Does Park Assist actually work for people?

[HDer]

Sometimes, like in our driveway, it won't trigger. I did get it to trigger twice though. First time I stopped it when it looked like it was going to back into a curb. Second time it kept the button pressed thinking it would turn and it did hit the (thankfully low) curb.

Am I doing it wrong or is it really not consistent? Kind of scared to try it any more.

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[BatStang]

Sometimes, like in our driveway, it won't trigger. I did get it to trigger twice though. First time I stopped it when it looked like it was going to back into a curb. Second time it kept the button pressed thinking it would turn and it did hit the (thankfully low) curb.

Am I doing it wrong or is it really not consistent? Kind of scared to try it any more.

I tried to use it a few times and it never worked right. I had the car since April and never got it to work even after watching many videos. The last time I tried to use it, it got waaaayyyy too close to a parked car so I aborted the mission and never tried to use it again. So there's that.

 

[AZBill]

I have not had any parallel parking places to try it out until today, when I was at the Grand Canyon. Pushed the button and got an error message saying it is not available due to some fault.

 

[SnBGC]

Oh yeah. I forgot our car has that feature.

Never used it so I can't comment on effectiveness. I don't think I have the patience to let it try and park itself. Likely much quicker to just park the car myself and get on with things. However, don't know for certain because I never bothered to learn how it works. ??

 

[kltye]

I use it relatively often, and it works about 95% of the time. I usually use the parallel parking portion, but the pull out and perpendicular parking features have worked without fail for me when I've tried them.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

Sometimes, like in our driveway, it won't trigger. I did get it to trigger twice though. First time I stopped it when it looked like it was going to back into a curb. Second time it kept the button pressed thinking it would turn and it did hit the (thankfully low) curb.

Am I doing it wrong or is it really not consistent? Kind of scared to try it any more.

It’s made to park between cars on either side or either end. It doesn’t use road stripes; rather, it looks for cars on either side or end of a space, calculates the distance between them, and then puts the MME in the middle. If you’re trying to use it without cars on either side or end, your results will vary widely and usually not for the better.

 

[Scarpia]

I have not had any parallel parking places to try it out until today, when I was at the Grand Canyon. Pushed the button and got an error message saying it is not available due to some fault.

I see what you did there.

 

[RedStallion]

I tried it once and it clearly was directing the vehicle towards the other parked car, so I had to abort it. Systems like that unless they are 99.9999% reliable are useless or worse.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Sometimes, like in our driveway, it won't trigger. I did get it to trigger twice though. First time I stopped it when it looked like it was going to back into a curb. Second time it kept the button pressed thinking it would turn and it did hit the (thankfully low) curb.

Am I doing it wrong or is it really not consistent? Kind of scared to try it any more.

Check out what the manual has to say about this feature. As @JohnnyForensic alluded to, park assist requires vertical surfaces to orient itself while parking. It's for parallel parking as well as perpendicular parking spaces (between other cars).

Lots of other helpful tips in the FAQs found in the Active Park Assist section of your owners manual:

Active Park Assist – Frequently Asked Questions

Why does active park assist not operate correctly?
The system is unable to detect a vehicle, curb or object to park next to or in between. The system needs boundary objects to operate correctly.

Why does active park assist not search for a parking space?
You have switched traction control off.

Why does active park assist not search for a parking space?
The transmission is in reverse (R). Your vehicle must be moving forward to be able to detect a parking space.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
The sensors could be blocked. For example, snow, ice or large accumulations of dirt. Blocked sensors can affect how the system functions.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
The sensors in the front or rear bumper could be damaged.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
There is not enough room in the parking space for your vehicle to safely park.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
There is not enough space for the parking maneuver on the opposite side of the parking space.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
The parking space is more than 5 ft (1.5 m) or less than 2 ft (.5 m) away from your vehicle.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
Your vehicle's speed is greater than 22 mph (35 km/h) for parallel parking or greater than 19 mph (30 km/h) for perpendicular parking.

Why does active park assist not offer a parking space?
You recently disconnected or replaced the battery. After you reconnect the battery you must drive your vehicle on a straight road for a short period of time.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
An irregular curb along the parking space prevents the system from correctly aligning your vehicle.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
Vehicles or objects bordering the space could not be correctly parked.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
Your vehicle stopped too far past the parking space.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
The tires are not correctly installed or maintained. For example, using a spare tire, not inflated correctly, improper size, or of different sizes.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
A repair or alteration changed the detection capabilities.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
A parked vehicle has a high attachment. For example, a salt sprayer, snowplow or moving truck bed.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
The parking space length, or position of parked objects, changes after your vehicle passes the space.

Why does active park assist not correctly position the vehicle into a parking space?
The temperature around your vehicle quickly changes. For example, driving from a heated garage into a cold outside temperature, or after leaving a car wash.

 

[AZBill]

I see what you did there.

I managed just fine manually, without going over the edge.

 

[blue92lx]

Sometimes, like in our driveway, it won't trigger. I did get it to trigger twice though. First time I stopped it when it looked like it was going to back into a curb. Second time it kept the button pressed thinking it would turn and it did hit the (thankfully low) curb.

Am I doing it wrong or is it really not consistent? Kind of scared to try it any more.

These always freak me out. I've tried it in a few different cars now and they get suuuuper close to the other parked cars, a lot of times they'll get inches from the curb, etc.

Also, not sure how the MME handles it but on Volvos if there arent any other cars it tells you to park yourself. It's actually kind of funny.

 

[HDer]

Tried it again today in a Home Depot parking lot. It was backing up very quickly so I took my hand off of the button and it told me to park it myself after I did that.

 

[mr_raider]

Tried it again today in a Home Depot parking lot. It was backing up very quickly so I took my hand off of the button and it told me to park it myself after I did that.

If it's going too fast for your liking, you can use the brake to slow it down. It won't cancel the park.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

It’s weird, this is my third Ford with Park Assist. My 2012 Focus and 2014 Fusion both worked perfectly every time. The MME has been mixed though. One time it did get Very close to the curb on a parallel park. The old way the system worked was you rode the brake and it did the steering. This new way of just holding the button is a little anxiety producing for me. So I’ve found that while holding the button I can still ride the brake and control it’s speed. So I think I’ll go with that until I’ve had more successful parks.

 

[AZBill]

I finally read the manual and tried it out twice for perpendicular parking and got it to work. first time it went in an out of the space twice before success, the second try it pulled back out once, then succeeded.

Then I found a parallel parking space with a car behind it and a curb in front of it, with some trees and bushes, but no second car. The car tried but backed up onto the curb, so I stopped it. So I think it has to have two cars for it to work properly.

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