Parking in a tight garage

[Lockerbie]

So the first time I parked my brand new MY, I nicked the wheel. My garage is tight and I have to pull in at a small angle. I realized that with my old car, I can see the hood and the fenders to guide me whereas the MY I can’t gauge how much room I have for each side.
I am ordering one of those laser tools to help me center the car so I can just pull straight in. But even with that, I had to raise up just to see part of the hood so I am not sure how that will help. But someone posted that it will help.

is there a trick to park in tight garage? How do you know how much room you have without seeing the hood and fenders?

 

[ThomasD]

Pull the car in far enough to close the garage door. Take a short brick and put it in front of one the front tires. The next time you pull in when the tire hits the brick you are in far enough

 

[Lockerbie]

Pull the car in far enough to close the garage door. Take a short brick and put it in front of one the front tires. The next time you pull in when the tire hits the brick you are in far enough

I am talking about the side clearance. Garage is long but not wide enough.

 

[Big Earl]

Back in.

 

[WhyYesPlease]

Back in.

What he said.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people pull into parking spots, garages, etc., etc., nose first. Back in, everyone!!

 

[bruce4000]

The classic solution is to hang an old tennis ball from the ceiling so it just hits the Windshield straight ahead of the driver. when you are in the right spot. Should be able to judge left and right as well as how far in. Could hang one on the side also I suppose but after a few times you can judge pretty close. I have some shop tools on the side and only have about 3 inches clearance.

 

[BDC62]

Also, when you are pulling in to your garage, take a look at the diagram of your car on the screen. The sonars around the car begin alerting when your car is within 36 inches or so of an obstruction. When you are properly aligned, and about to enter through the garage door, the distance from each front side of the car will indicate how many inches away each door wall is. This can also help from hitting your mirrors when pulling in or backing out.

 

[Killerzeit]

Back in.

Yep, this is how I do it. I have about 1.5" on each side for my Model S. The actual opening of the garage is small but the garage is a little larger so once I make it through the opening it's better, but I would NEVER be able to pull in nose first. I don't even want to try.

 

[drtimhill]

What he said.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people pull into parking spots, garages, etc., etc., nose first. Back in, everyone!!

That has never made any sense to me .. getting INTO a tight spot is harder than getting OUT of a tight spot. So you want to do the hardest maneuver with the best visibility .. when facing forward. It's also easier to access the trunk when it is facing out. About the only disadvantage is reduced visibility when backing out into passing traffic.

 

[Canefan456]

That has never made any sense to me .. getting INTO a tight spot is harder than getting OUT of a tight spot. So you want to do the hardest maneuver with the best visibility .. when facing forward. It's also easier to access the trunk when it is facing out. About the only disadvantage is reduced visibility when backing out into passing traffic.

With the cameras on our cars I think you could argue that you have better visibility when backing in than you do when pulling in nose first. With the rear camera and side repeaters visible onscreen, I can definitely maneuver into a tight space with more confidence then I can pulling forward.

 

[pt19713]

That has never made any sense to me .. getting INTO a tight spot is harder than getting OUT of a tight spot. So you want to do the hardest maneuver with the best visibility .. when facing forward. It's also easier to access the trunk when it is facing out. About the only disadvantage is reduced visibility when backing out into passing traffic.

Personally, I find it easier to back in than parking pulling forward. Backing in provides the side mirrors in addition to the cameras.

Backing it in also let's me get closer to the wall to provide more clearance on my driver's side

 

[drtimhill]

With the cameras on our cars I think you could argue that you have better visibility when backing in than you do when pulling in nose first. With the rear camera and side repeaters visible onscreen, I can definitely maneuver into a tight space with more confidence then I can pulling forward.

Yeah I agree that the pendulum is gradually swinging with backup cameras, but I still cringe when I watch some people back in next to my car and get FAR too close to the doors.

 

[Thp3]

The easy hack is white duct tape. Then you can adjust the Tesla backup lines to be centered or offset as you back in.

$5. Pretty easy fix.

The white tape at end was placed to tell me to stop when it got to the bottom of the backup image...

 

[Lockerbie]

Thank you. Backing in using the rear view camera and duck tape on the floor is the best. I tried the headin with the laser thing but I could not even see the laser on the hood. Plus backing up is so much easier to get your car straight as in my case with a side entrance garage.

Now I just have a minor issue with the charger as I had installed it with the car parked headin. Now the outlet is on the other side. Will need a NEMA 14-50 extension cord.
Thank you again for suggestion the tape and backing in!

 

[WhyYesPlease]

That has never made any sense to me .. getting INTO a tight spot is harder than getting OUT of a tight spot. So you want to do the hardest maneuver with the best visibility .. when facing forward. It's also easier to access the trunk when it is facing out. About the only disadvantage is reduced visibility when backing out into passing traffic.

Yes, getting into a tight spot is harder than getting out of a tight spot. And yes, visibility is better out the front than out the back.

But what makes a big difference is that the front wheels turn, and the back wheels don't. You can't manoeuvre the tail end of the car nearly as easily as you can the front end. That's why when we're taught to parallel park, we back into the spot. The same logic applies elsewhere.

So in a shopping mall parking lot situation, the manoeuvrability you get by backing into the spot outweighs the visibility factor. And, as was said above, the side mirrors are your friend when you're backing into a tight spot.

 

[GRACKLE]

Perhaps I'm hard headed, but I have been pulling into my small garage (with a tight driveway) front first for years, and prefer to continue. Seems silly to hang a tennis ball when the car has so many cameras and technology. Of note, I ordered my first Tesla - a Model Y on 10/21/20. My garage leaves about 5" in front and behind the car, and I need to park very close to one wall so I can open the driver's side door. I test drove it to try to park in my garage. I was frustrated that while my 2016 Audi q3 will at least show me a moving red line the closer I get to an object/wall when parking, the MY countdown stops at 12" and then just says STOP. Wish it would continue to 5 or 6 inches. So, I found I'd pull in a bit, then put it in reverse to engage the cameras and see where I was. Then pull in a little more, and put it in reverse again to see how far I was to the back of the garage (which would show me about where I should be). If only there was a way to have all the cameras on when parking in a tight spot, and not have to keep putting it in reverse just to activate them. Like the birds eye view parking assist that comes with most new cars these days. Then I saw Musk tweeted on 10/2 that "birds eye view is coming with FSD" (at the same time? bundled? who knows?). In good faith I added FSD onto my order and have my fingers crossed for birds eye view sooner rather than later. Sure there's other benefits to FSD, but that birds eye view is about as key as the dog mode to my daily quality of life.

 

[Big Earl]

Perhaps I'm hard headed, but I have been pulling into my small garage (with a tight driveway) front first for years, and prefer to continue. Seems silly to hang a tennis ball when the car has so many cameras and technology. Of note, I ordered my first Tesla - a Model Y on 10/21/20. My garage leaves about 5" in front and behind the car, and I need to park very close to one wall so I can open the driver's side door. I test drove it to try to park in my garage. I was frustrated that while my 2016 Audi q3 will at least show me a moving red line the closer I get to an object/wall when parking, the MY countdown stops at 12" and then just says STOP. Wish it would continue to 5 or 6 inches. So, I found I'd pull in a bit, then put it in reverse to engage the cameras and see where I was. Then pull in a little more, and put it in reverse again to see how far I was to the back of the garage (which would show me about where I should be). If only there was a way to have all the cameras on when parking in a tight spot, and not have to keep putting it in reverse just to activate them. Like the birds eye view parking assist that comes with most new cars these days. Then I saw Musk tweeted on 10/2 that "birds eye view is coming with FSD" (at the same time? bundled? who knows?). In good faith I added FSD onto my order and have my fingers crossed for birds eye view sooner rather than later. Sure there's other benefits to FSD, but that birds eye view is about as key as the dog mode to my daily quality of life.

Press the camera icon just above the car menu to bring up the cameras anytime.

 

[Srad600Volt]

Now, if they only allowed the front facing cameras to be used for parking assist.

 

[GRACKLE]

Big Earl: Thanks! No idea why they didn't tell me that at the dealership when I told them about my dilemma and said I'd wished I could turn the cameras on without having to put the car in reverse. They said I'd have to wait for birds eye view.

A front facing camera for parking would be awesome. But I thought I read that the Model Y's front camera is mounted too high for that purpose?

 

[Srad600Volt]

A front facing camera for parking would be awesome. But I thought I read that the Model Y's front camera is mounted too high for that purpose?

It's not ideal, but any additional vantage point would be helpful. Since it's mounted above our heads, looking down, I think that viewpoint would be beneficial. The best would be to have a low mounted front facing camera (or cameras) allowing for curb views but that deosn't currently exist. IMHO it's better than nothing.