Parktronic Parking Pilot System

[FordAnglia]

Greetings,

Anyone using the Parktronic Parking Pilot system on the B250e?

My vehicle doesn't have it installed. Am I missing anything?

Thanks In Advance,

Peter,

 

[thh]

Hi,
I have a similar questions.
1) THere is a 2017 b250e which i want to buy online. I used VIN decoder and it shows park assist rear sensor. Is this standard in ALL b250e's?
2) i saw an awesome video with parallel parking assist for MBs. Is that standard or is it an option.

Thank you. The info for this car is very limited and the sellers/dealers know little too.

 

[FordAnglia]

1) THere is a 2017 b250e which i want to buy online. I used VIN decoder and it shows park assist rear sensor. Is this standard in ALL b250e's?

The vehicle has a RADAR based sensor system, used for adaptive cruise control and auto regen when approaching slower traffic, also for object warning for blind spots, from the Owner's Manual:
"Blind Spot Assist monitors the areas on either side of the vehicle that are not visible to the driver with two lateral, rear-facing radar sensors.
A warning display in the exterior mirrors draws your attention to vehicles detected in the monitored area. If you then switch on the corresponding
turn signal to change lane, you will also receive an optical and audible warning.
Blind Spot Assist supports you from a speed of approximately 20 mph (30 km/h)."

This system is quite different from the common ultrasonic object detector systems on other vehicles. The downside is that RADAR does not work when the vehicle is traveling less than 20mph.

The B250e Parktronic system uses ultrasound (in addition to the RADAR sesnors) and AFAIK these vehicles have ultrasonic sensors in the bumpers for this system. My B250e doesn't have these. I have yet to see a B250e that does.
Also, you can look for the Parktronic button on the center console, and Parktronic display on top of the dash. Again, my B250e does not have these.

Thank you. The info for this car is very limited and the sellers/dealers know little too.

Yes, it is limited. There are only 4k vehicle of this type in the USA, and as it was discontinued there will be less and less dealer 'help' going forwards. This forum is invaluable for us to keep up with care and maintenance, problem solving, and peer-to-peer help.

I hope you decide to join us! The car is quite amazing, and so much fun to drive!

 

[PatricioEV]

My car has Parktronic and I believe I used it once to see it work. Honestly, I can parallel park faster than a vehicle's system can. What it is nice for is the distance warnings front and back when pulling into/out of spaces. Does the system work? Yes. Do I ever use it to park my car? No. IIRC, it alerts you when it senses a parking space, you have to engage the system and put it in reverse, it will move the steering wheel, you operate the pedals and park/reverse lever. So, all it really does is turn the steering wheel for you. Granted, for those who aren't good at parallel parking, that is the part that is the hardest for them to grasp. And to echo others, it is very rare to find this option on the B250e. If you see the little round sensors in the front and rear bumpers, then the car has the option.

 

[FordAnglia]

My car has Parktronic and I believe I used it once to see it work. Honestly, I can parallel park faster than a vehicle's system can. What it is nice for is the distance warnings front and back when pulling into/out of spaces. Does the system work? Yes.

Thanks for sharing your Parktronic experience. Not having in on mine means I can't 'play', but overall its not a great loss, really.

Peter,

 

[thh]

FordAnglia and PatricioEV,

THANK YOU for being helpful!!

I was valuing parktronic not for its parallel parking, but for its beeping when you come close to another car/object while backing up. But now i see that maybe parktronic option does not do that... because it sounds like it is only for parking help.

Thanks again! I saw 1 car on sale with that option but now it is gone.

PS thanks for the tip - looking at bumpers for sensors.

All the best!

 

[PatricioEV]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. It absolutely warns you of distance before hitting an object and is very good at that. It goes nuts in a car wash! (you can turn it off) But it is also good for when a person walks near a sensor. The front end on these cars are shorter than they seem, so you can get much closer to things with Parktronic. To be clear, Parktronic is the distance part and Active Parking Assist is the parking bit. What I have is Parktronic with Active Parking Assist. I believe they are packaged together in the 250e. Here is a good demonstration of Active Parking Assist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TG-8Bp_D1M

 

[thh]

THis is a great video, thanks PatricioEV!

I care mostly about having distance beepers. You mentioned this is bundled with Active Assist. so if I want the parking sensor (beep-beep) then it is not standard nor it is standalone, and I must get the Parktronic Active Assist?

 

[PatricioEV]

To the best of my knowledge, yes.

 

[FordAnglia]

The front end on these cars are shorter than they seem, so you can get much closer to things with Parktronic.

The front clearance (bonnet/hood length) doesn't bother me as much as the short rear end does!

I haven't quite got used to how close the vehicle behind me is traveling - feels like they're about to be "on my rear seats any second". The view out front is great, but as I seldom parallel park so not knowing front clearance isn't a problem.

With this EV I do a lot more reversing and backing up (into EVSE bays) than when I had a ICE vehicle.

Peter,

 

[ralphybaby]

Our 2015 B-class electric has Parktronic. It is a nice to have only. It does parallel park on its own, but the space needs to be generously sized. Otherwise the system may not detect the spot. Furthermore, it can sometimes get too close to the curb and you can end up with wheel rim rash. Lastly, the distance sensors are also nice to have, but MB has set the distance sensitivity to a very conservative setting. So it will beep pretty loudly even if you still have another 18 inches of space left. Hope this helps.