ES350 Parking Assist ?
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
ES350 Parking Assist ?
My 2014 ES350 has parking assist which I thought was a great idea since the "chin" on the lower front would be susceptable to damage from driving over curbs in parking lots. In fact, during the test drive the salesman told me to 'pull up, pull up' until the alarm sounded when I got too close to the curb in the parking lot. Yesterday I pulled into a space with a curb and the alarm never went off. Imagine my thought when we got out and I noticed that the bottom of the chin was over the top of the curb, with clearance about 1/4", yikes!
Can anyone explain this behaviour?
JimB
Can anyone explain this behaviour?
JimB
#6
Lead Lap
I'm guessing that, if the sensors are adjusted properly and perfectly, they are set to detect objects that would be at just below the height of the lip on the front bumper. I know that I've had a couple of instances where I've parked with curbs or parking lot bumpers in front of the ES, and there was an alarmingly small level of clearance between the curbs and the lip. I'd like to think that, if those curbs were, say, an inch higher, the parking assist alarm would have sounded, but I'm also guessing that, over time, the sensors might drift out of perfect adjustment, and that is why I don't think it would be wise to count on the sensors in all situations. I'm sure, also, that this is the reason why you get a message on the display screen that tells you "to check your surroundings".
#7
Trust me, I found out the hard way that the sensors are not designed to detect curb clearance. The ES's front feels "longer" that the average car, and it is difficult to judge the distance of the front bumper from the curb. If I see that the curb might be too high, I stop at about 1 foot from the curb. This is why I prefer back-parking most of the time. The rear has a higher clearance, and the rear-view cam is very helpful.
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#9
Lead Lap
Trust me, I found out the hard way that the sensors are not designed to detect curb clearance. The ES's front feels "longer" that the average car, and it is difficult to judge the distance of the front bumper from the curb. If I see that the curb might be too high, I stop at about 1 foot from the curb. This is why I prefer back-parking most of the time. The rear has a higher clearance, and the rear-view cam is very helpful.
Last edited by lesz; 06-23-14 at 07:51 PM.
#10
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Thanks for all your replies, maybe I need to do some research on how the sensors actually work. I share jbm79's pain and that is why I was disappointed. I too prefer to back into most parking spaces, including 'pulling through' on lots without curbs.
#11
There is some information in the manual, check out pages 271 - 283, regarding the sensor detection display and obstacle distances (p.275-278), but there isn't anything really about obstacle height per se.
It seems that the intuitive parking assist may pick up some curbs at a some distance in front or behind as you approach it, but as you get nearer, the curb is outside of the range of the sensor.
There is this (p.282):
●The following situations may occur during use.
• Depending on the shape of the obstacle and other factors, the detection distance may shorten, or detection may be impossible.
• Obstacles may not be detected if they are too close to the sensor.
• There will be a short delay between obstacle detection and display. Even at slow speeds, there is a possibility that the obstacle will come within the sensor’s detection areas before the display is shown and the warning beep sounds.
• Thin posts or objects lower than the sensor may not be detected for collision when approached, even if they have been detected once
• It might be difficult to hear beeps due to the volume of audio system or air flow
noise of air conditioning system.
It seems that the intuitive parking assist may pick up some curbs at a some distance in front or behind as you approach it, but as you get nearer, the curb is outside of the range of the sensor.
There is this (p.282):
●The following situations may occur during use.
• Depending on the shape of the obstacle and other factors, the detection distance may shorten, or detection may be impossible.
• Obstacles may not be detected if they are too close to the sensor.
• There will be a short delay between obstacle detection and display. Even at slow speeds, there is a possibility that the obstacle will come within the sensor’s detection areas before the display is shown and the warning beep sounds.
• Thin posts or objects lower than the sensor may not be detected for collision when approached, even if they have been detected once
• It might be difficult to hear beeps due to the volume of audio system or air flow
noise of air conditioning system.
#12
Lead Lap
iTrader: (1)
If the sensors were aimed too low they would sense the road when the car experienced up and down movements. That would be irritating and most people would complain about it. So the sensor has to be a certain height above the ground not to bring the road into play. We knew someone with an SC430 (car is very low to the ground) who added parking sensors to his front bumper. Everytime he got on the freeway the sensors went off intermittently for the entire time. He had to disable them.
#13
If the sensors were aimed too low they would sense the road when the car experienced up and down movements. That would be irritating and most people would complain about it. So the sensor has to be a certain height above the ground not to bring the road into play. We knew someone with an SC430 (car is very low to the ground) who added parking sensors to his front bumper. Everytime he got on the freeway the sensors went off intermittently for the entire time. He had to disable them.
#14
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
The manual has this statement concerning the parking assist -
• The area directly under the bumpers is not detected
and a graphic seems to support this, showing an elliptical sphere of operating range that is centered on the sensors and goes a little above and below that line. No help here
JimB
• The area directly under the bumpers is not detected
and a graphic seems to support this, showing an elliptical sphere of operating range that is centered on the sensors and goes a little above and below that line. No help here
JimB
#15
Lead Lap
If the sensors were aimed too low they would sense the road when the car experienced up and down movements. That would be irritating and most people would complain about it. So the sensor has to be a certain height above the ground not to bring the road into play. We knew someone with an SC430 (car is very low to the ground) who added parking sensors to his front bumper. Everytime he got on the freeway the sensors went off intermittently for the entire time. He had to disable them.
Last edited by lesz; 06-26-14 at 01:34 PM.