Three60guy

So, I read the online user manual from Lexus, the Navigation part, to find out more about parking assist. But it didn't come close to giving me any useful information on how and 'where' to use it. I was trying to figure out if it could be used to help you park the 450h in your garage instead of a parallel parking space. See, there is limited space in our garage and I have not used a parking assist option before. What I am "guessing" is you place where you want to end up and then click "go" or something. Then it will do the steering etc.

Does anyone else use this feature this way?

Cheers

VVRX

Three60guy, I can not imagine using Intuitive Park Assist to park in a home garage except in the case of the proximity sensors used by the system. In my case I disabled them because they were not needed.

BertL

OP, I hate to burst a bubble of expectation, but I think you're reading a whole lot more into what "Intuitive Parking Assist" may be, than what it really is. As a $500 option, this isn't the 100% automated parallel parking function introduced with the LS many years ago as a multi-thousand dollar option and was demonstrated in all the commercials, nor is it some sort of visual diagrams that pop up on your console how to manually steer left/right and when to shift from forward to reverse in parallel parking situations or letting you know where there are open parallel parking spaces to your left or right that may be large enough for your vehicle like my MBZ has. I agree Lexus Marketing has given this option a name that perhaps implies more capabilities than it really has.

Take a peek at this section of your manual (that link is for a 2013). What "Intuitive Parking Assist" is, are a combined set of visual queues and audible tones that occur as the sonar sensors on the front and back of your RX as it approaches an object -- nothing more. A few suggestions:

• Keep it enabled. I find it VERY useful, not just when parking in my garage but in parking lots, etc so I don't whallop the front or rear bumpers. I like that it is integrated in with the Nav display on my Lexus unlike some other brands (such as my MBZ that has it as an independent add-on almost like aftermarket versions). I only turn Parking Assist temporarily off via the steering wheel when I'm in a situation like waiting in a fast food or banking teller line when I'm close to a wall and perhaps other cars for extended periods that set the sensors off. I easily turn it back on as soon as I have done my business and am on my way.
• Carefully review and understand what the distances are the visual and audible tones represent on p406. Also, I'm not sure of what MY you have -- if you have a 2013, great -- you have all the Parking Assist capabilities available for an RX. If you have a 2010-2012, they did not come with 4 sensors in the front -- only 2 on the edges, so earlier MYs have some blind spots in the direct front center, that more recent model years do not. That has been discussed in other threads. The manual describes how you can change the sensitivity when the sensors will begin to alert you.
• Lastly, look at the diagram on p407 and get a feel for the actual areas the sensors cover. The most important thing is look at the picture and understand that as you get closer to something and the alarm heightens, the sensors also loose the ability to "see" things higher and lower... i.e. your RX will vertically "see" the most at the most extreme points where the sensors just start to pick up things, and as you get closer to an object and the tones are louder, what the sensors can "see" compresses to an area more in-line with the height where the actual sensors are located on your bumpers and front grille area. Some people have griped about that I guess when parking in odd situations (overhangs, etc). I've not found it to be an issue, but then again, I have an idea what the technology can and cannot do to actually assist me.

Hope that helps.

Three60guy

BertL

Yes, that helps quite a bit. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this information. I now, for the first time really understand what this option really means.

Thanks again

Cheers