Description And Operation: Description
Vehicles equipped with the park assist system have up to twelve park assist sensors (3).
Vehicles with Rear Park Assist (RPA) have four sensors installed in the rear bumper fascia. Each of these sensors is a Generation 5.0 sensor, is identical in construction and is interchangeable.
Vehicles with Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist (PPPA) have six sensors in the rear fascia and six sensors in the front fascia. However, the sensors in each right and left outward-facing end of the front fascia have a unique Generation 5.1 sensor, while the other ten sensors are still the Generation 5.0 type. The Generation 5.1 sensors offer increased range required to support the parallel and perpendicular parking features of the PPPA system. The only physical difference between the two sensor types besides the part number is the offset location of the indexing feature (2) on the sensor body. This offset indexing feature is designed to match up with an indexing notch in the sensor bracket to prevent installation of a sensor in an incorrect location.
The numbering system for the park assist sensors allows for up to twelve sensors on the vehicle, six front and six rear. The sensors are numbered in a clockwise manner starting at the left end of the front fascia. Regardless of whether the vehicle is equipped with RPA or PPPA, the left front sensor location is always considered the number 1 sensor. The numbering continues in a clockwise direction around the vehicle to the left rear sensor, which is always considered the number 12 sensor.
Only the membrane (4) of each sensor is visible through a hole in the outer vertical surface of the fascia. The remainder of each sensor including the sensor mounting bracket, the sensor spacer (O-ring or decoupling ring) and the sensor wiring connection is concealed behind the fascia. A sensor wire harness behind the fascia connects the sensors to the vehicle electrical system.
The electronic circuitry and a communication chip for each sensor is enclosed and protected within the molded black plastic sensor housing. The housing includes an integral connector receptacle (5) and two integral latch tabs (1). The sensor membrane extends from the surface of the sensor housing, and is finished to match the outer surface of the fascia.
A resilient O-ring spacer (decoupling ring) around the circumference of the sensor membrane isolates the membrane from the openings in the fascia. Each sensor is snapped into its own dedicated molded plastic mounting bracket. Each sensor mounting bracket is heat-staked to the back side of the bumper fascia.
The park assist sensors cannot be adjusted or repaired. If a sensor is damaged or ineffective it must be replaced with a new unit. The sensor spacers are available for individual service replacement. The sensor mounting brackets are serviced only as a unit with the bumper fascia.