Parking Pilot

[Thrash]

Hi guys

I have the Parking Pilot fitted to my car and I hadn't used it as I usually park in an end bay space and rarely need to parallel park.
Well, I figured I would try it out in a car park the other day, it was fairly empty and the prompt came up on the screen so I put it into reverse and pressed OK - the next thing I know it's reversing me about 20 yards back up the road (thankfully no cars were behind!) but in the end I cancelled it because I had no idea where it was going.

So I tried it again yesterday, between two cars in a bay. It picked up the right space but it didn't turn enough, if I let it carry on then it would've reversed into one of the parked cars (the white line on the reversing camera was on the other car). Again, I cancelled it and parked manually.

I gave it another go today but it picked up the wrong space and then tried to park me in a space with a motorbike parked in.

Is this system really that poor or do I need to visit the dealer? I think 3 failed attempts is a bit concerning!

 

[clk320x]

Hi guys

I have the Parking Pilot fitted to my car and I hadn't used it as I usually park in an end bay space and rarely need to parallel park.
Well, I figured I would try it out in a car park the other day, it was fairly empty and the prompt came up on the screen so I put it into reverse and pressed OK - the next thing I know it's reversing me about 20 yards back up the road (thankfully no cars were behind!) but in the end I cancelled it because I had no idea where it was going.

So I tried it again yesterday, between two cars in a bay. It picked up the right space but it didn't turn enough, if I let it carry on then it would've reversed into one of the parked cars (the white line on the reversing camera was on the other car). Again, I cancelled it and parked manually.

I gave it another go today but it picked up the wrong space and then tried to park me in a space with a motorbike parked in.

Is this system really that poor or do I need to visit the dealer? I think 3 failed attempts is a bit concerning!

I've never understood the point of a system like that. if you can't even park don't drive.
By the way this is not aimed at you I just mean I don't see why there is demand for such a system

 

[Thrash]

I've never understood the point of a system like that. if you can't even park don't drive.
By the way this is not aimed at you I just mean I don't see why there is demand for such a system

No I agree, I only have it because it came included in the package I spec'd. I just thought I should try it out as a bit of a novelty. I think it's quite worrying if it is that poor though because I know most people would probably have just let it do it's thing.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I've never understood the point of a system like that. if you can't even park don't drive.
By the way this is not aimed at you I just mean I don't see why there is demand for such a system

Mine was standard but as the sitting position in a SL is very low (I'm 6'2" and my shoulder is level with the sill) and I cannot see anywhere near the front or rear end, the parking pilot is brilliant and makes life a lot easier. I never had it in my SLK and even with the sensors it was hard to park. BTW - I can parallel park ;-).

@Thrash, my wife's MB (2015 B) and mine will also park perpendicular (assume yours will as well). I've (or her) have never had a problem the few times I have used my parking pilot - might be a problem with your sensors but you do have to drive past the empty bay. and the back end of your car should probably be near the middle of the car you are parking behind.

 

[geraldrobins]

Are they not designed for parallel parking, which is a little more difficult imo?

 

[Thrash]

Are they not designed for parallel parking, which is a little more difficult imo?

I'm pretty sure it only used to work for parallel parking but at some point bay parking was introduced but not sure when. My parents had a new B Class a few years ago and that would only parallel park automatically although it needed a space so big you would've had no problems doing it yourself. It seems a bit more advanced now.

 

[540YMX]

It can do both parallel & reverse

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[markjay]

I have the older version, that shows you how much to turn the steering wheel etc but does not actually turn the steering wheel or move the car.

I played with it and I must say it parks the car pretty well, the only downside perhaps is that it requires decent amount of space - I can manually park the car in tight spaces where the parking guidance wouldn't be able to.

Said that, apart from testing it a few times, I don't actually use it.

So in short I don't think there's an issue with the technology as such... your car may have a faulty sensor, or perhaps the parking pilot needs a software update?

 

[Planet9]

Mine was standard but as the sitting position in a SL is very low (I'm 6'2" and my shoulder is level with the sill) and I cannot see anywhere near the front or rear end, the parking pilot is brilliant and makes life a lot easier. I never had it in my SLK and even with the sensors it was hard to park. BTW - I can parallel park ;-).

@Thrash, my wife's MB (2015 B) and mine will also park perpendicular (assume yours will as well). I've (or her) have never had a problem the few times I have used my parking pilot - might be a problem with your sensors but you do have to drive past the empty bay. and the back end of your car should probably be near the middle of the car you are parking behind.

Perpendicular! Well, that would save space.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[fourwheels]

I have it (it came as part of the package) but don't use it.
To be fair it parks accurately in tight spaces but takes a while and I feel I'm holding up other traffic while it shuffles back and forth.

 

[rf065]

I have it (it came as part of the package) but don't use it.
To be fair it parks accurately in tight spaces but takes a while and I feel I'm holding up other traffic while it shuffles back and forth.

I agree, but I'm told the new E Class automatically changes from reverse to forward or reverse again without any interaction from the driver. That should speed up the whole process, I wonder if it could be retrofitted to older models?

 

[Ady]

I have used mine for bay parking a few times for a bit of fun and it works flawlessly. Normally I just drive straight into bays going forward but the park pilot has to go past the bay and then reverse back at an angle and drives in forwards (assuming I have selected to go in forwards). So as others have said it is a bit slow for that reason. I used it for parallel parking once and that was in a line down the center of the car park that could be accesses from either side but it still lined up perfectly which did surprise me. I like that the process can be paused by applying the foot brake to stop and it carries on when you release the brake. One time it had reversed back and then driven in forwards but then wanted to revers out again to straighten up. So I just held it on the brake until the waiting cars had passed and then let it finish off. Another time a pedestrian walked across while it was reversing and it stopped by it's self then continued once he had past.
As you can probably tell I am impressed with it even though most times I just drive straight in so don't use it.

 

[kianok]

I assume you mean active park assist (you do the pedals, the car does the steering)

I’ve only really messed with it as I find it quicker to just park it myself.

Mixed results, sometimes it works really well and other times it makes a bit of a pigs ear of the whole process.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Perpendicular! Well, that would save space.


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Yes not vertical...... a line 90 degrees to a another line is perpendicular ;-)

 

[Ady]

I assume you mean active park assist (you do the pedals, the car does the steering)

I have the "Park Pilot" that does everything (steering, accelerating, braking and gear change). All I do is choose the space and the car does the rest. In theory I could even get out and use my mobile phone to complete the parking once I have chosen the space and which direction I want it to park. But I am having problems with the phone connection so it will rarely connect. That does seems to be a common problem if you go by the Parking app reviews on the Play Store.