JMJS49

Has anyone installed back up sensors that were not originally part of the ES350?
The rear window and trunk height make backing up a challenge. I regret I did not have the rear sensors ordered when I ordered my car.
If you have had the sensors added how much was it? How does it make the rear bumper look, can you tell it was added? Thanks, JMS49

Lexucan

I installed an aftermarket backup sensor kit in my ES300 last year. It's an electro-magnetic system that does not require any drilling of holes in the bumper to attach sensors. Instead, you remove the rear bumper cover (usually quite easy to do) and install a foil tape strip along the whole length of the inside of the bumper cover. The strip is then attached to the control module that resides in the trunk of the car, and it is hooked up to one of the Reverse gear lights so that it is only activated when the car is backing up. How it works is: when an object behind the car is sensed by the electro-magnetic field, it starts beeping slowly and then as the bumper gets closer to the object, the beeping gets faster and faster until it is a steady "beeeeeeeeeep" which means you're about 2-3 inches from making contact. A friend and I did the install. It took no more than a few hours start to finish. The beauty of this type of system is, it is totally invisible. There is nothing on the outside of the bumper to suggest it has been installed, and the small control module can be attached anywhere inside the trunk, behind the trunk liner. Just Google 'electro-magnetic back-up sensor' if you're interested. There are also a few videos on Youtube demonstrating how it is installed and how it works. There are various manufacturers of this type of system. The one I purchased is made in Italy and cost ~$200.00

HERE is a link to one of the Youtube videos.

JMJS49

Thank you Lexucan. The utube video helps. JMJS49