Intuitive Parking Assist Question

[rob_es350]

Not sure my Intuitive Parking Assist is working properly.

Press the button, it beeps and green light comes on, so that's all good.

But nothing is displayed immediately.

If the car gets too close to an object, the display does come on with a picture of the car, highlighting the corner of the car where it is too close to an object.

The manual leads me to believe that the display should come on immediately, and change graphics/sounds as the car get closer to an object.

Please let me know if the IPA is working correctly.

Thanks.

[pj8708]

Not sure my Intuitive Parking Assist is working properly.

Press the button, it beeps and green light comes on, so that's all good.

But nothing is displayed immediately.

If the car gets too close to an object, the display does come on with a picture of the car, highlighting the corner of the car where it is too close to an object.

The manual leads me to believe that the display should come on immediately, and change graphics/sounds as the car get closer to an object.

Please let me know if the IPA is working correctly.

Thanks.

Hi rob; It does sound like everything is working as it should. The Park Assist feature only displays the outline of the car when it actually detects an object within the initial 4.9ft warning zone. This distance applies to both front and rear sensors. If you are not closer than that to an object while trying to park or back up or jockey around an object, etc. the display will not come on. It will simply be in the stand-by mode. That is what the "Green" light means when you press the on/off button to the left of the steering column.

When the system comes on, the alarm will beep faster and faster the closer you come to the object, until you reach a distance of 1.2ft when the tone will be constant and the display will flash.

Hope this has answered your question.

Paul

[LEXIRX330]

Paul is right on.

[rob_es350]

Not sure my Intuitive Parking Assist is working properly.

Press the button, it beeps and green light comes on, so that's all good.

But nothing is displayed immediately.

If the car gets too close to an object, the display does come on with a picture of the car, highlighting the corner of the car where it is too close to an object.

The manual leads me to believe that the display should come on immediately, and change graphics/sounds as the car get closer to an object.

Please let me know if the IPA is working correctly.

Thanks.

Hi rob; It does sound like everything is working as it should. The Park Assist feature only displays the outline of the car when it actually detects an object within the initial 4.9ft warning zone. This distance applies to both front and rear sensors. If you are not closer than that to an object while trying to park or back up or jockey around an object, etc. the display will not come on. It will simply be in the stand-by mode. That is what the "Green" light means when you press the on/off button to the left of the steering column.

When the system comes on, the alarm will beep faster and faster the closer you come to the object, until you reach a distance of 1.2ft when the tone will be constant and the display will flash.

Hope this has answered your question.

Paul

Thanks Paul.

What you described, it what I expected.

Instead, each time it comes on, it is already at the point where the tone is constant and the display is flashing. I am not getting the preceding warning where the beep gets progressively faster.

I will try it try it again, but I don't think it is going to change because I have already approached objects as slow as possible, so not sure what else to do.

Is everyone out there with this feature getting the progressively faster beeps prior to the steady tone and flashing display?

[pj8708]

Paul is right on.

Thanks Dad, lol...

[pj8708]

Not sure my Intuitive Parking Assist is working properly.

Press the button, it beeps and green light comes on, so that's all good.

But nothing is displayed immediately.

If the car gets too close to an object, the display does come on with a picture of the car, highlighting the corner of the car where it is too close to an object.

The manual leads me to believe that the display should come on immediately, and change graphics/sounds as the car get closer to an object.

Please let me know if the IPA is working correctly.

Thanks.

Hi rob; It does sound like everything is working as it should. The Park Assist feature only displays the outline of the car when it actually detects an object within the initial 4.9ft warning zone. This distance applies to both front and rear sensors. If you are not closer than that to an object while trying to park or back up or jockey around an object, etc. the display will not come on. It will simply be in the stand-by mode. That is what the "Green" light means when you press the on/off button to the left of the steering column.

When the system comes on, the alarm will beep faster and faster the closer you come to the object, until you reach a distance of 1.2ft when the tone will be constant and the display will flash.

Hope this has answered your question.

Paul

Thanks Paul.

What you described, it what I expected.

Instead, each time it comes on, it is already at the point where the tone is constant and the display is flashing. I am not getting the preceding warning where the beep gets progressively faster.

I will try it try it again, but I don't think it is going to change because I have already approached objects as slow as possible, so not sure what else to do.

Is everyone out there with this feature getting the progressively faster beeps prior to the steady tone and flashing display?

My ES is a 2010 and what I detailed is what I experience with my car. What year is yours?

[LEXIRX330]

You could have a bad sensor. You have checked to make sure nothing is on one of the sensors. They had to replace one of the x5 sensors when I bought it kept staying on. You can also adjust the settings in the Nav menu might want to give that a try?

Poppop (I mean Paul's :) description is how my Gx works as well)

[SW03ES]

The thresholds for the system might be too far away as well.

In my experience bad sensors cause intermittent false readings...

[rob_es350]

Mine is a 2011.

Confident now from all of the feedback hear that my IPA is not working.

Did not know that the settings, particularly the thresholds, were configurable through the nav menu..I will take a look at that.

If that does not work, sounds like I have a bad sensor.

Either way, after spending 40k on the car, it is a tad frustrating that everything is not working properly.

[LEXIRX330]

I am sure it is frustrating. But sometimes sh@t happens. They will get it fixed for you.

[rob_es350]

I am sure it is frustrating. But sometimes sh@t happens. They will get it fixed for you.

True. So many toys in the car it is almost inevitable.

Exact reason I went for the 100k mile warranty. NOt only are things going to break, but the fixes will be way expensive.

Pretty slick thinking on their part to have a money back warranty policy if not used. I had never heard of that. So they actually calculated that the warranty will be used, but for a lesser amount than the price of the warranty. Only way they make money on it.

[SW03ES]

That and people will forget they can get a refund for the warranty or sell the car before the warranty is up transferring it to the new owner...

[rob_es350]

That and people will forget they can get a refund for the warranty or sell the car before the warranty is up transferring it to the new owner...

checked out the settings..only has on/off (it was on), and one setting to change the distance of the rear sensor only

o well, I will let the service dept take care of it..almost ready for the first oil change anyway

[pj8708]

That and people will forget they can get a refund for the warranty or sell the car before the warranty is up transferring it to the new owner...

Lets us know what you find out!

Paul

checked out the settings..only has on/off (it was on), and one setting to change the distance of the rear sensor only

o well, I will let the service dept take care of it..almost ready for the first oil change anyway

[rob_es350]

That and people will forget they can get a refund for the warranty or sell the car before the warranty is up transferring it to the new owner...

Lets us know what you find out!

Paul

checked out the settings..only has on/off (it was on), and one setting to change the distance of the rear sensor only

o well, I will let the service dept take care of it..almost ready for the first oil change anyway

apparently it is working as designed

rear has 3 sensors both corners and center..works as expected..center sensor is configurable through the settings on the nav screen..plenty of warning esspecially if the center sensor is set for the further distance

front ONLY has sensors in the corners, which is ridicuous since the center front center of the bumpber goes out the furthest..anyway, that is where I got faked out..front corner sensors are also not configuable through the nav screen..another limitation

if you pull your car straight ahead torwards another car, the front center will get closest before the corners becuase of the shape of the bumber, and you practically have to hit the car in front of you before the coreners are close enough to actviate the system..that is what I was having to do to set off the system, and that is why I thought it was broken

if you are turning, instead of pulling straight ahead, and the corner of the front bumber gets close to an object first, the system will activate with a reasonalble distance to spare

so that's the deal..not sure why they would not put a sensor in the front center as they do in the rear..there is certainly no way to see the front of the car, as is the case will almost all cars now sonce hoods are sloped downwards for aerodynamics and style..also, why just have the rear center sensor configurable through the screen, no clue

[SW03ES]

The rear actually has 4 sensors, not three. One on each corner and two in the center.

You're correct, the front has no dead ahead sensors. Other more expensive Lexus sedans do. Its a cost saving measure...thats all.

We'll just have to do what we did before parking sensors...actually look where we're going when going forward ;)

[rob_es350]

The rear actually has 4 sensors, not three. One on each corner and two in the center.

You're correct, the front has no dead ahead sensors. Other more expensive Lexus sedans do. Its a cost saving measure...thats all.

We'll just have to do what we did before parking sensors...actually look where we're going when going forward ;)

lol, looking, yeah, I hear ya

I do see the 4 sensors in the rear, thanks

seems silly though to not put a sensor in the front center for cost savings..I wouldn't think it would be any real increase in their cost....Lexus owners expect the features to be well thought out, and the lack of a sensor in the center front, where the car extends out the furthest, seems seriously ill concieved

[SW03ES]

Personally I don't really see the need for a sensor in the front...I have no problem judging the distance of objects relative to the front of the car.

Sure it would increase their cost. The ES is a volume model, they sell like 80,000 of them a year, so lets say it saved them $20 per car, $10 per sensor, thats $1.6M per year in savings.

When you deliver a car with the features of the ES at the price point its at...they have to cut costs somewhere. The 3 series BMW offers parking sensors in the rear only. So does the Infiniti G. So does the Cadillac CTS. The Acura TL doesn't have parking sensors at all. So if anything Lexus offers more content in this feature than the competition.

[rob_es350]

Personally I don't really see the need for a sensor in the front...I have no problem judging the distance of objects relative to the front of the car.

Sure it would increase their cost. The ES is a volume model, they sell like 80,000 of them a year, so lets say it saved them $20 per car, $10 per sensor, thats $1.6M per year in savings.

When you deliver a car with the features of the ES at the price point its at...they have to cut costs somewhere. The 3 series BMW offers parking sensors in the rear only. So does the Infiniti G. So does the Cadillac CTS. The Acura TL doesn't have parking sensors at all. So if anything Lexus offers more content in this feature than the competition.

agree that the sensors are not needed..I already know exactly where the front and back of the car are..pretty much, you know how to park, or you don't, and the type of car and whether or not the car has sensors, doesn't really make a difference

my point was that if you are gonna have the feature, do it right, and having sensors in the front corners, and not the center, which extends out further, seems silly

[pj8708]

Personally I don't really see the need for a sensor in the front...I have no problem judging the distance of objects relative to the front of the car.

Sure it would increase their cost. The ES is a volume model, they sell like 80,000 of them a year, so lets say it saved them $20 per car, $10 per sensor, thats $1.6M per year in savings.

When you deliver a car with the features of the ES at the price point its at...they have to cut costs somewhere. The 3 series BMW offers parking sensors in the rear only. So does the Infiniti G. So does the Cadillac CTS. The Acura TL doesn't have parking sensors at all. So if anything Lexus offers more content in this feature than the competition.

I'm impressed! A very well thought out argument with a lot of information I didn't know. Then, I am not surprised.

Paul

[SW03ES]

agree that the sensors are not needed..I already know exactly where the front and back of the car are..pretty much, you know how to park, or you don't, and the type of car and whether or not the car has sensors, doesn't really make a difference

my point was that if you are gonna have the feature, do it right, and having sensors in the front corners, and not the center, which extends out further, seems silly

I don't understand, you're irritated about the lack of a feature that you agree isn't needed?

You don't understand the purpose of the corner sensors. The corner sensors are used when turning in tight areas, a garage, parking lot, when parallel parking. Its to ensure you don't scrape the corner of the bumper on anything, which is a very common thing to do. IMHO, they are far more useful than a dead on center sensor. And, as we've seen none of the ES' competition has *any* sensors on the front at all, so Lexus is already offering a feature that none of their competition offers.

If you want dead on center sensors...you can spend $10,000 more for the GS, or $30,000 more for the LS which has them. This is the entry level car, when you really look deeply there are a lot of areas where the car doesn't have the content that the more expensive cars have...and rightly so since its so cheap.

I'm impressed! A very well thought out argument with a lot of information I didn't know. Then' date=' I am not surprised.[/quote']

Why thankya

[rob_es350]

Personally I don't really see the need for a sensor in the front...I have no problem judging the distance of objects relative to the front of the car.

Sure it would increase their cost. The ES is a volume model, they sell like 80,000 of them a year, so lets say it saved them $20 per car, $10 per sensor, thats $1.6M per year in savings.

When you deliver a car with the features of the ES at the price point its at...they have to cut costs somewhere. The 3 series BMW offers parking sensors in the rear only. So does the Infiniti G. So does the Cadillac CTS. The Acura TL doesn't have parking sensors at all. So if anything Lexus offers more content in this feature than the competition.

I'm impressed! A very well thought out argument with a lot of information I didn't know. Then, I am not surprised.

Paul

I'm gonna take the other side of the cost argument

a co the size of toyota has revenues in the hundreds of billions and earnings in the tens of billions, so while 1-2 million is a pile of cash to us, for toyota, it is meaningless

agree that the info regarding the competitors sensor systems was good to know

again, good forum guys, enjoy the exchange..take care

[SW03ES]

I'm gonna take the other side of the cost argument

a co the size of toyota has revenues in the hundreds of billions and earnings in the tens of billions, so while 1-2 million is a pile of cash to us, for toyota, it is meaningless

agree that the info regarding the competitors sensor systems was good to know

again, good forum guys, enjoy the exchange..take care

But thats precisely why Toyota has done so well when, GM by comparison has done so poorly. GM has put their production an R&D dollars over the last 20 years into Gizmos, electric notification screens, parking assist, oil quality meters, "magnasteer" and fancy sounding bullsh!t like that, etc. Toyota may not offer the same gizmos but they have put their R&D dollars into build quality, ride and drivetrain refinement, reliability etc. Its really only been the last few years that you've started seeing more technology in Lexus vehicles in general. If you look at the latest GM vehicles, they are moving to an approach more similar to Toyotas. Before 2006 or so, Lexus vehicles other than the LS were pretty devoid of techy gizmos.

If you think 1-2million is nothing to Toyota...you don't understand Toyota. Its a very conservative company.

So, while you may not have forward facing parking sensors, you have the best ride and noise isolation in its class, incredible build quality, excellent reliability, etc. When it comes to parking sensors, we've demonstrated clearly though that Lexus is a class leader.

[pj8708]

Welcome to the world of marketing and sales. The industry standard in marketing, and trickling down to the showroom floor, is "Features & Benefits". I'm not telling you anything you don't know, but why there is no center sensor on the front of the ES.

I saw a commercial on TV this morning for Hyundi, advertising their bi-directional head lights and driver side blind spot feature. These features have benefits to the driver for sure but INMO exist only to make the car competitive with it's peers; i.e. market position.

My Volvo has bi-directional headlights and offers the blind spot feature. My ES has bi-directional headlights.

If your product can be market positioned and competitive, even innovative within recoverable cost, you will offer features with benefits that your sales force can sell at a Competitive cost; even a premium cost. However, no one can sell at a loss and a feature will be weighed at cost/benefit ratio to determine if it will sell with two sensors in front or three. Safety test and cost/benefit test probably said two.

Paul

[rob_es350]

Welcome to the world of marketing and sales. The industry standard in marketing, and trickling down to the showroom floor, is "Features & Benefits". I'm not telling you anything you don't know, but why there is no center sensor on the front of the ES.

I saw a commercial on TV this morning for Hyundi, advertising their bi-directional head lights and driver side blind spot feature. These features have benefits to the driver for sure but INMO exist only to make the car competitive with it's peers; i.e. market position.

My Volvo has bi-directional headlights and offers the blind spot feature. My ES has bi-directional headlights.

If your product can be market positioned and competitive, even innovative within recoverable cost, you will offer features with benefits that your sales force can sell at a Competitive cost; even a premium cost. However, no one can sell at a loss and a feature will be weighed at cost/benefit ratio to determine if it will sell with two sensors in front or three. Safety test and cost/benefit test probably said two.

Paul

makes sense Paul..I suspect that most buyers don't even know how many sensors there are in the front..I didn't...I knew a ton about the car and its competitors, and drove them all, but the IPA feature was not important to me..got the car loaded just because when it comes time to trade it, it will hold its value much better..not too many people want a Lexus without GPS, etc.