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Your 2-Minute Guide to Vehicle Parking Assist Systems

by: JasonLancaster
Total views: 5 | Word Count: 613

Almost every kind of vehicle has experienced a growth in size over the past decade. An "entry-level" car by a company such as BMW nowadays might be near the size and weight of a mid-size car ten years ago. As vehicles have gotten bigger, parking has become harder and harder.

The vehicle growth spurt is most visible in the pickup truck segment, where even such "small" trucks as the Dodge Dakota are now so big that they dwarf earlier models. Full-size trucks too have grown, getting heavier, wider and taller. Toyota vehicles have followed this market trend. When it was first introduced, the Toyota Tundra was a mid-size pickup aimed at the full-size crowd. But when Toyota realized they could fit more buyers in a larger vehicle, the 2007 Tundra redesign ballooned the truck in almost every dimension.

While size does matter, all of that increased mass is nowhere near as easy to park as it used to be. For instance, when you ride in a new Toyota Tundra, you'll probably find it difficult to tell exactly where the truck begins and ends. Vehicle designers, in an effort to make our lives easier, have come up with something called "parking assist" to help overcome this issue.

"Parking assist" is, on most vehicles, a system of sensors mounted on one or both sets of bumpers which beeps as the vehicle approaches an object. The beeps usually begin from about 6 feet away from an obstacle, and increase in frequency as you approach, becoming a continuous tone at about 6 inches from the obstacle. Beeping frequency and onset vary between different systems. The parking assist is a great tool for parallel parking, and can also serve as a warning if a small object such as a fence post or child is near your vehicle. But how does it work?

The system is essentially a set of "eyes", or sensors, mounted on the bumpers, and which emit highly focused sound waves at regular intervals. When the sound waves bump into an object, they will bounce back towards the sensor. Given that the speed of sound in air is fairly consistent, the computer can take the amount of time between the sound being emitted and when it returned to the sensor, and use this information to calculate the distance between the bumper and the object. The same principle is used by submarines in active sonar underwater. The main difference here is that sound travels much better in water than in air, so the submarine sensors have a better range.

While the system is effective when dealing with stationary objects like parked vehicles, posts and garage doors, the sensors are not quite sensitive enough to pick up smaller objects moving past the sensors. This means that small children, animals, or all-terrain vehicles might not generate a warning beep - or at least not a consistent warning beep. So, while parking assist - aka parking sonar - is definitely a useful tool, it is not a replacement for caution. Drivers must still do their best to ensure that there is no one behind or in front of their vehicle when parking.

Some high-end luxury cars are beginning to feature the next generation of parking assist systems, which are amazing devices. A video camera and complex computer program are used to enhance the accuracy of traditional sound sensors. Instead of simply emitting warnings when the driver is close to an object, the newer parking assist systems can actually steer and park the car for you. This is an amazing tool for parallel parking - as long as you're ready to give your car control of the steering, gas and brake. Whatever will they dream up next?

About the Author

Author Jason Lancaster operates TundraHeadquarters.com, a web site with information, news, and reviews of Toyota Tundra parts and Tundra accessories.

Your 2-Minute Guide to Vehicle Parking Assist Systems

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