ttoE550

I must be an idiot. I can't get Parking Guidance to work on my 2010 E550. I have done a search and read responses like "are you unable to read the manual?" that provide no real help. I have Distronic plus. Just so there's no confusion, I'm talking about the system that helps you parallel park, not the one that let's you know you are too close (which works fine for me).

I slowly drive past what I know is an acceptable parking spot, and I see the P in a box on the dash display. I have my turning signal on. I never get the arrow shown in the manual or any indication the car has seen the parking spot. Am I missing something?

I don't really need it, but I would like to try it.

Thanks in advance.

Diesel Benz

What sort of an acceptable parking spot are you driving by? I think the car would need to see a car and a slot after that car, not sure if there has to be a clear curb too.

ttoE550

Just regular parallel parking spots on the street indeed with a car in front of it. Some with a car at the rear of the spot and some without. Some of them I myself have parked in. I've also tried pulling beside cars parked on the street under various conditions, but I never see an arrow.

Diesel Benz

Sounds odd, you should have another similar car to test and to compare.

303E550

I agree - it isn't easy to use. Only once have I used it and it did work very well once engaged. Most of the time, I just park it the old fashioned way (with the aid of parktronic, of course).

I wish I could figure this out as well!

ttoE550

I just found a post that I missed in my earlier searches. It gives instructions pretty much the same as the manual, but adds that you need to go past the spot. Not going far enough past the spot might be my problem (won't know til tomorrow) since I'm pretty sure I've stopped pretty much alongside the other car, which is where I always begin my parallel parking maneuver. I'm betting that the other car needs to get in the blind spot sensor range. I love feeling optimistic!

Here's the post if anyone is interested.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w212...does-work.html

silberrosa

That's correct. The rear bumper has to finish "measuring" the space in order for the size determination to work. Good Luck.

jbean114

... And by the time your rear bumper has passed the spot... you have seen a little arrow next to the P... and finally started receiving instructions, the damn Mini Cooper behind you has already parked nose-first in your spot!

I have never had much luck with this option either... Only ordered it to get the full parking sensors.

Cheers!

mg-E550

I havent used it yet but have seen the arrows going on if driving slowly down a city street. Ive even seen them go in in a traffic jam! (think the cars sending a message I might as well give up)

ttoE550

I spent the last two days (well, not ALL of the last two days) trying to get an arrow. Nothing, nada, zilcho. My neighbors must think I'm crazy, or maybe just crazier than they first thought. I've even gone to other neighborhoods to try it just in case. They think I'm crazy too, but they don't know where I live.

I think there is something wrong with my car. Normally I wouldn't care since I parallel park maybe once or twice per year, but if there is a problem, it would be part of safety features that are the reason I bought the car.

Diesel Benz

Even if you did not need the feature, you should get it fixed (be it fixing a malfunction or learning how to use it).

ttoE550

Success! I finally got parking guidance to work. For anyone else having trouble, here are some things I experienced:

It does not seem to work with open-ended parking spaces -- it seems you need two cars.

It seems you need to have your turning signal on before you pass the car at the rear of the space (it needs to start the measurement) -- this was the missing ingredient for me. And you will slightly pass the car at the front of the space before you see the arrow.

Cheers.

babyjocko

Perhaps MB should take notes from Lexus on this. Parking assist on the Lexus LS460 is one cool feature that works incredibly well and is quite intuitive. And, it parks all by itself in parallel and in-line parking spots. All I ever had to do was control the braking. Look Ma! No hands!

Of course, that alone was certainly not worth keeping the Lexus. There is no perfect car.

ttoE550

That would be cool. Even though I've figured out how to get the arrow, I haven't actually successfully parked the car using the system. I get the instructions, but so far I've fouled them up (overdriving the guide, for instance). To reset the system, I either have to back up past the rear car and start again or go around the block. I figure that with practice I can get it, but it's just too gimmicky considering that I'm not too bad at parallel parking, especially with Parktronic.

My beef with Toyota/Lexus is that they build cars with no soul. I definitely get a visceral connection with my E550, as with other Porsches, Subarus, and even a Jeep I've owned. Heck, even my Nissan Sentra in college was a housecat with the heart of a lion.