[Paul Leblond]

Can someone tell me what "Rear Park Assist" does in the Premier model. Does the car just beep at you when you get to close to an object or does the car steer for you when you parallel park? Thanks

 

[phil0909]

The former. It's all in the manual:

"Parking Assist
If equipped with Rear Parking Assist
(RPA), as the vehicle moves at
speeds of less than 8 km/h (5 mph)
the sensors on the bumpers may
detect objects up to 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
behind the vehicle within a zone of
25 cm (10 in) high off the ground
and below bumper level. These
detection distances may be shorter
during warmer or humid weather.
Blocked sensors will not detect
objects and can also cause false
detections. Keep the sensors clean
of mud, dirt, snow, ice, and slush;
and clean sensors after a car wash
in freezing temperatures.
{ Warning
The Parking Assist system does
not detect children, pedestrians,
bicyclists, animals, or objects
located below the bumper or that
are too close or too far from the
vehicle. It is not available at
speeds greater than 8 km/h
(5 mph). To prevent injury, death,
or vehicle damage, even with
parking assist, always check the
area around the vehicle and
check all mirrors before moving
forward or backing.
The instrument cluster may have a
Parking Assist display with bars that
show “distance to object” and object
location information for RPA. As the
object gets closer, more bars light
up and the bars change color from
yellow to amber to red. When an
object is first detected in the rear,
one beep will be heard from the
rear. When an object is very close,
<0.6 m (2 ft) in the vehicle rear, five
beeps will sound from the rear
depending on object location."

 

[LectricBill]

Yes: there is no automatic steering.

What I find really useful is the left portion of the screen which shows a computer-generated birds-eye view of the car in the middle of its surroundings. The images from front, rear, left and right cameras are integrated in real time to show exactly where the car is with respect to its environment.

I find this useful for aligning the car in the center of head-in parking spaces and, when parallel parking, to make sure the rear of the car is not blocking an adjacent driveway, or a no-parking red-painted curb, instead of getting out of the car to look and getting back in the car to adjust.

Besides, the feature generates a big "Wow" factor from passengers!

 

[Bazinga]

It's a really handy tool if drivers (namely me) can't parallel park to save their lives. It may not automatically park for you but it'll give you an idea of how far you are from the car behind. Maybe we'll get auto parking in the next Bolt, just need to borrow some tech from their autonomous Bolts.

 

[LightningBolt]

Speaking of rear cameras, does the Bolt's camera have the same problem as the Volt where its backup camera has a very dark image when the rear bumper is facing the sun? Heard that it's due to the reflecting light into the camera causing it to adjust to the glare and produce darker images.

 

[Realtek]

The Bird's eye view, is also available on the LT model as an option, right? The "Driver confidence Package" for 895$CAD?

 

[DaV8or]

The Bird's eye view, is also available on the LT model as an option, right? The "Driver confidence Package" for 895$CAD?

Not in America it isn't. Here it is standard on the Premier and not available on the LT no matter what package you order. A shame, I would get it.

 

[Realtek]

A shame, I would get it.

indeed!

 

[Roth33d]

It's a really handy tool if drivers (namely me) can't parallel park to save their lives. It may not automatically park for you but it'll give you an idea of how far you are from the car behind. Maybe we'll get auto parking in the next Bolt, just need to borrow some tech from their autonomous Bolts.

It's easy, all a matter of strategy and understanding working off some basic fundamentals. Videos like this should help a lot:

Just as a tip, make sure you get a feel for how close/far you are from objects.

 

[Electro]

The rear view camera, birds eye view, and the assist is extremely helpful.. I definitely thought I had the clearance and it totally proved me wrong whilst trying to parallel park. Huge wow factor for anyone that has never experienced the birds eye view though.

 

[DaV8or]

I do not trust these systems. Personal opinion

Let me guess, backing up and parallel parking would be easier with a lease from DSR Leasing, right?

 

[devbolt]

These systems should be used as an adjunct, not a replacement, for sensible driving practices. In other words, knowing your car's outside dimensions, being able to use you rear and side view mirrors when manuevering in/out of parking spaces, actually looking where you are going...

 

[specialed]

These systems should be used as an adjunct, not a replacement, for sensible driving practices. In other words, knowing your car's outside dimensions, being able to use you rear and side view mirrors when manuevering in/out of parking spaces, actually looking where you are going...

I do not disagree with you, but these systems can be used to make sensible driving practices easier. The birds eye view shows the ground for a couple feet around the car. A driver can't see that space without this system. The wide angle view out the back shows more than a driver can see by turning and looking back. There is also the cross traffic alert which has audible and visual warnings of approaching vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

In my opinion this is far better than I do on my own by turning my head to see out the back, then turning to look out the front, then back and forth again and again as I try to maneuver out of a tight parking spot wth large vehicles on either side.

Just like after getting my first car with antilock brakes, I will never buy a car without something equivalent to this system. Sure, I can pump the brakes, but I can't do as well as the antilock brake system. This parking assist system can do what I can do better than I can do it, and provide views I can't get without it.

Ed

 

[devbolt]

I agree that these are great features to have and I went out of my way to make sure I got a car that had them all.

However, too many people use these systems as a replacement. For example, they rely on the backup camera when backing out instead of using the rearview mirror, or turning their head, and then complain that the backup camera gives a distorted view out the back because it is pointed downwards. Well, duh! It's meant to let you see what is immediately behind you that your mirrors can't see. Like a bike, animal or a child.

I have blindzone monitoring on two of our cars, but will still do the head turn when changing lanes no matter which car I'm driving. I will still rely on my use of mirrors when backing up, but will use the camera systems to double check what I'm doing and verify that my internal personal spatial awareness system is still working properly.

 

[gern_blanston]

These systems should be used as an adjunct, not a replacement, for sensible driving practices.

This ^^^

 

[eops]

I agree that these are great features to have and I went out of my way to make sure I got a car that had them all.

However, too many people use these systems as a replacement. For example, they rely on the backup camera when backing out instead of using the rearview mirror, or turning their head, and then complain that the backup camera gives a distorted view out the back because it is pointed downwards. Well, duh! It's meant to let you see what is immediately behind you that your mirrors can't see. Like a bike, animal or a child.

I have blindzone monitoring on two of our cars, but will still do the head turn when changing lanes no matter which car I'm driving. I will still rely on my use of mirrors when backing up, but will use the camera systems to double check what I'm doing and verify that my internal personal spatial awareness system is still working properly.

That's why I'm thankful self-driving cars are on the way, drivers that typically don't want to put much thought into driving will be some of the first to get these, even if it takes some convincing.

 

[Bazinga]

Self driving cars are on the way, but who knows how long before they're made commercially available and they will cost a lot. For now, people just need to brush up on their basic skills like rear parking and blind spot checking. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be going out of style these days and inattentive drivers are everywhere.

 

[TotaledJetta]

Self driving cars are on the way, but who knows how long before they're made commercially available and they will cost a lot. For now, people just need to brush up on their basic skills like rear parking and blind spot checking. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be going out of style these days and inattentive drivers are everywhere.

I find the Bolt challenging to parallel park because the view out the back and out the passenger side is marginal due to the design of the body, which sweeps upward toward the back. Much harder to park than my 2003 Jetta. So I do use the birds-eye view to determine if the Bolt is parallel to the curb and close enough. When backing out in a parking lot, I try to look straight out the back window, because looking at the camera view is not very reassuring. The warning of cross traffic when backing up is very useful since the view out the back is so limited.

 

[eops]

I find the Bolt challenging to parallel park because the view out the back and out the passenger side is marginal due to the design of the body, which sweeps upward toward the back. Much harder to park than my 2003 Jetta. So I do use the birds-eye view to determine if the Bolt is parallel to the curb and close enough. When backing out in a parking lot, I try to look straight out the back window, because looking at the camera view is not very reassuring. The warning of cross traffic when backing up is very useful since the view out the back is so limited.

You can always try practicing with soft objects that won't do damage to your Bolt so that way you get a feel for where the Bolt is when your eyes no longer have the advantage. I have learned to drive a lot of poor visibility vehicles like that. Used to be a valet

 

[Sean Nelson]

Self driving cars are on the way, but who knows how long before they're made commercially available...

Nissan says that it will have fully autonomous Level 5-capable Leafs on the market by 2020.