first of all, happy thanksgiving everyone.
today is black friday and as i was fighting for my life for a parking spot at the mall i grazed (lightly) this car. the point of impact was the front bumper on my passenger side. and after that collision i notice my parking senor wouldn't stop beeping. well... it did stop beeping after a while but on the dashboard it shows that there's something in front when there's nothing. but when i got out of the car to look at it, it looks totally fine. no scratches or anything.

so i'm wondering could it be a misalignment that resulted from the impact? and i just have to pay the dealers labor fee to fix the alignment... since the sensor still work and everything...

 

I need an answer too. Mine is doing the same thing. My wife hit something with mine.

 

buying the chip at the dealers is 250 and labor will be about 175 not including tax...

i saw the chip selling for 95 on ebay though... can i just get a cheaper mechanic to do the job?

my mom is gonna skin me!!!!!!! =___= i have to fix it before she comes back next week.............

 

Turn off the parking sensors lol. In all seriousness it's probably best just to tell her. It was just an accident during a busy crowded place. One of the worst things about having a car like the LS is parking. I hate (and refuse to) park next to other people so I always take the end spot...that and I avoid taking the LS to any overly crowded area. Take an older (or more beaten up) car next time to save the headaches afterwards.

 

Happy holiday and welcome to the club.
Agree with CarGuy89 regard come clean as accident happen. As for the sensor, $250 not bad but if you can find one same color then go for it and have independent shop do installation (they take off the bumper). You can also search here for thread about parking sensor. Hope everything work out fine.

 

Yep - the constant on is a sign that the sensor is bad - have to remove the bumper cover to replace. probably a 400 - 500 fix at dealer (parts and labor).

 

I believe when the sensor is bad, the resistance reading will be zero. My front left sensor started to trigger an error message recently. There is no apparent damage from road debris. The dealer said the front two left side sensors were bad, $540 to replace both. Fortunately, it was covered under CPO warranty. If it weren't, I just wouldn't use the parking sensors. I actually don't, but just happened to test them recently. So far this year, I've had three warranty repairs...front blower ($540), radar ECU ($880), and parking sensors ($540). Looks like the extra $2K for the CPO warranty has paid off already. OTOH, on my wife's LX470, which is less complex (no parking sensors/radar), we've only had one warranty claim (VRGS ECU...$880).

 

I almost refuse to park next to somebody in a lot. I'll go to the far outreaches and park where there are several empty spots and walk. I can use the exercise anyway and it gives me peace of mind on avoiding dings. Of course even this is never 100% effective, I've had to have one ding taken out of one of the rear doors and have no idea where it happened.

 

Many people are incompetant at parking, as they are unable to park only using the painted lines and must have at least one car to guide them. One time I was in the South Coast Plaza parking lot in Costa Mesa, CA, and parked my 4runner way in the back of the lot, not a single car around. I go to the mall, return, get in the car, and am just about to start the engine, when I feel a "thump." A few seconds later, I feel a second "thump." I was thinking "WTF???" I get out and find a teenager trying to park a Yukon denali and bumped the corner of my aftermarket 1/4" plate steel bumper twice. His response was, "it's probably only a scratch" and walked away. Not even an apology. If my 1 yr old hadn't been in the car, I would have accelerated and smashed into his driver's door.

 

Jay - agree I also am one who always parks out at the far reaches of parking lots and always try for an end spot. I hate dings with a passion...and I know how much they cost to get repaired. And I don't mind the walk at all. I find it amusing in Texas to see all these people (usually talking on cell phones), who definitely could use the exercise, circling endlessly around a lot looking for the absolute closest spot to park their Yukon or F150 crew cab.

Most of the time when we are going on errands and shopping we take the Highlander - its a much more narrow car and if it does get dinged, it doesn't hurt nearly as much : )

 

When I bought my Subaru, the previous owner was apologetic for the scratches and scrapes on the car cause by his kids' bikes. I shrugged and said that I won't have to worry about the car getting it's first scratch at the Wal-Mart parking lot. Anyway, with the sloppy weather we're having, the Subaru now has a proper brown / gray patina. The LS430 is garaged and clean - ready for the next nice day. (I may have to put it on the battery charger before we see that again.)