Peoples' experience with Parking sensors

ADSLUSER

Thinking of getting these with my next car.

What are everyones' experience with them...Good or Bad? I heard they can be annoying as they can go off in heavy rain, or when covered by ice, dirt etc.?

Can they be turned off when required?

What's the difference between factory fitted and post fitted ones?

Any opinions would be much appreciated.

xt40

what you heard is rubbish. parking sensors are only powered when the car is in reverse and in my exp work perfectly. there are aftermarkit kits that plug into the 12v socket and need to be switched on/off manually, however it would not take a rocket scientist to wire these into a live break light wire instead allowing them to function like the factory fitted ones. the downside with the kits is that they can look a bit ugly on your bumper and may have wires showing.

FreeFallin

Though it sounds possible, i dont think heavy rain, ice.. or anything like that will set them off. From my experience, when switched on, they are on all the time (well not just in reverse anyway as previous poster said), so when people are putting stuff in the boot it can get annoyong and yeh go for the factory ones, they'll blend in alot better!

mikedragon32

Have reversing sensors on my car (Volvo - factory fitted). Have never had a problem with them in any conditions or even if the car is icey or manky.

They're only active when you're reversing you have the option to switch them off.

Owen

Some of the aftermarket kits look as good as the original factory fitted items, particularly the 4 sensor kit from Maplins. I think every car should be fitted with these TBH, it would prevent a lot of fender benders by people who can't parallel park using bumpers as sensors instead.

I've them fitted to every car in my family, herself's MINI cabrio came as standard with them, and to my MINI, my sister's 116, and my Mum's Polo I fitted the Maplin 4 sensor kit. Why fit them to the MINI? Because it's garaged 99% of the time, and behind it in the garage is my Duke 916, so it prevents mishaps ... parking sensors aren't always just about parking, they can be used to get cars into garages with no fear of having damaged things behind you.

Check the Maplin kit, it's simple to wire in, costs about 70 Euro, comes with a numerical display showing how many metres away the object is, as well as an audible sequence of pips, and what's even better, is that when you select reverse gear, it beeps twice - ideal for my ageing Mother who's never sure if she's in reverse or not.

h3000

I had a loan of a VW Tourareg for a few weeks and it had front and rear parking sensors on it. They used to deactivate once you went above 10ish kmph, it also had a manual override switch. I never had a problem with them in the rain but they can get very annoying in city centre traffic when there are pedestrians walking in front and behind the car. They can also go off in stop go traffic if you get close to the car in front or the car behind gets close to you. But as I said they can be switched off manually and you can then turn them on when you are parking.

I found the ones in the Tourareg a bit too sensitive they would start lighting up (green, orange or red depending on how close you are to the obstacle) from about 1.5 meters away. Still very handy though.

Deadzone

Have rear one as standard on my Ford Ranger, needs regular cleaning or it packs up, not to be relied upon.

DanGerMus

My girlfriend has them on her new car. She is a pretty decent driver in terms of being careful and haveing good judgement when reversing herself and never had any trouble maneuvering any of her other cars at all. So anyway now when she's reversing the second the thing starts beeping she stops and re maneuvers the car. The thing is, and i keep trying to tell her, when it firsts beeps you're about 2 feet away from what ever obstacle it is and it gets progressively faster as you get closer. They also read quite low obstacles like low kirbs so if your the kind of person who likes to feel the bump of your wheels hitting the low kirb while parking in these situations it can be a bit off putting, that's probably a good thing though tbh.

So if you're having trouble reversing and maneuvering while parking then they can be good but if you're fine with this anyway you probably don't need em. Finally if you do get them try to learn exactly how far away you are when they first beep and what the final moment before impact beep sounds like too just so you can use it to judge properly.

bazzachazza

Have a Volvo also with rear only sensors but have them ordered for the A6 in Jan.

Only powered on the Volvo when reverse is selected but can be turned off at the push of one button.

Very very good and handy especially when parking in Multi story car parks that tend to have extra bits attached to the walls like drain pipes or fenders or very low walls. There audio only tell the G/F when parking to STOP only when she starts to hear a continuous tone, she will find she is then the perfect distance from the object behind, generally 1 foot.

The A6 will have a visual display like this picture on right
http://www.audi.co.uk/audi/uk/en2/new_cars/a8_new/a8_new/electronics/audi_parking_system.html

Which will be handy to know where the object is.

Without a shadow of a doubt I recommend them.

-Chris-

Another recommendation here - from factory or retrofit - worth every penny and make parking & driving much easier and less stressful.

Do it!

ADSLUSER

Thanks for all the input. I think I've decided to get them. Just got a little worried, they would be annoying rather than useful but sounds like my concerns were unwarranted. Just one person at work mentioned they had very sensitive sensors which were a bit annoying but at least there is an over ride switch. Maybe my mate's sensors were faulty!

Does anyone have to clean them often to have them function properly? Just wondering in all this mucky weather of recently!

cormie

They came factory fitted with my transit, makes it a LOT easier reversing in non lit up areas when it's lashing rain and all I can see behind me with is a rain splashed mirror and window. Would definitely get them on my next van too!

-Chris-

ADSLUSER wrote: »

Thanks for all the input. I think I've decided to get them. Just got a little worried, they would be annoying rather than useful but sounds like my concerns were unwarranted. Just one person at work mentioned they had very sensitive sensors which were a bit annoying but at least there is an over ride switch. Maybe my mate's sensors were faulty!

Does anyone have to clean them often to have them function properly? Just wondering in all this mucky weather of recently!

I'd say it's more likely your mate has faulty or improperly fitted sensors judging from how they're describing them.

You don't speficially need to keep them spotless, I've never had a problem with dirt.
If you're letting your car get so dirty that the parking sensors won't work, you probably can't see out your windows or read your reg. plate either...

bazzachazza

I have them sound permanently on one very frosty morning though. Obviously only while reverse was selected. A quick wipe with a finger solved the problem instantly.

Happened once to me as well.

Think of it this way the circular bit you can see is a cover only which is also painted so if your sensors can't see through a small bit of dirt as well you have an issue.

mickdw

I have rear sensors on audi. Very good and will never get a car without them again. They are only active in reverse so not really annoying. Once when car was very very dirty they started telling me there was something behind me but at least thats 100% safe and can be relied upon.

MarkN

Such a great driving aid, I dont even look around anymore for the last bit as I have the screen too... a child could park it.

Mailman

Have them fitted as aftermarket add-ons to a Fiat Panda fitting snuggly in to the black rubbing strip of the rear bumper. The Panda is tiny and has great rear visibility but they are still extremely helpful when reversing.
The guy who wired them did a very tidy job and caused little disruption visually either to the interior or exterior of the car.

Tabnabs

Another thumbs up for them, have them on the Volvo and they are indeed excellent.

Guy in the dealership told me they had a woman with a volvo XC90 in to complain about a faulty system. She reversed and the beeping got louder and faster and then BANG, she hit a wall?! She wanted the repairs done under warranty as the car should have stopped by itself... :pac:

bazzachazza

Dyflin wrote: »

Another thumbs up for them, have them on the Volvo and they are indeed excellent.

Guy in the dealership told me they had a woman with a volvo XC90 in to complain about a faulty system. She reversed and the beeping got louder and faster and then BANG, she hit a wall?! She wanted the repairs done under warranty as the car should have stopped by itself... :pac:

Class.

Bit like the Darwin award winner a few years who bought a Winnebago which had cruise control he popped it on whilst driving on a freeway and went in the back to make some dinner it crashed off the road and killed him.

rebel.ranter

Another vote in favour, have them front and rear, they all come on once the car is in reverse, or you have the option to turn them on & off with a switch on the centre console.

I notice that sometimes they are a bit slow, I did reverse into a sign (on the dealers forecourt while collecting parts!) then they decided to beep! I had gotten so used to them I just relied on them. Luckily I wasn't going too fast so no damage to the car or sign.

Voodoomelon

Absolutely love them, I doubt I could park my car as well without them to be honest. There's no need for them on a small car though.

kayos

Have the factory ones front and rear on my A6. They go on when you go into reverse or if you hit the manual switch for them. Not had a problem with them in fact I find them a god send after coming up from an Ibiza to the A6. Lets be honest the Ibiza is about the size of the A6 boot so they help me a lot. They can read low obsticles such as a kerb but at the same point that kerb could be a little dog running behind you.

craichoe

I prefer not to use them if i don't need to, things like Sat Navs, Parking sensors etc make your a bit lazy. I was using my Sat Nav for a couple of months and one day forgot to bring it... i couldn't remember how to get home from work !!

T-Maxx

Deadzone wrote: »

Have rear one as standard on my Ford Ranger, needs regular cleaning or it packs up, not to be relied upon.

No problems at all with the ones on my Ranger. I completely recommend them.

granturismo

I got one of these supplied and fitted for €120 a few years ago - same price then as importing it myself from the UK. I checked another garage recently and the cost was €250, supplied and fitted.

http://abacuscaralarms.co.uk/store/view_product.php?product=Targa%20SR2

It does beep when covered in ice but a quick wipe sorts that out and it very occasionally beeps first thing in the morning when reversing into direct hot sunlight (so very rarely). They're not meant to be a substitute for mirrors and observation so I'm happy with it.

There is no on/off/mute switch fitted to the dash unlike some alternatives. Since its not fitted into the bumper it could be removed and fitted to another car.

Lord Nikon

My towbar is my Parking Sensor. Oh, I know I'm going to get abuse for that one

ADSLUSER

Just want to thank everyones' input. I got my car with parking sensors in the end and am delighted with the result. They work really well and no problems in rain which I previously feared. Hopefully they will stay this way but for now I'm a happy camper and consider it a good investment .

My friend's car which was suffering from constant beeps in the rain turned out to be a problem with exposed wiring under the bottom grill in the front of the car that was not properly concealed. During rain, water would get sucked in when the car was moving causing the parking sensors to malfunction.