[Closed] Aftermarket parking sensors

Can you not get a man to park it for you love?

Dammit. I thought 3 posts. STW surpassed my expectations.

Having driven a couple of cars with parking sensors, I find I just leave MORE of a gap becasue the bloody thing is bleeping at me too early!

Parking sensors suck at best and the aftermarket ones look like someone's attacked your car with extra strong mints.

Interesting. Haven't ever used them before because TBH I've never needed them - just the Mondeo's overhangs make it nigh on impossible to really work out where the back is, particularly in car parks and the like where the barrier/stop is often lower than the rear window so there's no way to tell.

We had them fitted to the front of our Merc, for my wife 🙄

Guy turned up and did them at our house, cost £200 ish can't remember his name though... or

Can you not get a man to park it for you love?

the Mondeo's overhangs make it nigh on impossible to really work out where the back is

Have you not had it long?
Sounds like experience will sort it to me.....and bravery! 🙂 Mrs PP get the jitters when I park becasue I get so close to stuff... Well, it LOOKS like I do, but when we get out, I point out the 1ft+ gap I've left!

That said, if you do get them fitted, get some that only activate within 1ft at most, otherwise you'll be no better off.

Had it a year now, thought I'd get the hang of it but I find I'm just still playing safe - as I said, I don't really like risking other peoples' cars.

FWIW, I'm usually the person who parks cars in tiny spaces when others can't - growing up in London, I had to lots - but the Mondeo seems to just confound.

I'd be interested to know this too - I'm sure experience will sort it, but thanks to where we live I have to park uphill on a narrow cobbled road, with annoying bollards at the far side, in quite tight spots on a regular basis, so anything that makes life easier would be welcome!

Joe

passtherizla - Member

Parking sensors suck at best and the aftermarket ones look like someone's attacked your car with extra strong mints.

You can get electromagnetic ones which go underneath the bumper like these:
http://www.parkingdynamics.com/

Presumable EM ones will only register metal though?

Ever thought about retaking your driving test instead?

Ever thought about not talking crap? 😉

clubber - Member

Presumable EM ones will only register metal though?

What objects can the PD1 detect?

The PD1 parking sensor can detect objects and obstacles of all kinds from people, vehicles, kerbs, walls, fences, skips all the way garage doors, bushes and garden materials.

The only material which has a lower detection is pure ceramic and glass if not containing contaminating particles.

Capability to approach obstacles up to 10 centimetres away which is ideal for tight parking spaces. The ultrasonic type sensors are unable to distinguish distances below 30 cm.

(don't work for them - they're just the ones I was looking at getting)

Ah, cool.

Fit a towbar 🙂

🙂 Doesn't really fulfill my requirement not to risk other peoples' paint though.

FWIW,

The Mondeo is deceptive (assuming we've got the same one, I'm talking about the current shape). It's a long car and feels longer.

I know that if I park to where it looks like I'm going to bump I've got about two feet left, so can confidently go back another foot or so, but it takes a bit of getting used to.

It's a long car and feels longer.

Exactly. I park as close as I really want to risk and then find I've got plenty of space. Worse still for my wife.

do you use groupon ? if not join as there are some good offers

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/bristol/lnb-towbars/901209?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_1_0_0_264&a=15

I dont know if they are any good, but worth looking into

I find I just leave MORE of a gap becasue the bloody thing is bleeping at me too early!

+1

to give the OP some credit the new mondeos have rear visability like a jumbo

I have a mondeo estate with parking sensors. They have been really useful, you only have to hit something once and you have more than paid for the sensors. They are handy in supermarkets if people walk across the back of the car. Seam like a common sense idea to me?

I park as close as I really want to risk and then find I've got plenty of space. Worse still for my wife.

I think that's more information than I needed, but I believe it's correctable by surgery these days.

lodious +1

Got built-in parking sensors in my Focus and they've saved me a couple of "Oh crap" moments.

Plus they mean you don't have to use your mirrors 🙂

I got a kit off ebay for my VW Bora a few years ago, colour coded so they don't look too daft. easy enough to fit and only cost <£20. Only trouble I'd say, like other people have mentioned, they're too sensitive, you get a solid beep when you still have 1ft left, so you always end up going that 'little bit further' and its then you end up hitting things lol. If there is a kit out there that has adjustable sensitivity, then that would be worthwhile.

i remember reading somewhere about a chap who had invented a version that used the capacitance of your bumper. as you approached said wall, the capacitance would change.

the kit was about a £5 to make and could be fitted yourself.

must have been bought out sharpish by the man.
like dyson's ultrasonic washing machine.... but thats another story.

Worth speaking to a dealer or ford specialist to see if they can retrofit an oem system - my Vauxhall dealer added cruise control to our zafira for £50.

A company called x-vision do them for Ford, they are a very good system, about £200 fitted for rears

Seems I've gotten lucky: every car I've ever bought has come with parking sensors. Quite the thing, and useful for more than just parking. I think they're called 'eyes'.

I retro fitted sensors to my van and car - I got the pukka toyota kit for the car from ebay (valeo sensors) for £50 and downloaded the instructions including drilling templates from their website.

Van has got eBay £20 cheapo sensors. Not worth bothering with IMO as they are very slow to register and have recently stopped working after 2 years or so.

I had them on my last car, but not on this one - I do miss them and was looking for something for the current car. Ended up not bothering. The beauty of the system we had was that it didn't need a visual indicator...the sound of where was close came from the corner of the car which was close to something - if you were reversing straight back, then sound came from both rear corners, etc etc. And it only activated when you engaged first gear. There's no doubt that they do sometimes help you get into spots that for which you'd normally use the bumper as a parking "sensor".

Be interested to know if the aftermarket jobbies come up to this kind of standard.

My wife is from Milan, I let her do the parking 😯

Seriously, they don't give a ****, just keep going until you see the other car move a bit seems to be the preferred method
I just don't look any more and try to get out of the car and walk away and leave her to it, just in case 🙂

Get a Fiat 500 you big girl.