I'm getting ready to order a new GS or IS and I'm looking for feedback regarding the Park Assist option. To anyone that has it installed on their GS, do you find it useful? I understand how it can help with parallel parking, but is useful in any other situations?

Can it detect the curb? How about the large stone stoppers at the front of parking spaces?

 

well i see at as MUST HAVE option in crowded cities. Really useful for me .. and don't say i have a camera i don't need park assistance (or the otherway around) .. both of them are very useful .

the sensor is sensitive enought to detect thin poles (like sign poles and road light pole), children, it can detect like >10" height kerb.

also i see it usefull when getting very close to walls/nearby cars since the side sensors will tell u how much space u have left next to u ( 2 bars is very close for the side) so u don't hit the side mirrors or body of your car.

also you'd say .. BMW & mercedes didn't implement this option .. why bother ... i'll say ... what about if u wana see thin kerb (not detected by sensors) , or a parking lanes (in parallel parking) or sometimes u r not confident with the parking sensors ? or cars coming from behind u while u r getting out of parking (coz it has really wide angle), small objects behind u, very thin sign poles.

 

to me i think it's a great feature. i think it's one of the best systems out there coz' it can tell you how much to turn your steering wheel in order to avoid the obstacle. awesome stuff

 

i agree, it's a feature worth getting. have it in the GS, and now really wish the bigger RX had it. the backup cam is great for parallel parking and backing out of tight parking lots, but the front sensors are awesome for tight turns as well.

i don't think it can sense those low concrete parking curbs below, so you still have to be careful not to scrape your lip or get it stuck over a curb.

 

My thinking was that I'm already getting Nav with the backup camera, and the $500 savings will pay the loan for one month. I was just trying to convince myself to spend the extra cash for it now.

 

It's worth it! 500 Dollars will not be anything when you scrap your bumper

I lowered my car and will be putting on a aero kit when they come out with a few more options and hate hitting the front spoilers. I just got rid of my M3 with a ACS Front Spoiler and had it replaced once due to hitting curb and it was a painful mistake. I wish I had park assist then.

Go for it!

 

It's worth it! 500 Dollars will not be anything when you scrap your bumper

I lowered my car and will be putting on a aero kit when they come out with a few more options and hate hitting the front spoilers. I just got rid of my M3 with a ACS Front Spoiler and had it replaced once due to hitting curb and it was a painful mistake. I wish I had park assist then.

Go for it!

 

Frankly, I shut mine off. Too many false alarms and it takes over the NAV screen when activated. Also if you pull too close behind another car it goes off, and you can't defeat the tone until after the light turns green. The camera is cool, though.

 

I absolutely agree that this is a very useful feature. I have to pull into my garage at an angle and when pulling out the system tells me when I've turned my wheel enough to avoid the center post. If I stop turning the wheel when the beeping stops, I avoid the post by only an inch or so, so I would say it is very accurate.

 

yup, i tested it at the dealership and it was as precise as you can imagine

and btw, the parking asist, i think it's very useful for the front when you do tight turning. the rear you have the camera to help big time already

 

I highly recomend it

As others said you may save $500 now but think about the bumpers and more importantly PEOPLE in front or behind the car. My first true experince with PARK ASSIST was when my wife parked our MR2 behind the 3GS and took the 2GS to work with the MR2 keys .....i came out and with the help of BACKUP CAM and PARK assist SOMEHOW managed to drive the car around the MR2 backing up from my garage. The PARK ASSIST was incredibly helpful and without it i probably would not have managed to take the car out from the garage.

 

The shame is that it seems you can't have a dealer install either the camera or park assist. The only way to get them is to get the ML/NAV (i.e. loaded) or to order from the factory and wait like 4 months! For the backup camera, you just have to get the ML/NAV. That's a very expensive camera for those of us who don't want to spend over $4000 for things we don't want.