Please can someone help out and tell me if this is the right price?

[Alonso92]

Notsure what he means about that? I had to get one side changed as the ring had a crack and kept on giving false readings/abs kept on cutting in. Got mine done cheaper than that from a mobile mechanic if your in London I could give you his details.

[Zebrs]

What's the actual problem? Do you know both sensors and rings need replacing? I would have thought it's probably one or the other and unlikely to be both sides.

FWIW I changed the sensor on my near side rear (E90 330i) on the driveway in about 15 minutes - just make sure you buy the correct sensor.

I would get the codes read to determine the side and change the sensor to see if it fixes the problem. If not (I don't buy the active steering stuff - don't think any E9X has it) changing the ring is probably a bit of a PITA as it's in the hub, but garages can easily quote to see if your garage is chancing its arm.

[n4exm]

Thanks for the replies. Initally, after driving my car for around 30miles or so the traction control light flashes on and off and my i start to lose power, car starts jerking, stuttering etc. Turn my engine on and off and its fine again for a while. Now though it happens after around 20mins into a journey. Mechanic at the garage said it most likely could be your reluctor ring or sensor. If i switch the traction control completely off then the car drives fine, but obviously can't always drive with it off! Especially in England! I took it to the garage and he said no fault codes came up on the diagnostic machine and he said one of the reluctor rings was slightly catching on the sensor but he wasnt sure if it was this that was causing the issue. So now he's asked me whether i want to get the rings replaced to see if it makes a difference or get both the rings and the sensors done. I live in Bolton btw so wont be able to make it London haha!

I checked online and could find both rings and sensors for all in £200 (euro car parts). Just wondering why he's quoting £400. Unless i have looked up the wrong parts.

[Prinny]

I’m in Rochdale & do have a code reader.

You absolutely can drive with the T/C off all the time, just don’t make the throttle a binary position switch!

Anyway, don’t think we’re doing anything in particular over the weekend, willing to have a look if you want..? PM me.

[Higgs boson]

n4exm said:

I checked online and could find both rings and sensors for all in £200 (euro car parts). Just wondering why he's quoting £400. Unless i have looked up the wrong parts.

£200 for parts, and £200 for labour.

[Sim89]

I've done this job on a relatives E87. Same thing.

It's actually not a bad DIY task if you're quite handy. Ideally have the codes read to highlight which side is the issue. Once you get down there you will be able to clearly see if the sensor is damaged also. The sensor is very close to the reluctor ring and as moisture, dirt etc over the years get underneath the reluctor ring, it pushes it upwards and sideways which will give misleading readings and often make contact with the sensor - you can see the end of the sensor damaged.

Anyway, it involves driveshaft removal and as long as you can get the hub nut undone and the torx bolts holding the shaft into the diff, you can remove it and go about replacing the ring - clean the surface thoroughly before placing the new ring on there. Then replace the sensor and reconnect it - should be fine and I haven't heard of the problem since.

From memory a replacement ring is around 10-20 and the sensor from ECP is 40-50. So worst case 70 quid job on the correct side DIY.

Double that for both sides to 140 in parts alone.

So 260 in labour, say 50 per hour at an independant - roughly 5 hours of labour to complete.

Edited by Sim89 on Friday 5th January 00:06

[Rob H 666]

I'm new to this site but was looking for info on should I change the reluctor ring, or just the sensor, as my ABS lights are on all the time. I had the fault codes read and it is the nearside rear causing the problem. On visual inspection the ring looks fine but the end of the sensor is scored very slightly.

I note the comments by some about the cost of these parts, which are ridiculous. I have just purchased two kits of reluctor rings and sensors for the rear wheels from UK Parts Direct for the princely sum of £60 delivered free. These guys are excellent, I called them to ask about suitability and once I gave them my VIN number they identified the correct parts and apparently my BMW has active steering. Here is the link to UK Parts Direct - https://www.ukpartsdirect.com/abs-ring-and-abs-sen...

Hope this saves you some money.

Cheers,

Rob

[messagesteve]

HI, i have this same problem on my E91. The primary cause is the reluctor ring becoming deformed due to corrosion of the CV joint it is mounted on. Part of the ring rises up with the corrosion and wears the sensor end away. It's easy to check. Remove the wheels and unbolt the sensor with an allen key. The sensor is mounted on the hub behind the disk brake. The end should be flat and square. Wear is easily spotted. while it is out look down the mounting hole and rotate the disc by hand. If you see a shiny part of the reluctor ring, that is the part that is raised and catching on the sensor. Both parts will need to be replaced. Replacing the reluctor ring requires removal of the driveshaft, removal of the ring, removal of the corrosion on the CV joint. The drive shaft retaining bolt maybe difficult to remove too but i managed mine with a socket and a very long bar. The socket required is 30mm. In all it took me 2 hours from start to finish as i was doing it with the car on axel stands. There are plenty of online videos to show you. Be careful not to reduce the diameter of the cv joint too much as the ring needs a tight fit. Hope this helps.

[markcol]

Hi, what socket is required for the torx bolts joining the driveshaft to the differential?

[BFleming]

markcol said:

Hi, what socket is required for the torx bolts joining the driveshaft to the differential?

Propshaft to differential, and differential to half shafts, are all E12's.