S-Class (W221) 2007-2013: S 320 CDI, S 350, S 450, S 500, S 550, S 420 CDI, S 600

Random pb with radar Parktronic

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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 05:37 AM
  #1  
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S500
Random pb with radar Parktronic

Hi all,

I own a w221 european S500 (which is equivalent to S550 US model), and i have a lot of trouble with my parktronic.

I park my car in a very narrow garage and to get out i need to drive on a 90° turning ramp which is about 2,8 meters large. I live in france ....

My car is equiped with distronic, so my parktronic is a 24 Ghz radar one and not an ultrasound one.

The car was software updated last month.( ISM, Display, EGS, injection, Air Conditioning, COMAND). But i don't know which versions were used.

The symptoms are :
- 2 reds bars with continuous bip when car is about 40 cm (and not 20)
(it is a random pb)
- when accuracy is bad on one side, all the bars, including the 2 reds
can light on on the other side.(without any close obstacle)

I'll be very very glad if someone could help me because, each time i get out of my garage I am very afraid of scratching my car.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot by advance

Didier
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 12:31 PM
  #2  
didfra's Avatar
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S500
Hi,

I see there are many who have read my post, but nobody has any ideas to help me?

i'll be glad to hear about any begining of an idea

Thanks

Didier
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 10:55 PM
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From: Naples, FL
S550 4matic, ML350
Sorry, havent heard of this problem before...
Are all the sensors on the bumper clean and free of obstruction? Might mean a trip back to the dealer?
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Old Nov 26, 2010 | 01:08 AM
  #4  
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Hi egauster,

Yes, my bumpers are clear and i've made yet a trip back to the dealer, where the parktronic system was reset and recalibrate. (what they told me ..)

Maybe 2 tracks to explore :
1.- Is it possible that the reflexion of the radars waves in a so narrow garage could cause such a pb ?
2.- Is it possible that if the bumper was 2 or 3 times repeinted, the sensors accuracy could be so bad ?

Anyway thanks to help me.
Didier
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Old Nov 26, 2010 | 12:10 PM
  #5  
Diesel Benz's Avatar
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From: Europe
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Originally Posted by didfra
Hi egauster,

Yes, my bumpers are clear and i've made yet a trip back to the dealer, where the parktronic system was reset and recalibrate. (what they told me ..)

Maybe 2 tracks to explore :
1.- Is it possible that the reflexion of the radars waves in a so narrow garage could cause such a pb ?
2.- Is it possible that if the bumper was 2 or 3 times repeinted, the sensors accuracy could be so bad ?

Anyway thanks to help me.
Didier
Note that this car does not have acoustic Parktronic sensors, no visible sensors but radar sensors behind the bumper. Dirt and painting is unlikely an issue.

I was about to ask if the issues occur at the garage area or also somewhere at free space (except a clear object on one side of the car). The radar could get confused if there was metal all over the garage but elsewhere it should work fine.

I cannot see other calibration for this system except the licence plate dimensions may need to be programmed in. Do you have a very wide licence plate at the front?
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Old Nov 28, 2010 | 03:57 AM
  #6  
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Hi Diesel,

Thanks a lot to help me.

No, in europe licence plate a rectangular and pretty small. I guess it is not the issue.

I've had an other idea .. tell me if it could be the reason and if it is possible to correct it.

In my garage, all along the turning ramp, there is a small narrow sidewalk, with about 15 cm height and 8-10 cm width.

Do you think that the sensors are calibrated a little bit too low and send me the distance to the small sidewalk, and not the distance to the wall ??

Is it possible to tune the height of sensor's measurement ?

Thanks to help

Didier
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Old Nov 28, 2010 | 06:16 AM
  #7  
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From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
Originally Posted by didfra
Hi Diesel,

Thanks a lot to help me.

No, in europe licence plate a rectangular and pretty small. I guess it is not the issue.

I've had an other idea .. tell me if it could be the reason and if it is possible to correct it.

In my garage, all along the turning ramp, there is a small narrow sidewalk, with about 15 cm height and 8-10 cm width.

Do you think that the sensors are calibrated a little bit too low and send me the distance to the small sidewalk, and not the distance to the wall ??

Is it possible to tune the height of sensor's measurement ?

Thanks to help

Didier
European licence plates are typically relatively wide. Wide does not mean the plate covers the whole bumper but if you compare with US plates, yours should be significantly wider. If you have EU-plates, those are about the widest I've seen.

If the sidewalk is 15 cm higher from the ramp you drive, the car would most likely detect it. There is no way to tune this and most often owners complain the opposite, the car may not detect objects that still hit the bumper from the bottom but are too low for Parktronic.

A bit difficult to say if the car behaves as it should or not. Perhaps you should run further tests.
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