Principles of Operation

Parking Aid


Principles of Operation

With the ignition switch in the RUN position, the parking aid system detects objects behind the vehicle when the vehicle is shifted into REVERSE (R). The parking aid system does this by calculating the distance to an object by the use of a radar sensor mounted in the rear bumper. A 170 degree semicircular azimuth field is emitted around the rear of the vehicle.

The Parking Aid Module (PAM) receives a Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) signal from the PCM indicating the vehicle speed. At or below 4.0 km/h (2.5 mph) the sensor can detect objects up to 255 cm (8 ft) to the rear of the vehicle, 50 cm (20 in) to the rear side of the vehicle, and 16 cm (6 in) above ground. The parking aid radar sensor is integral to the PAM.

A variable-rate warning tone is generated by the parking aid speaker. The speaker increases its warning tone rate as the vehicle gets closer to an obstacle. When an object is detected within 46 cm (18 in) of the vehicle, the warning tone becomes continuous.

The parking aid system is disabled if any fault is detected, and the message center indicates the parking aid is disabled.

The parking aid system is also disabled when the operator selects parking aid disable through the message center. The parking aid system remains disabled until either the ignition key is cycled from OFF to RUN, or parking aid enable is selected through the message center. The parking aid system communicates with the scan tool on the ISO 9141 network and can be diagnosed with a scan tool.