These various sensors live a tough life. They are frequently exposed to pretty harsh environments (high under hood temperatures, left all night in sub-zero temperatures, high vibration etc) and yet can be critical to proper function of the car.
We have all kinds of similar sensors in aviation. Some of these seem virtually identical to what you would find in a car, but the prices are outrageous! You might think, "I could buy that for $10 at AutoZone, but we're getting charged $389" (or something akin to that). The reason for the high prices is that aviation parts are exhaustively tested before they are sold - as required by the FAA and company lawyers who want to protect from crippling lawsuits.
These automotive sensors do have a fairly high failure rate, (maybe as high as 10% in some circumstances) but it is a compromise between risk and cost. None of us would be able to afford driving these cars if they were built to aviation standards. As a consequence of making them as affordable as they are, some percentage of us will experience these kinds of issues. Even still, most of us will go many thousands of miles with no need for anything more than regular oil changes. It seems pretty remarkable to me, even though I'm not terribly happy when I get to be one of the "lucky" percentages.
