Parking sensors

[bareyb]

We have it in our Toyota Sienna and we ended up turning it off. The beeping was only helpful under a very limited set of circumstances. Most of the time it was warning us of "dangers" that didn't really exist. It went off from us pulling into the Garage for instance, because we park next to some cabinets and need to get very close so both our cars can fit in the garage. I MUCH prefer a visual system where the Audio can be turned off. In fact, I wasn't going to order the PS in the Tesla until I found out it was a visual system where the audio could be turned off. So different stroke for different folks, but I think Tesla got it right. If it was a standard beep only system I wouldn't have ordered it.

 

[4SUPER9]

In case anyone is interested, I popped the nose cone on my MS today. Here are some pics:

 

[vfx]

Having come from the Audi world, where the parking sensors worked great, I ... and at the same time, the audio cues (including ever-increasing rates of short beeps as I got closer to whatever it was I was getting closer to) provided plenty of information to help me park. Especially handy in the Audi is that the audio beeps for front sensors were at a different audio pitch than the rear sensors. And both pitches were adjustable in the Settings menu if you so chose.....

You should send this post directly to Jerome.

 

[yobigd20]

I thought I would update this thread with my experience with the OEM parking sensors. I have now noticed that while driving in stop-n-go city traffic, my front sensors are continuously alerting me to cars that are in either lane. Not cars in front of me, but on the sides. Very frustrating. I am calling TM as soon as I get a break from work.

Hah! This would drive me insane in NYC where I continuously have 1-2 inches space on either side of the car sandwiched between trucks and cabs. I even got sideswiped last week by a big white van, who of course didn't stop. He actually sideawiped the rear bumper where it juts out due to the wheels being wider in the back. Fortunately, it must have been some sort of rubber on his wheel well bc there was no damage to my car outside of a small chip about a 1/4 of the size of a dime, so it's really small. Can't even tell. Didn't even bother trying to flag the guy down or call cops/insurance. That's NYC for ya..

 

[4SUPER9]

Hah! This would drive me insane in NYC where I continuously have 1-2 inches space on either side of the car sandwiched between trucks and cabs.

I tried to grab a quick picture of this yesterday. I already spoke to TM about this who say they intend to fix this through software. You can see the sensor going off on my dash, and how far the car to the left is from me. I couldn't imagine driving with these in NYC. Then again, I really can't imagine driving with this car whatsoever there. LA streets are crowded enough.

 

[JPP]

At today’s event @ Chrissy Field in SF, I had the opportunity to talk with Jerome G, and get a close look at his personal (well..corporate with MFG tags) red P85+ (debadged). He was very generous and gracious with his time, and fairly candid. He noted that essentially every new feature/add-on/update/retrofit gets put on his S early (he really is on the bleeding/alpha edge), with all of the attendant woes and benefits. He has tested tires (original Contis, new Michelins), suspension upgrades, parking sensors, power folding mirrors, and so on.

I asked about the parking distance control system, and the possibility of retrofits. He in fact had them retrofitted into his personal S. There are many significant issues, and this will not ever be offered as an ‘advertised’, mainstream upgrade.

First, there is the technical and cosmetic issue about making holes in the front and rear bumper fascia. In his opinion, trying to create holes in the painted bumper fascia is fraught with cosmetic issues, with paint flaking and a subtle uneven appearance to the openings. In forward production, they use a sonic system to make a very precise clean hole without disrupting the paint. Also, in the retrofit, the mounting system to the fascia apparently needs to be different than the system used in forward production, and he was/is unhappy with the fitment. He showed me the cosmetic result on his personal S, and I agree that it just does not look perfect.

More significant is the wiring harness. Older production vehicles do not have the necessary wiring. Even current production, depending on the ‘build list’, might not have the proper wiring for a retrofit (apparently they do use different harnesses and wiring looms depending on options ordered). In some instances, he noted that doing a retrofit would be essentially impossible due to the complexity of rewiring the chassis.

Jerome did not rule out the possibility of individual owners asking if TM would (for essentially any price) in fact do a retrofit, but IMHO this will never show up as a ‘factory approved’ option.

I think that if you are waiting for this, and you must have parking sensors, find a local installer/customizer and decide if aftermarket will work for you. Also note that one TMC contributor is working on a retrofit front bumper camera (identical to the existing rear camera) that might be an easier better option for S owners who are concerned about front bumper damage.

Sorry for the bad news.

 

[4SUPER9]

Thanks JPP. Good info for the group. Personally, I am not entirely satisfied with the sensors as is. Maybe they are better with 5.6. We'll see.

Did he mention anything about folding mirror retrofit?

 

[JPP]

Thanks JPP. Good info for the group. Personally, I am not entirely satisfied with the sensors as is. Maybe they are better with 5.6. We'll see.

Did he mention anything about folding mirror retrofit?

Yes he did. See my comments on the appropriate thread(s) here on TMC.

 

[ebbrey]

Im on 5.6 and mine goes off way too early when backing up.. And its not every time. And car was not dirty in this test..

 

[rjcbox]

How do aftermarket parking sensors display on your dash/display?

 

[4SUPER9]

Aftermarket sensors do not integrate with the OEM display. There are several options that I have seen, including red/orange/green lights on top of the mirror, or just sound alone.

 

[mdh]

I wish TM would figure out a way to support parking sensors... even a sponsored after market kit.

 

[Kraken]

When our front bumpers have to be replaced for the new front dam to prevent road debris, it will temporarily reduce the parking sensor retrofit cost :tongue:

 

[bob_p]

If Tesla is not going to provide a retrofit option, they should at least document the interface & required specifications for the sensors and allow 3rd parties to come up with alternatives that will integrate cleanly.

 

[mdh]

If Tesla is not going to provide a retrofit option, they should at least document the interface & required specifications for the sensors and allow 3rd parties to come up with alternatives that will integrate cleanly.

I agree!

 

[bareyb]

I'd much rather have a front Camera similar to the back Camera. I do find the parking sensor to be very helpful but a Camera would be far more precise.

 

[markb1]

So has anyone tried to purchase just the parts from Tesla, yet?

 

[InTheShadows]

I'd much rather have a front Camera similar to the back Camera. I do find the parking sensor to be very helpful but a Camera would be far more precise.

I agree, I scuffed a curb already despite putting the car into very high. It was a tight area and I thought very high should easily give me enough clearance. Fortunately I was going extremely slow.

I'm also not quite sure how the distance numbers are calculated and at what point they are calculated from. When I scuffed the curb I didn't have any distances displaying, I think it was just green.

 

[bareyb]

I agree, I scuffed a curb already despite putting the car into very high. It was a tight area and I thought very high should easily give me enough clearance. Fortunately I was going extremely slow.

I'm also not quite sure how the distance numbers are calculated and at what point they are calculated from. When I scuffed the curb I didn't have any distances displaying, I think it was just green.

I came out of the Gym one day and was fairly horrified to see that I'd driven completely over the top of a parking barrier and it was under my car. I had cleared it by about 1/8 of an inch… (I suppose that's one silver lining of the new higher height). Unfortunately it appears that the sensors don't react to curbs very well if you are approaching them straight on. I think the sensors simply look over the tops of them sometimes. A camera would avoid that problem.

 

[mknox]

I came out of the Gym one day and was fairly horrified to see that I'd driven completely over the top of a parking barrier and it was under my car.

I backed over one yesterday complete with gut-wrenching "scrape" sounds. Fortunately, the scrape is way down underneath where you'd only see it with the car on a hoist. The rear-view camera is useless here in the Canadian winter. There is so much road salt, and the Model S aerodynamics seem to bring all of the dirt up and on to the back of the car. After driving about 50', the camera gets coated and all you see is a grey screen. I wish the sensors were available when I bought my car, but based on this, they might not have helped anyway.