Today I had a level fault come up scanned it and ut said front right level sensor my question is has anyone used anything other than the Bentley one as looking at serial number it has an audi number and checking another code it also comes up with toureg headlight level sensor and they look identical

 

I can tell you that the Phaeton part is a cheap plastic thing (I've broken 3) and I think the Bentley part is all metal....

 

Nope the Bentley one is also plastic how have you broken 3??

 

Oh are they? I haven't a seen a Bentley one up close and personal yet. They look metal from the pix I've seen, but they also look much more curved in the arm than the Phaeton ones, so I'm guessing at least those don't interchange. IIRC the parts costs for a replacement for a Phaeton was less than $150 US.

My Phaeton has 177k miles on it. I've broken the left front and the right front one both at the joint where the halves have broken and become separated. Could be from wear or charging through a small snowbank in winter (I drive my Phaeton all year 'round). I'm now told I have another one broken but don't know how or why that one failed. Same issue I'd imagine - a weak movable joint that fails over time.

 

I don’t know...who ever had my car before me must have had 22” or something on it because after I did my front end and shocks I couldn’t get it to level right. So I took it to the dealer and they informed me that sensors were bent and they bent them back and leveled the car. I never held one but I don’t think plastic has that much give in this situation.

 

The arm that moves is plastic this connects to a metal rod that connects to the lower arm Bentley audi vw ones are all the same but it seems the phaeton ones are more expensive then the Bentley ones I can get a new one for £125 but still think this is a crazy price. I'm just wondering if there's a way to test these with a meter

 

Given that it's only a potentiometer, it seems to me that these are a more realistically priced alternative:
www.aliexpress.com/item/4000928060445.html
All you have to do is swap over the linkage.
At that price (GBP23 delivered) it seems to me to be worth buying one as a sample to see how well made it is.
I wonder whether these, like many other things, are simply back door excess parts, because I can't see that it's worth tooling up for a copy for such a small market - A8, Q7, Phaeton, Toureg, and Cayenne.

 

Mate your a legend thankyou I was looking on Ali and I can never find exactly what I need. I have ended up buying a used one just to be 100% sure that's its the sensor but I will definitely save these in my favorites thanks again

 

Glad to be of help, and I agree that the AliExpress search engine is quite appalling - I find it easier to use Google from outside the site.

It's quite ironic really that with the amount of experience that the Chinese have of rummaging through other people's computer systems, you'd have thought that they'd be able to build a better search engine...

 

Just to update this thread:

Whilst I was on AliExpress I ordered one of these sensors just to see what the quality is like. (£18.77 delivered to UK)

It arrived yesterday, and externally is indistinguishable from the genuine part.
Mechanically it has a robust feel, and the rotating bearing is properly snug.

Having done a bit more research it seems that the sensor is not simply a potentiometer, but instead is a clever inductive pick up device. If you're interested then there's a lot more detail in VW's Self Study Programme document here: www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_275_d3.pdf

One thing that does become clear is that it is not possible to test the sensor with a multimeter, it can only be done by using a bench supply and an oscilloscope to measure the PWM output. Even then it is only possible to confirm that the unit is operating in some form (i.e. not dead) because without knowing the design data for precise angle and expected PWM output values, it is impossible to be completely confident in its operation.

Meanwhile, when I'm next playing with the car I'll fit the new part and see how it behaves....