Principles of Operation

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2011 Ford Pickup, 2011 Ford F550 Super Duty, 2011 Ford F450 Super Duty, and 2011 Ford Cab & Chassis. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The parking aid sensors detect objects approximately 152 cm (60 in) from the rear of the vehicle, 50 cm (20 in) from the rear side of the vehicle, and 30 cm (12 in) above the ground. The Parking Aid Module (PAM) calculates the distance to an object within the 170 degree semicircular area around the rear of the vehicle.

A variable-rate warning tone is generated from a speaker attached to the PAM . The speaker increases its warning tone rate as the vehicle gets closer to an obstacle. When an object is detected within 30 cm (12 in) of the sensors, the warning tone becomes continuous.

The parking aid system is enabled when the ignition switch is in the RUN position and the transmission in REVERSE (R). The parking aid system is disabled if a fault is detected in 1 of the 4 sensors, the parking aid speaker, or the PAM . This is indicated by a parking aid disabled warning message in the message center.

The parking aid system is enabled and disabled through the message center, which is in the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC).

If a MyKey™ restricted key is in the ignition cylinder, the parking aid menu is not available in the IPC message center and cannot be deactivated.

The PAM is on the High Speed Controller Area Network (HS-CAN) and can be diagnosed with a scan tool. The PAM communicates with the scan tool, the Body Control Module (BCM), the Audio Control Module (ACM), the IPC and the Trailer Brake Control (TBC) module.

If a vehicle is equipped with a Trailer Brake Control (TBC) module and a trailer is attached to the vehicle, the TBC module sends a network message over the HS-CAN to the PAM disabling the parking aid system while the trailer is attached.